Letter to the Toronto Star: Hunger strikers appeal for end to brutality in China

September 3, 2001

Re Heartfelt protest, Aug. 28.

Thank you for the excellent photo report on Falun Dafa. While our Prime Minister's visit to China is only a few weeks away and we have Torontonians on a round-the-clock hunger strike to appeal for an end to the brutality in Toronto's twin city -- Shenyang, China -- this report comes at the right time to focus our attention on the severe human rights violation against Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) in China.

According to an AFP report, 130 Falun Dafa practitioners held captive in Masanjia Labour Camp in Shenyang have already been on a hunger strike for more than four weeks, to protest the illegal detention beyond their terms. Their lives are in grave danger. These people are illegally detained in a labour camp while being tortured, raped and humiliated, simply because they like to practise Falun Dafa, a self-improvement system that focuses on the universal principles of truth, compassion and tolerance and has five sets of meditative exercises. As there have already been 272 deaths reported in the persecution of Falun Dafa in China since July, 1999, urgent actions are needed to prevent further tragedies.

Despite the extreme danger, Falun Dafa practitioners continue to adhere to their principles. They risk their lives to tell the truth to the world so that others will not be deceived by the lies that the Chinese president spreads about Falun Dafa. In the face of atrocities, they never retaliate in any way, but only resort to peaceful and rational ways to appeal.

As Torontonians, we cannot sit and watch the brutality in our twin city. Hence, some individual Falun Dafa practitioners in Toronto voluntarily started to have a relay round-the-clock hunger strike in front of the Chinese consulate, appealing for an end to the persecution of Falun Dafa in China.

I know how important a role the media play in upholding social justice. Last time before Team Canada visited China, because of the overwhelming support from the media, kind-hearted Canadians and our Canadian government, Canadian citizen professor Kunlun Zhang, after being detained for three months for practising Falun Dafa, was released early from his three-year labour camp sentence in China.

This time, our Prime Minister is about to visit China again and it's a great opportunity to raise this issue. Your just reports can help save many lives.

Quincy Yu

Toronto

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