[Finland] Hufvudstadsbladet: "Falun Gong Problem Also for the West" and "The Persecution Must End."

On January 31, 2001, the Finnish newspaper, Hufvudstadsbladet (News for Swedish speakers), had a headline " Falun Gong Problem Also for the West" and "The Persecution Must End."

Mr. Schechter who wrote the book Falun Gong's Challenge to China, Spiritual Practice or Evil Cult was interviewed in Helsinki, Finland by the reporter for Hufvudstadsbladet, Jeanette Bjoerkqvist. The reporter also interviewed a practitioner to get a more clear understand of the situation in China and to understand more about Falun Gong.

Mr. Schechter mentioned in the beginning of the article that he wants the West to open their eyes to the growing problem in China, Falun Gong. By making the video documentary "True Story" about Falun Gong, he wants to give the Western public the part that the American media have missed. He said that after closely investigating Falun Gong in China he couldn't find that the practitioners were against the government; instead he found the opposite as there were many members of the Communist Party practicing Falun Gong. He also brought up Amnesty International in the article and their concern for Falun Gong. In the end he said that the reason Western countries haven't brought up Falun Gong was the economy. We in the West are dependent on China as a trading partner.

The other part of the article was from the interview with a practitioner. It contained the following: A short account of the arrest of the practitioner in Guangzhou and the consequences of it; how the Swedish practitioners ask the Swedish Government to take actions against the torture and persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China; and how Anna Lindh, Minister for Foreign Affairs, had publicly criticized China for the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. In the article it also mentioned what methods China has used in their attempt to eradicate Falun Gong. The reporter wrote also that two Swedish practitioners couldn't get visas because they were Falun Gong practitioners.

This article was quite long and it also included two pictures, one of Mr. Schechter (behind him in the picture you could see being shown the video "True Story") and the other of the practitioner sitting in meditation.