(April 15, 2003, Toronto)

The Canadian branch of the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (“WOIPFG”) received the following case report last month: The Chinese Embassy in Ottawa, in the name of a “New Year Movie Party,” has held a picture exhibit to defame Falun Gong in December 2001. Ottawa Falun Gong practitioner Xueliang Wang, an invited guest at the “party,” was beaten by a Chinese Embassy staff member for taking photographs. Through thorough investigation and verification, “WOIPFG” has confirmed that the Chinese Embassy staff member who beat Xueliang Wang was Xiaolong Ma, male, 36 years of age, formerly a front-desk receptionist at the Chinese Embassy. He was transferred back to China in June 2002.
Kevin Yang, spokesperson for the Canadian branch of the “WOIPFG,” said: “The investigation into the beating incident of Xueliang Wang by Chinese Embassy personnel indicates our organization’s determination to ‘bring such investigation, no matter how long it takes, no matter how far and deep we have to search, to full closure.’ Even though Xiaolong Ma has not dared to show his face publicly ever since and has returned to China last year, we will still submit evidence to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the police department, Department of Immigration, Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Canadian Embassy in China to request that he be barred from re-entering Canada. We also reserve the right to file a lawsuit at the appropriate time. Furthermore, we will launch an investigation into the Ottawa Chinese Embassy with respect to its anti-Falun Gong picture exhibit and its conduct in tolerating and providing safe refuge for the suspect in this physical assault.”

On December 28, 2001, the Ottawa Chinese Embassy invited members from different sectors of the community to a “New Year Movie Party.” Mr. Xueliang Wang accepted the invitation to participate. Yet, to his surprise, the so-called “party” was in reality for the purpose of exhibiting pictorial materials that defame Falun Gong. Mr. Wang took out his camera to take photos and was abruptly dragged into a room by several people and beaten. Following this incident, the deceit and violence of the Chinese Embassy shocked all sectors of Canadian society and led to strong repercussion. Moreover, the incident led to investigations by the police and related institutions.

“The e-mail message that I received only mentioned the movie party; it made no mention of the exhibit.” Mr. Wang said to the “WOIPFG”: “After I took photos, they forcibly pushed and shoved me, dragging me into a room one floor down. They closed the door and had someone guard the entrance. Afterwards someone violently punched at my head. Xiaolong Ma pressed me down on the floor many times and said to the others: ‘You go outside. I will take care of him.’ Then he took off his suit jacket, tightly twisted my arm, and struck me several times. In order to escape from legal responsibility, Xiaolong Ma deliberately struck me in places of the body that do not show injury easily so that he would not leave any traces of the beating.”

The Chinese Embassy personnel would actually take advantage of diplomatic privilege to directly carry out violence and beat people inside the embassy on Canadian soil, playing out in Canada the same ugly conduct of the Mainland Chinese ruffian police in the persecution of Falun Gong. They have further exposed the true face of the Chinese regime’s persecution of Falun Gong.

Canadian Member of Parliament Rob Anders was extremely shocked by the incident of Mr. Wang’s beating. He wrote a strong letter to the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs:
”Visitors to our country must obey the rules of this country; they cannot be allowed to flaunt our laws.” A Canadian Foreign Affairs Department spokesperson also took note of this incident to point out that the Chinese Embassy has a responsibility to cooperate with police investigations, and the Canadian government has the power to deport foreign diplomats suspected of violating our country’s laws. Yet the Chinese Embassy has not cooperated in providing information about the staff member who committed the beating.

According to informant reports and preliminary verification, since Jiang Zemin launched the suppression of Falun Gong in July 1999, numerous Chinese embassies and consulates have taken on the role of overseas “610 Offices” and followed Jiang’s regime to extend the persecution of Falun Gong outside of China. Many Chinese embassies and consulates and their personnel have participated in one or multiple accounts of the following activities to persecute Falun Gong:

· Repeatedly spreading anti-Falun Gong defamatory and slanderous materials to officials at all levels of government within the host country
· Coercing the host country’s government to withdraw awards previously given to Falun Gong;
· Interfering and sabotaging various activities held by local Falun Gong practitioners
· Threatening government officials and both Chinese and non-Chinese public figures who support Falun Gong;
· Buying and forcing the cooperation of local Chinese communities to condemn Falun Gong
· Inciting the hatred of overseas Chinese people against Falun Gong
· Holding so-called “exposition and criticism seminars,” “exhibitions,” and “press conferences” inside embassies and consulates that target Falun Gong
· Hiring local ruffians to follow, monitor, photograph, harass, and threaten Falun Gong practitioners, even attacking them with physical violence
· Forcing local Chinese media to publish articles that defame Falun Gong
· Canceling the passports of Falun Gong practitioners at will
· Refusing to extend the passports and to issue and validate identification documents for Falun Gong practitioners
· Gathering and providing a “blacklist” of names of overseas Falun Gong practitioners to Jiang and his group; etc.

Whereas for the aforementioned reasons, this organization has established the “Committee to Investigate the Criminal Conduct of Chinese Embassies and Consulates in the Persecution of Falun Gong” for the specific purpose of comprehensively and thoroughly investigating the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners committed by Chinese embassies and consulates and their personnel. We will publicize the results of our investigations in the media and submit reports to related departments within their host countries. To subject them to legal responsibility, we will file lawsuits against those who have violated laws of their host countries.

Of course, we also understand that there are many within the Chinese embassies and consulates who do not agree with this persecution and even sympathize with and support Falun Gong. We call on you to please cooperate with our investigatory activities and to stop this senseless persecution that has persisted for over three years. Please provide us with the names, addresses, photographs, telephone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses, etc. of those suspects among Chinese embassy and consular personnel who have participated or are participating in the persecution. Please gather and submit to us through secure channels the persecution facts and criminal evidence of these suspects and information about their foreign investments and illicit business activities as well as those of their family members. We will provide informants with absolute confidentiality. When the time is ripe we will give special appreciation and commendation to reward your just conduct.

For those who have participated in the persecution as a result of deceit or coercion, if they have repented and furthermore have ceased their participation in the persecution, they may take the initiative to proactively cooperate with our organization’s investigatory activities. For those who render meritorious service in this regard, our organization will consider suspending further investigation and legal charges against them.

For further information, please contact Canadian spokesperson Mr. Yang: 1 416 565 1998
E-mail: contacts@upholdjustice.org

World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong

The “World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong” was founded in January 2003. It is an independent international standing institution whose focus is on investigation, gathering of evidence, and international lawsuits against individuals involved in the persecution of Falun Gong. Our organization’s mission is: “To investigate the criminal conduct of all institutions, organizations, and individuals involved in the persecution of Falun Gong; to bring such investigation, no matter how long it takes, no matter how far and deep we have to search, to full closure; to exercise fundamental principles of humanity; and to restore and uphold justice in society.”