Falun Dafa Information Center In the last few days, over 70 Falun Gong practitioners, including people from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Taiwan, and the U.K., have been detained at the Hong Kong airport, denied entry, and returned home. Most of them have been to Hong Kong before, and have experienced no difficulties in the past. Why were these people singled out for deportation? Some were told that it was for "security reasons," yet these people had not committed any crimes in Hong Kong or their countries of origin. Many of these people's names are listed as volunteers on Falun Gong websites worldwide. This disturbing development is just one of the many ways Chinese President Jiang Zemin has been seeking to expand his unpopular and brutal crackdown overseas. Indeed, it is evident that all of the difficulties that Falun Gong practitioners have been experiencing in Hong Kong are a direct result of Jiang Zemin's recent pressure. Jiang seems to pay no regard to the damage this may cause to the one country, two systems policy, nor to the damage this will do to the image of Hong Kong. Such pressure has also been felt in other parts of the world, as Falun Gong practitioners in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Australia have been the victim of harassment and interference by the Chinese consulate offices in those countries. For a man so sensitive about foreign forces "meddling with China's internal affairs", such actions by Jiang Zemin are hypocritical and, in most cases, in direct violation of the laws of those countries. Why is Jiang Zemin so afraid of Falun Gong? Why did he shorten his trip to Hong Kong from one week to one day in fear of legal Falun Gong demonstrations? Why does he feel the need to take such extreme measures to avoid non-violent demonstrations from people who have asked for nothing but the opportunity to engage in a peaceful dialogue? Over the past 20 months, Jiang Zemin's crackdown on Falun Gong has resulted in tens of thousands of people being detained and tortured in Chinese labor camps and "re-education" centers. Over 200 practitioners have died from torture while in police custody. In short, the livelihoods of a large segment of the Chinese population have been destroyed as a result of this brutal persecution. Falun Gong is freely practiced in over 40 countries around the world. Human rights organizations, governments and concerned individuals have continually shown overwhelming support for Falun Gong, and have universally condemned Jiang's crackdown. President Jiang, as you try to export this crackdown overseas, more and more people will come to see how unjust it really is, and join with the global community in calling for an end to the ban on Falun Gong in China.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER Contacts: Gail Rachlin 212-501-8080, Erping Zhang 917-337-5877, or Feng Yuan 917-912-3301. Email: faluninfoctr@nycmail.com, Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/

Category: Persecution Outside China