Day: August 10, 2012

Free China Movie Calls for Chinese Freedom, Describes Falun Gong Struggle Against Communist Party

Epoch Times reports that “Free China: The Courage to Believe profiles the lives of two Falun Gong practitioners and the danger and pain they encountered in China in their quest for spiritual freedom. The absorbing documentary, to be shown at the upcoming Ottawa International Film Festival, begins with Chairman Mao’s elimination of culture, religion, and spiritual values in China so that the Communist Party would become all things to all people. It then moves on to how Falun Gong was introduced into this moral vacuum in the early 1990s, and explains why and how the persecution of the practice began in July 1999.  Jennifer Zeng and Charles Lee are introduced early in the film. Zeng was a Communist Party member, wife, and mother who was arrested and sent to a labor camp because of her beliefs.” See the rest of their report here.

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) will continue to provide information regarding the Free China film, including this link, and trailer below.

Taiwan: Protests Call for Release of Falun Gong Man Abducted by CCP

Taiwan protests call for the release of imprisoned Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioner Chung Ting-pang who was abducted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) security on June 18 by police at the airport in Ganzhou City in southeastern China’s Jiangxi Province.  This has led to combined protests in Taiwan by Tibetans and Falun Gong, and other human rights, supporters, as described by the Taipei Times.

Epoch Times reports that: “The police have since said Chung was in China because he planned on broadcasting information about the spiritual practice of Falun Gong on China’s cable TV system. The 53-year-old Chung is a Falun Gong practitioner. He is also a very friendly and highly respected businessman, an IT manager of a high-tech company in Hsinchu City, Taiwan.” See the complete Epoch Times Report here.

Taiwan: Chung Ai, the daughter of imprisoned Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioner Chung Ting-pang, speaks at a public event on July 23 in Taipei. She was unconvinced and highly unimpressed with Chinese state media's recent claim that her father had "admitted guilt." (Lin Shih-chieh/The Epoch Times)

Other media including the Taipei Times, the Standard, and Reuters have reported on these protests.

A young boy and his sister stand with placards as they join Falun Gong members and sympathizers gather in Taipei (Photo: Reuters)

Report: Pakistan Christian Nurses Poisoned

The ANS reports that “Eleven Pakistani Christian student nurses were allegedly deliberately poisoned with mercury on Sunday, July 29, 2012, at the Civil Hospital in Karachi.  According to one of the affected nurses, a colleague had made the tea for them and after 10pm they immediately fell ill after drinking it.   The nurses were taken to the Civil Hospital’s emergency ward and sent back after treatment. They developed complications the next morning and had to be taken to the hospital again.  Three student nurses were in very critical situation two went in ICU and one is on ventilator rest five is now in general ward. All the student nurses were Christians. Chief Nursing Superintendent Mrs. Nasreen Gill said that a First Information Report (FIR) has been launched against unknown person and added that they are investigating how this incident took place and stated that they will do ‘a crystal clean investigation.'”

The report also suggested that there were rumors that they were poisoned by someone for failing to comply with Ramadan fasting.

There has not been any further confirmation or media reports on this.

Pakistan Christians are an oppressed minority religious group within Pakistan, and have regularly been the targets of other religious extremists.

Pakistan Hindus Leaving Country

PCP reports: “When President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari was claiming ‘Minorities are enjoying equal rights and fully protected in Pakistan’ addressing a gathering in President House to mark Minorities Day, the electronic media was telecasting images of train at Jacobabad railway station boarding 250 Pakistani Hindus migrating to India.” See the rest of the story at PCP, which asks the question “Where Pakistani Christians to migrate while Hindus to India?”.

The Pakistan Express News also reports that “Persecution forces 60 Hindu families to migrate to India” stating that:  “Amid increasing cases of violence and lack of security against their community, 60 Hindu families from Balochistan and Sindh have decided to migrate to India, Express News reported on Thursday. Four out of the 60 families left for India during midday via Samjhota Express from Lahore Railway Station. The rest of the families are expected to travel by today. According to Express News correspondent Aftab Bukhari, five families residing in Aatma Raam Haweli – joint residence – vacated it this morning in order to move out to India. Bukhari said that the families had complaints that their shops were looted, their houses were raided by unknown men and their women were forcefully converted. He said that the visas on their passports were not permanent, however, he said that chances of them coming back to Pakistan were slim.”