(Clearwisdom.net)

Participants at the forum on Today's Human Rights in China

On the evening of October 11, 2007, a forum on "Today's Human Rights in China" was held in the Memorial Pour La Paix in the city of Caen, in the Normandy region of France.

Audience at the forum listens attentively to the speeches

Ms. Marie-Francoise Lampertie, chair of the Agir Pour Les Droits De L'homme, hosted the forum. Ms. Marcelle Roux, chair of the France Tibet, and Mr. Wu Baozhang, former director of the Chinese Department of Radio France International (RFI), spoke at the forum. Tang Hanlong, chair of the Falun Dafa Association, said that the persecution of Falun Gong and the illegal organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China must stop immediately. Falun Gong practitioner Chen Ying shared her personal experience of the persecution. Over a hundred people attended the forum.

Mr. Tang said that Falun Gong is currently the most persecuted group in China. Falun Gong teaches "Truth, Compassion, Tolerance." By 1999, over 100 million people in China were practicing Falun Gong, and it was the most popular qigong in China. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999. Over 3000 practitioners have died as a result of the persecution during the past eight years. Last year, the news of the CCP harvesting organs from living practitioners was exposed to international society. Ms. Tang called for more people to help stop the human rights violations in China.

Ms. Chen Ying, another Falun Gong practitioner, told about the persecution from her own personal experience. She talked about how the CCP brainwashed and mentally tortured her to try to force her to give up her belief. Ms. Chen mentioned that when she was locked in a detention center, dispatch office, and forced labor camp, the guards many times forced her to have overall physical exams and took blood samples. She saw many practitioners transferred, their eventual whereabouts unknown. These people might have become the organ donors.

"In the summer of 2001, after we (Falun Gong practitioners) were subjected to brainwashing, guards in the forced labor camp took us to a newly decorated place and had us read books. Later, several Westerners came in and took videos and pictures of us. They interviewed us and told us they were from the US. The guards then led us in a group dance, to show to the outside world how well forced labor camps treat Falun Gong practitioners. That year Beijing won the right to host the 2008 Olympics," said Chen.

Ms. Marcelle Roux displayed the pictures she secretly took in Tibet and explained how the CCP has suppressed the Tibetans and destroyed Tibet's religion, culture, morality, and ecology. Currently the CCP is transforming Tibet into a tourist destination at any cost.

Mr. Wu Baozhang used to be a reporter for the Xinhua News agency, the CCP mouthpiece. He explained to the French people what kind of "People's Republic" China is, and what exactly are the "People's" Congress and "People's" Liberation Army. In China, everything is the "people's" but there is nothing the people can do. Wu revealed some of Xinhua's lies and how the CCP has tampered with the history taught in textbooks. He told the audience that intellectuals that have awakened from CCP rule are telling the world the real Chinese history they have researched.

The director of Le Memorial du La Paix told the audience that the CCP's arrests of Falun Gong practitioners and organ removals are the most brutal and inhumane actions taking place in the world. He said it is necessary to expose them and let more people know about them.

In Ms. Lampertie's speech, she mentioned that the Memorial du La Paix was built after World War II to demonstrate the price that was paid in the fight for freedom and to record how people suffered during the war. She said that the purpose of the forum was to remind people that the war isn't over yet. There are new dictators and ordeals that people need to continue to fight against for freedom.

After the speeches, some audience members asked what the European and French governments had done to stop the persecution in China and what they could do to help. A lady told the reporter that the forum was a great opportunity for her to hear the truth about the persecution and that it was very persuasive. Another lady said she was shocked by the facts presented to her that night, but she was glad to learn the truth. She said she would try to learn more about it in the future and tell people she knew. She said, "I hope the journalists who go to China can open their eyes. I don't believe they can't see and report such things. I believe what I heard tonight and I really want to let more people know about it."

Jean-louis Nicolle said that he had heard about human rights problems in China but the forum still had a great impact on him. "I think the international society shouldn't let China host the Olympic Games. It's hard for me to accept that France has lost its human rights to economic interests. I feel hurt as an individual. Compromise will not change human rights in China. France should take a tough stand on this issue," said Nicolle.

Camille, a student in Caen, said Westerners need to pay more attention to the human rights issue in China. She believes that the Western media is keeping silent on the issue, "We need to talk about it and spread the information among ourselves because we have the freedom of speech that the Chinese people don't have."