“April 25: 10th anniversary of the Falun Gong protests, when 10,000 members of thespiritual movement gathered outside Zhongnanhai, the headquarters of the CommunistParty, in a silent protest against beatings and arrests that had been doled out tosome members in Tianjin… the Communist Party banned Falun Gong in July and began acampaign against [it], arresting thousands of members. According to Manfred Nowak,the UN special rapporteur on torture, Falun Gong members make up half thepopulation of China's prison camps.”To read more:http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/malcolmmoore/blog/2009/01/02/seven_key_dates_for_china_in_2009For a timeline on the persecution of Falun Gong: http://www.faluninfo.net/topic/4/Freedom House: “Escalated persecution of minorities” in China in 2008January 13, 2008: “[D]uring the year, there was an evident backtracking when itcame to core institutions and freedoms… Of particular note was a nationwideescalated persecution of minorities. From Tibetans to Uighurs to Falun Gongadherents to “house church” Christians, thousands of believers found themselvesfacing an intensified campaign of arbitrary detention, labor camp sentences and,in some cases, death in custody.”To readmore:http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2009/01/13/2003433620See also:http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/fiw09/FIW09_OverviewEssay_Final.pdfEpoch Times: Fifteen Chinese Lawyers Demand an Open Retrial of Falun GongPractitionersJanuary 17, 2009: “Fifteen lawyers have stepped forward to defend Falun Gongpractitioners after the Chengdu People’s Intermediate Court sentenced 11 people,including Falun Gong practitioners and their family members, to prison terms offrom 3 to 17 years in October 2008. The 15 lawyers are asking the court to findthe 11 defendants not guilty….Lawyer Mou Jiyuan said, ‘The case deserves a second trial, mainly because ofuncertain facts and insufficient evidence, which led to the sentencing and amisjudgment. We have therefore joined forces and reported the case to the localProcuratorate asking for an investigation.’”To read more:http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/content/view/10499For more information on Beijing lawyer Mou Jiyuan,see:http://en.zhaojuncn.com/newEbiz1/EbizPortalFG/portal/html/InfoContent.html?InfoPublish_InfoID=c373e9177c6f80518ffbe5fb839355d1Times of India: Channel your energy with this Chinese therapyDecember 30, 2008: “Practised in 80 countries, Falun Gong was first brought toMumbai in 2000 by a group of foreign practitioners who held a nine-day seminar inBandra, says Suren Rao, follower and ad film-maker. Falun Dafa India wasregistered as an association only in 2004….Rao, who exudes the beatitude one usually finds in godmen, found his calling inFalun Gong after trying his hand at various spiritual techniques. … the number ofserious practitioners in Mumbai is limited to a handful. In Bangalore, on theother hand, over 50 schools have taught their students the practice.”
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