Human Rights Watch Report on Falun Gong Exposes China’s Brutal 2.5-Year Terror Campaign

NEW YORK, February 7th, 2002 (Falun Dafa Information Center) – Human Rights Watch issued a new report today detailing China’s brutal campaign to eradicate Falun Gong in China. The 117-page report, entitled “Dangerous Meditation: China’s Campaign Against Falungong”, provides analysis and background for how and why the Chinese government has targeted a spiritual practice which the government itself has acknowledged has one hundred million practitioners.

“We are heartened to see this objective report by a respected third party exposing China’s campaign against innocent Falun Gong practitioners, which has resulted in at least 1,600 deaths and affects the lives of tens of millions of citizens every day,” commented Gail Rachlin, spokesperson for the New York based Falun Dafa Information Center. “Jiang Zemin and his supporters must realize that their crimes are not going unnoticed, and will not go unpunished.”

In a press statement available on the Human Rights Watch website, Sidney Jones, executive director of the Asia division of Human Rights Watch was quoted as saying, “The charge that Falungong threatens the stability of China does not hold up…. Its claim that belief in Falungong is a public health menace is equally bogus. The danger to health comes from the treatment its practitioners receive at the hands of the police and prison officials.”

The HRW statement also reveals that, “The Chinese government has used increasingly violent tactics as Falungong followers have mounted peaceful demonstrations against the crackdown. It has also used administrative detention procedures to hold followers in reeducation camps and psychiatric facilities. The Chinese judiciary has reinterpreted existing law to facilitate arrests of Falungong supporters.”

One of the world’s leading authorities on human rights, on the basis of its own investigation, has confirmed that the persecution of Falun Gong violates multiple provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. Freedom of belief and freedom of expression, among others, are international values, and values upon which many free countries were established.

“We appreciate Human Rights Watch’s concern and invite them and other human rights groups to continue to monitor and report on the human rights crimes inflicted on our non-violent practitioners,” added Rachlin. “While we feel this report contains some misinterpretations of the actions and beliefs of Falun Gong practitioners, we welcome the thrust of its findings – namely that China is abusing the human rights of our practitioners on a massive scale. We applaud this effort by Human Rights Watch.”

For the Falun Dafa Information Center’s view, and extensive documentation of these abuses, contact the Falun Dafa Information Center or visit http://www.falundafa.net/.