Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Mainland Chinese Support Argentina’s and Spain’s Decisions on Genocide Case

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/27042/
December 31, 2009 by epochtimes | Edit

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Democracy activists like Mr. Sun Wenguang express that Chinese officials involved in the persecution against Falun Gong and democracy movements should be tried and appropriately punished. (The Epoch Times)

News of the Spanish court’s acceptance of the lawsuit against five Chinese officials for the genocide and torture of Falun Gong practitioners and Argentine judge Octavio Araoz de Lamadrid’s arrest warrant for Jiang Zemin and Luo Gan have spread among Chinese intellectuals and citizens. Many activists expressed their particular support for the charges against Jiang and Luo.

Hubei democracy activist Song Xiangxian thinks the legal actions undertaken in Spain and Argentina place the two countries at the forefront of civil rights history. Song believes such actions demonstrate leadership and advocacy for a system of values for humanity.

“The actions of Jiang Zemin and Luo Gan do not simply harm the Falun Gong community, but they plunder and encroach upon all of civilized humanity,” said Song. “Their crimes must be met with a corresponding punishment.”

Song believes that only free and democratic countries with independent judicial systems are capable of investigating these crimes and following through with the appropriate legal punishment.
Praise From Professors

Retired professor Sun Wenguang from Shandong University praised the prospect of a trial as a just act, saying, “Their crimes should be punished, I highly praise the judges.”

Retired professor Mr. Hu from the Chinese Foreign Affairs University in Beijing also voiced his support for bringing the leaders of the persecution of Falun Gong to justice in international courts.

“Since the Chinese regime always asserts that China is a country ruled by law, it needs to follow the standards of a country ruled by law,” said Mr. Hu.
Related Articles

* Spanish Judge Calls Top Chinese Officials to Account for Genocide
* Argentine Judge Issues Arrest Warrants for Chinese Officials
* Argentina Lawyer Speaks on Falun Gong Genocide Decision

Guizhou democracy activist Mr. Chen Defu, who has been following international lawsuits against Jiang for several years now, thinks the arrest warrants symbolize support for civil movements and a reprimand against the trampling of human rights in China.

“This arrest warrant is a warning to high ranking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials, warning them to not persecute Falun Gong practitioners and democracy activists. I think this is very good, very good. Now everyone is talking about this, so it is a form of encouragement for the disadvantaged groups being suppressed inside China.”

Residents in various areas of China have also expressed their support for the arrest warrants and demands for legal proceedings against the defendants. One Beijing resident wanted to express gratitude through Sound of Hope (an independent radio network) to all judges and lawyers involved in the lawsuit for their brave action and hard work.

In July 1999, Jiang single-handily launched a persecution against Falun Gong practitioners to eradicate the practice. The campaign against Falun Gong practitioners included orders to destroy their reputation, finances and physical bodies. Practitioners have been, and are being tortured and persecuted to death — and many are victims of organ harvesting. Practitioners tortured to death are counted as having committed suicide. The persecution is still ongoing in China today and affects thousands of citizens.

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Family's House Demolished 'By Accident' While Away

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/27152/

By Gu Qing’er
Epoch Times Staff Created: Dec 29, 2009 Last Updated: Dec 29, 2009
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Related articles: China > Society

The owners camp out on a cold December night after their house was demolished.
The owners camp out on a cold December night after their house was demolished. (Internet posts from China)

As Chinese families gather to celebrate the New Year holiday, one family won’t get the chance; authorities demolished their house while they were away, leaving them only a pile of rubble. The case of Li Xueping of Wuhan City, documented in pictures and text on Internet posts, alleges that authorities have adopted a new term for demolishing houses outside prescribed channels: doing it “by accident.”

On Dec. 11, Mr. Li returned to find that the five-story building he used to live in was in shambles. Apparently, while his family was away during the day, local authorities demolished the building to make way for new urban development.

Li’s family had never discussed the building’s potential demolition with local officials. When they went to the demolition bureau to protest, officials said that it was a mistake, and that his building had been confused with another. They added, however, that the building had been newly added to a list of those to be demolished in a later phase, and that the family shouldn’t cause trouble.

They agreed to give compensation to the Li family based on 180 square meters of building space. Li’s family contended that the building was 900 square meters. Since the building was demolished, and prior records were incomplete, Li’s family had no way of challenging the figure, the information online said.

Residential demolitions have been happening across China for over a decade to make way for large-scale redevelopment and expansion of urban centres, a process closely tied to the growth of the economy and soaring land prices. Under Chinese law, the state owns all urban land. Residents are supposed to receive the market value for their house when being relocated, but this amount is rarely enough to buy a house of similar price and location.

The residents hang read lanterns, which usually expresses holiday joy, to protest their treatment.
The residents hang read lanterns, which usually expresses holiday joy, to protest their treatment. (Internet posts from China)

The process of forced land acquisition is often enmeshed in corruption, as officials buy land off residences for nominal prices then sell it to developers at a large profit. Chinese who are on the receiving end of such raw deals sometimes resort to extreme measures to protest their treatment, including self-immolation, or violence directed toward the wrecking crews.

In this case the family only set up tents on the debris, and hoisted red lanterns with white banners to express their outrage. The banners read: “Illegal demolition [happened here], give us back our home;” “Forced demolition without compensation,” and “Yesterday our home was here, today it is gone.”

Demolitions later termed “accidents” have happened elsewhere, too, according to Mr. Liu Feiyue from Civil Rights & Livelihood Watch, an NGO based in China. He said it shows that there are deceptive practices and violations of citizens’ rights in the urban development process, partly reflecting the failure of rule of law in China.

Mr. Li and his family’s story generated responses expressing sympathy, anger, and hopelessness.

“This is what society is like today. Regardless of how long your family has lived on that land, whoever has money now owns the land. Is there really no one who will do something about this kind of forced demolition?” one user wrote.

Another thought the incident was no accident, writing “This method is commonly used in demolitions today. They first demolish the building, then make up excuses and call it a mistake. There is a legal loophole. This [method of forcing people to move] is much more effective than cutting off their water and electricity.”

“Such mafia-style demolition sucks the blood of ordinary citizens. The Yellow River and the Yangtze River are howling in rage,” another comment says.

Read the original Chinese article.

Internet Censorship Tightens in China

Internet Censorship Tightens in China

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/27167/

Latest attempt only spawns circumvention
By Gu Yunyin
Epoch Times Staff Created: Dec 29, 2009 Last Updated: Dec 29, 2009
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Related articles: China > Regime

The CCP has blocked several hundred thousand Web sites in China. (Getty Images)
Several hundred thousand Web sites in China have been blocked as Chinese officials quietly carry out a new Internet censorship program, according to industry insiders.

There have been no public announcements regarding the shutdowns.

A so-called “white list” has been created. It is a list of Web sites that have been registered and certified to have no undesirable content.

Web sites that are not on the white list can no longer be viewed by Web surfers in China.
Killing Off 1,000 Innocents Rather Than Letting One Go Free

Mr Sun, a cyberspace service provider from Beijing, said the high-pressure policy started in December, and now Internet Data Centers (IDC) and Web sites nationwide have been shut down one after another. Sun said, “At present, the situation is quite severe. Now, in the entire Anhui Province, there is no Internet, and all telecommunication networks have stopped working.”

Currently, all IDC access providers are being closely monitored. Once a Web site is determined to be unacceptable, the entire server center hosting the Web site will be shut down.

An employee from West263 (www.west263.com) told Radio Free Asia on Dec. 24 that the policy is affecting businesses in a large area, as several overseas Web sites are no longer accessible.

”A ‘blacklist’ would be illegal, but a ‘white list’ is legal and is put on record,” the caller said.

According to a non-government statistical report released on the Chinese Internet, IDC servers in Shanghai, Sichuan, Anhui, Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Henan, Hunan, Yunnan, and other provinces have all been shut down consecutively. In Shanghai alone, at least five or six major server sites have been affected.

A source at West263 said that in the past, the regime adopted a relatively relaxed attitude toward Web sites that walk a fine line. Now the attitude is: Better to kill 1,000 innocents than let one that is guilty go free.

According to a Web site owner, authorities have also recently tightened their control of video Web sites and will shut them down if they have not obtained a permit. Tudou.com and Sina.com are supported by the Communist Party and have the necessary permits. Those without the support of the Party will likely be shut down, he said.
Incentives for Anti-Blockade Software

Guangdong human rights lawyer Tang Xingling said the so-called “striking at false information,” and “controlling pornography and obscene information” are cover-ups often used by the Communist regime for its Internet censorship policies. Some well-known web portals in China contain undesirable content including false advertisements, pornographic pictures, and videos, yet the authorities have not shut down these portals.

Tang said: “It is inevitable that certain Web sites will be blocked; but when they are, Internet users will improve existing techniques to break through the Internet blockade or will look for new ways to circumvent this kind of information blockade.”

A web master, who asked to remain anonymous, stated that the public can still break through the regime's Internet blockade through the use of software such as Wujie, Freegate, Garden Network, etc. Furthermore, he wonders, what is the point of the authorities going through all of this trouble to control Internet access? In reality, though a lot of resources have been used, it is impractical from a technical perspective.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

San Francisco Falun Dafa History Video Clip



This is one brief moment about our progress in San Francisco Falun Dafa marching Band. There are many magical things in the band, that no video or language can describe. Every time I'm got tired from being overload with so many things, I go the band practice to do a bit. Things are getting a lot better and relax after the practice. It's quite opposite from normal band practice. The more we practice, the better we feel.

Monday, March 16, 2009

San Francisco Falun Dafa Practitioners Participate in St. Patrick's Day Parade



This is quite spring time. Everything is green in this parade. Well, of course, it's a St. Patrick's Day!!! I got up early in the morning to load the instruments on the truck. Then go to San Francisco City, which is approximately one hour from home city. It's a quite a bit of traveling distance... The weather in SF in the morning was chilled. But, the march was great!! Many people cried as we marched through. It was so touch!!!

Thursday, March 12, 2009

New Year Greeting from San Francisco Falun Gong practitioners



Every Lunar New Year, Falun Dafa Disciple in San Francisco send their greeting to their Teacher and thank Him for his guiding us in cultivation.



San Francisco, it's a beautiful place, isn't it. In fact, that's just a tip of the icebergs. There are so many different places in San Francisco, that's so beautiful.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Modern Emperor



Old Emperor walked with his officials and servants. A modern King is walking around Costco by himself with a stack of flyers. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the important is not less than old ancient King. That's compassion to people that he does thing this way. Well, that is probably rare opportunity for anyone to do it. It's really hard to combine in such solemn occasion.

Family Reunion




Wow! Everyone is wearing a very special custom. Back from Ancient China, thousand of years in Chinese Culture and civilization once again re-emerged from modern ages. It looks fascinating, isn't it! At first, wearing such costume look a bit awkward, but after wearing it, a different feeling when we dressed, we had a sense of inner joy and quite happy. Especially, the smiles on our face every moments. When we looked at each other in these customs, we're feel a bit fun, at bit more friendly, and bit more artistic. What even more shocking is the Caucasian also wearing these custom!! Yet, they feel really happy. All of us were volunteer to help provide and show called Shen-Yun (Divine Performing Arts, http://divinearts.org or http://www.divineshows.com/) awhile back, when it just started it. The brand wasn't well know back then, we were using a grass root approach to help promote the show as the purpose is an Renaissance of Chinese arts that has been destroy by Chinese Communist Party during the Cultural Revolution.

Well, this title is called "Family Re-union", but I've not even talk any related to family. Most people in this picture is not in "one family" that we normally know. Oh well, we are not connect by blood, but perhaps by spirit. Most of us from a different walk of life, very distinct characteristic of ethnicity. However, we are sharing common hope that's bring goodness to humankind. We are all believe in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" (Falun Gong meditation teaching) as the characteristic of the the universe.

Some pictures collected from Falun Dafa Band participated parades




Hum... It has been awhile back, I don't remember when the picture was taken place. Neither do I remember where was it taken place... Oh, I'm kindna remember now! It was Portsmouth Square from San Francisco Chinatown. Band was invited to participate on one of Quit Chinese Communist Party Parade. It seems strange that I'm a Vietnamese who anticipate in a Chinese group. Yet, I've been questions by many friends and colleague. That's a long story of mine, but I'll write something to explain a bit.

Since the beginning 2003, during my senior year of university, I start to look for meditation out of curiosity. I came upon meditation practiced called Falun Gong or Falun Dafa (falundafa.org). I was fascinated by the teaching of Falun Dafa (with book called Zhuan Falun) about mind, body, and universe. Learning the corelation between human mind, material, and universe in the teaching. Anyhow, if one is interested, you can go there (http://falundafa.org) to see it yourself.

Since this meditation practice took root back from Ancient China, so majority of practitioners are Chinese. So, in order to learn in deep about meditation of Falun Dafa, I'm start to reach out this meditation group. So on and on. The more I learn, the more I'm amazed!! The profound inner meaning of the teaching reveal.

Group Picture of the Falun Dafa Band




Well, I joined Falun Dafa Band since 2006. It has been a great journey for me so far. From learning music, playing new instrument, sharing new aspect of music to see miraculous changes in the Falun Dafa Band (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GxZVAxd6WM) . I'm both shocking and astonishing that such achievement could be accomplished in shortest time. Majority of the band members didn't really have any musical background from first of the band rehearsal. However, a month later, they were performed at Monterey Park Parade in LA (one of top 10 parade in U.S). Not talking about music part, let alone the marching parts and make everyone in sync would require in great amount of effort. However, in such one short month, people from different ages from 12 to 60, could form a marching band. It's unbelieveable for me, even now, thinking back, and writing this blog page. People would think that I'm boasting...

I'm proud being a member of Falun Dafa Band.
Biggest Band in world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKpJ0JDvZCA

Lãng tử

Độc lộ độc hành thiên vạn lý

Đạp tuyết phong vân ngút ngàn mây

Phấn hương lầu ngọc, ôi! hư ảo!

Nhất tiếu, mộng tan, nhẹ bước bay

TD 26-12-2006

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Washington D.C 2006 Fa Conference


2006 Falun Dafa Conference in Washington D.C. was quite interesting events. I had a red-eye flight from San Jose, California to D.C and a bit sleep. Right after got off the airport, I met all the Falun Dafa Practitioners at the airport. We were smile as a greeting and our heart felt a sense very close. No matter what ethic or region we from, we were know that we were for a great goal that to improve ourself through cultivation (Improving our mind, and help out other improve as well).

Next, we were waiting for bus from airport to D.C. Living style in the East Coast is quite different from the West Coast, you can say that is a major different from all angles (transportation, weather, etc). It is quite humidity in D.C summer time, in addition, D.C. is located in Atlantic Ocean. Humid, Salt, and Sun would turn everyone in tan or darker... I'm still remember, after arrived to the Monument we started our 5 Falun Dafa Exercises. Everyone were naturally line-up as the exercise music begin. It was amazed and the energy field was strong. Many tourist took pictures, I were also took some too. Due this blog limited one picture per entry. I'll consider to post more pictures about the band.

This picture took inside the Fa Conference. Usually, there is a strict requirement at Fa Conference. No photo should be taken during the Fa Conference because the flashing light would disrupt or interference with people's sharing the cultivation experience. We took this picture during the break for lunch or after the conference.