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The New York State Assembly welcomed and recognized visiting Falun Gong practitioners with applause before the session on the morning of May 9, 2007. Assembly Member Michael Benjamin introduced Falun Gong practitioners and the May 13th Falun Dafa Day, reminding the Assembly of the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of this group of people that follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance.
New York State Assembly Members Michael Fiztzpatrick (first from left in second row) and Michael Benjamin (third from right in second row) with Falun Gong practitioners.
Assembly Member Michael Benjamin introduced Falun Gong's background and the persecution of Falun Gong in China during his three-minute speech. He said the advocation of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance was very admirable and that it was very important to expose the violent persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese regime. He believed every individual should have the inherit right to the freedom of religion, association and speech, and this is why he continues to call for attention to the violation of human rights, especially the organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners.
Speaker Pro Tempore Greene and the Assembly Members welcomed the thirteen Falun Gong practitioners with applause.
Assembly Member Benjamin is from the Bronx, New York. He is concerned with not only the people in his district, but also those persecuted in China and the Sudan. Regarding the view of attention to China's human rights as interference with Chinese internal affairs, Benjamin said the Chinese regime developed its economy to become part of the this world, so it should be open to external criticism. They cannot allow attention to economy only, but not human rights.
He said with the opening of economic opportunity to the world and the rise of the middle class, the people would want freedom and a change in this aspect. It was important that other countries be part of this change. The United States used force to bring changes in Communist countries in Europe. The same standard should be held to China.
Assembly Member Amy Paulin expressed enthusiastic support for Falun Gong's endeavor for human rights. She said human rights are universal and without boundary, and are not an internal affair. She said that we are in a country that upholds human rights and we stand up to support all whose human rights are violated by their own government.
Benjamin, who has a deep appreciation of traditional Chinese culture, called for the Chinese community in Chinatown to bravely expose what the CCP had done to American officials and businessmen. He said it should be that the CCP worries about the world opinion instead of innocent citizens worrying about the safety of their families in China.
Member of Assembly Michael Fiztzpatrick also expressed his support of Falun Gong practitioners and took a group picture with them.
About twenty officials of New York State have sent recognitions and congratulations to the May 13th World Falun Dafa Day and praised the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance.
On May 1, 2007, thousands of people attended a forum at Letna Park, Prague, Czech Republic, in protest of communism. The forum, entitled "Against Communist, Against Fascism, Against Totalitarianism," was organized by the Confederation of Czech Political Prisoners. At the forum over ten statesmen and victims of communism individually made statements concerning the damage caused by communist dictatorships to humans. Ming Zhao, a Falun Gong practitioner, and David Kilgour, a former member of the Canadian Parliament, were invited to deliver speeches at the forum condemning the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong.
Ming Zhao from Ireland described at the forum his personal experiences in China's labor camps where he was subjected to brutal torture for his beliefs
People view an exhibition of paintings organized by Falun Gong practitioners to expose the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong
Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek attended the forum and made a speech. He stated, "I pledge to develop a government free of communism as long as there is support from everyone." It is necessary, he went on to stress, that we let our children understand the brutal violence of communism. This way, they will not recreate the catastrophes of communism in the future and will always practice democracy.
In their speeches the speakers not only summarized the painful lessons people have learned from previous communist dictatorships, but also condemned the atrocities of the existing communist regimes.
Ming Zhao from Ireland described his personal experience in China's labor camps, where he was subjected to brutal torture for his beliefs. Mr. Zhao said, "In labor camps various torture methods were employed to torture me, such as deprivation of sleep, beating, forced squatting for several hours in a row, and also electric shocks, and these torture methods are still being used in China."
"The international community is so wrongly impressed with China's economic development that they forget one point - that is, China's human rights situation hasn't improved at all, nor is there greater social freedom. It is still a communist regime there, without freedom of speech, without freedom of assembly, without freedom of association, and without freedom of the press."
Former member of the Canadian Parliament, David Kilgour, said, "Look at what that government (the CCP) is doing to its own people, including independent journalists, human rights activists, democrats, religious communities, Uyghurs, Tibetans and many others. Two of us Canadians have concluded to our dismay in our recent report [www.organharvestinvestigaton.net] that the government of China is even killing Falun Gong prisoners of conscience without any form of judicial process and selling their vital organs for high prices to transplant tourists from abroad."
Kilgour added, "This is the government which will host the Olympic Games in August 2008 in Beijing. It is the same city, as we just heard from Ming Zhao now of Dublin, in which during 2001 the administration was torturing Falun Gong practitioners like him."
During the lunch break David Kilgour had a talk with the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Karel Schwarzenberg inside a tent at the forum. Mr. Kilgour introduced to the Czech Minister the CCP's atrocity of organ harvesting with a copy of the Czech version of the "Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners in China," co-authored by him.
A member of the Swedish Parliament, Mr. Goran Lindblad, who drafted a resolution for the European Commission entitled, "Need for International Condemnation of the Crimes of Totalitarian Communist Regimes," also made statements at the forum.
Activities associated with the forum lasted into the night, including a concert and a painting exhibition concerning communist dictatorships. According to the organizer, there were about 10,000 to 15,000 people who participated in the activities.