THE WASHINGTON TIMES: Chinese religious rights 'deteriorated' [09/06/00]

By David Jones

NEW YORK - Respect for religious freedom in China "deteriorated markedly" during the last half of 1999 with the brutal suppression of minority faiths such as Falun Gong, the Clinton administration said yesterday.

Members of such groups were subject to "harassment, extortion, prolonged detention, physical abuse and incarceration," according to a new report on religious freedom around the world, which comes just days before President Clinton is scheduled to meet Chinese President on the sidelines of the U.N. Millennium Summit.

In its section on China, the report said the Beijing government's "respect for religious freedom deteriorated markedly [in the last six months of 1999], especially for the Falun Gong and Tibetan Buddhists." The repression and abuses "continued during the first six months of 2000," it said.

At the press conference, Mr. Sieple cited the case of a 60-year-old woman who died while in custody for her participation in Falun Gong, a religious [group] that practices yogalike exercises and follows a charismatic leader.

When the woman's daughter picked up the body, it was covered with bruises and had dried blood in the ears, Mr. Sieple said. "We have received credible reports that she was forced to run in her bare feet in the snow until she dropped," he added.

Several hundred Falun Gong practitioners are in New York this week to protest the treatment of their [members] by Chinese authorities." We hope [Mr. Clinton] will ask [Chinese President] to change his policy when they meet," said Feng Yuan, 29, a spokeswoman for the group.

AP: U.S. Look at Human Rights in China [09/06/00]

WASHINGTON, Sep 6 2000 (AP) - To dramatize the plight of Falun Gong members in China, the Clinton administration is citing the case of a 60-year old woman who died following torture inflicted by authorities because of her activities in the spiritual sect.

Robert Seiple, ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, told reporters Tuesday that after the woman's death, her daughter was asked to pick up the body.

``Her body was totally covered with bruises,'' Seiple said. ``She had dried blood in the ears, the eyes, the nose. She had all of her teeth broken. We have one credible report that she was made to run outside in the snow with her shoes off until she dropped.''

The recounting of that anecdote, replete with gory detail, may make it difficult for the critics to accuse the administration of sugarcoating China's human rights record as it seeks votes from Congress on extending permanent normal trade relations to China.

Some in Congress do not believe China is entitled to normal trade ties without conditions, and they cite continued repression as a key reason.

While finding that government supervision of religious activity was minimal in some regions, the study said Chinese officials in other regions ``imposed tight regulations, closed houses of worship and actively persecuted members of some unregistered religious groups.''

The report said persecuted groups in China ``were subject to ``harassment, extortion, prolonged detention, physical abuse and incarceration in prison or in 'reeducation through labor''' camps.

``There were credible reports of religious detainees being beaten and tortured,'' the report said.

Reuters: China Says U.S. Religion Report a 'Fabrication' [09/06/00]

[ From the Editor:

Since July 22, 1999, the Chinese government has began its brutally persecutions against Falun Gong practitioners that to date, according to credible reports, at least 50 innocent Dafa practitioners have been tortured to death, more than 40,000 people have been illegally detained, more than 5,000 have been sent to labor re-education camps, and about 100 have been sentenced to prison terms of up to 18 years with none of them being handled through normal legal procedures. Furthermore, countless numbers of practitioners have been sent to mental hospitals where they are forced to take nerve damaging drugs and medication.

However, lets see how the Chinese government respond in the face of the truth.]

BEIJING, Sep 6 2000 (Reuters) - China said Wednesday a U.S. report that accused Beijing of persecuting people for their religious faith and practices was a ``fabrication.''

The criticism of China's treatment of Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong spiritual practitioners and members of unregistered groups came in the second annual report on religious freedom written by the State Department by order of lawmakers.

``This blatantly interferes in China's internal affairs,'' state radio quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi as saying.

``Through fabrication and twisting facts, this report attacks China's religious policy and freedom,'' he said.

Beijing's crackdown on the Falun Gong spiritual movement provoked some of the harshest criticism in the report, mandated by the U.S. Congress under a 1998 law which gave the government a variety of punishment options, including sanctions.

Sun said China protected religious freedom and urged the United States to correct its report, but he made no specific demands.

``The Chinese side express its strong dissatisfaction and opposition and demands the United States immediately stop and correct its mistaken action,'' he said.

The report said the Chinese government's respect for religious freedom had deteriorated during the past year as the authorities imposed new restrictions, closed houses of worship and actively persecuted members of some unregistered groups.

China banned Falun Gong and declared it an ``evil cult'' after its members staged a bold protest in Beijing in 1999.

China also laid criminal charges against 85 members of a banned Christian church who were detained last week, a Hong Kong-based human rights group said Monday.

The State Department report said a ``patriotic education'' campaign to weed out monks and nuns sympathetic to the Dalai Lama -- Tibet's exiled spiritual leader -- continued, including detentions for peaceful protests.