We also report on the press conference held outside the Chinese embassy in London to mark the 7^th anniversary of the start of the persecution. The press conference was followed by a parade by practitioners to the West End and Downing Street, where representatives of both the European Falun Dafa Association and European Friends of Falun Gong handed in a letter and petition to the Prime Minister.

Three senior MEPs have also appealed to the EU Commission to carry out further investigations into the organ-harvesting.

We also have a report on 20 deaths of practitioners which have been confirmed recently from within China.

Editor

• Former Canadian Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) issues independent report concluding allegations of organ harvesting in China are true, see full text of independent report
• UK MP's Response on Organ Harvesting in China
• United Kingdom: Press Conference and Parade Mark Seven Years of Persecution  
• Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott MEP - STATEMENT
• Russia: Practitioners Protest CCP Atrocities outside the Chinese Consulate in St. Petersburg
• Three Senior MEPs Appeal to European Union to Further Investigate CCP's Organ Harvesting from Living Persons
• Washington DC: Falun Gong Practitioners take part in Independence Day Parade
• Germany: Urgent Rescue Effort for Falun Gong Practitioner Wang Xiaoyan; Exposing the CCP's Crimes of Organ Harvesting
• Twenty Additional Deaths of Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners in China Confirmed in June 2006
• Radio France Internationale Programme "Parisian Chinese": Three Falun Gong practitioners sue Zhou Yongkang

Breaking News

Former Canadian Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) issues independent report concluding allegations of organ harvesting in China are true, see full text of independent report

The report concludes:

"...the government of China and its agencies in numerous parts of the country, in particular hospitals but also detention centres and 'people's courts', since 1999, have put to death a large but unknown number of Falun Gong prisoners of conscience. Their vital organs, including hearts, kidneys, livers and corneas, were virtually simultaneously seized for sale at high prices, sometimes to foreigners, who normally face long waits for voluntary donations of such organs in their home countries."

How many of the victims were first convicted of any substantive offence in a legitimate court the report does not answer because such data unavailable. However, one Beijing Falun Gong practitioner, now living in Europe, told the inquiry that she was arrested three times and spent a year in a labour camp but she was never taken before any court. She also reported during her imprisonment, that without explanation or cause, she was taken in leg irons and handcuffs for a thorough medical examination.

Witnesses were consulted in Canada, Australia, France and the United States, sometimes in personal interviews and sometimes by email. Among the most significant incriminating evidence, however, were certified translations of recorded conversations in Mandarin with doctors and other officials at hospitals and detention centres located in various parts of China. Transcripts of some of these conversations are included in the report.

Other important evidence:

• Translations of recent and continuing postings on number of websites at transplantation centres within China which were also important in convincing the inquiry that the only fair conclusion was that the organ harvesting is widespread and continuing.
• Testimony from the former wife of a surgeon in China who told the inquiry that he confessed to her that he removed the corneas from the eyes of approximately 2000 Falun Gong prisoners in 2002 and 2003.
• Testimony from Ms. Yuzhi Wang, now of the Vancouver region, who stated she spent most of her time in 2000 and 2001 in labour camps for being a Falun Gong practitioner. Suffering internal damage from beatings, she is convinced this is the only reason she did not become a "donor" and was able to leave China.
• Testimony from Xiaohua Wang, now of Montreal, who reported that in 2002, after spending two years in a forced labour camp working 16 hours daily with chemicals because of his belief in Falun Gong , he also received a comprehensive forced medical exam. Later, he was able to emigrate to Canada.
• Testimony from Ms. Na Gan, now of Toronto, who stated that she was beaten by police when she unfurled a Falun Gong "truthfulness-compassion-tolerance" banner in Tiananmen Square. As a result, her CCP membership and salary as a customs employee at the Beijing airport were revoked and she was sent to the local women's labour camp. In mid-2001, she reported that only the Falun Gong members of the group had their blood, urine, and eyes examined at a nearby hospital. She too managed to leave China for Canada.

The following are some key recommendations in the report:

• 1. As organ harvesting is a crime against humanity, authorities in China should conduct a criminal investigation for possible prosecution.
• 2. Organizations-intergovernmental, governmental and voluntary-should take the allegations seriously and make their own determinations on whether or not they are true.
• 3. As the UN Protocol to prevent trafficking in persons bans the removal of organs, the UN should investigate whether China is in violation.
• 4. Foreign governments should ban the entry of Chinese doctors seeking training in organ transplantation and any doctor there known to be engaged in such work should be barred from visiting foreign countries permanently.
• 5. All countries should tighten their laws against organ trafficking and doctors should, for example, be required to report to their respective authorities any evidence that a patient has received an organ from a trafficked person abroad.
• 6. Governments should deny or revoke the passports of nationals who are travelling to China for organ transplants.
• 7. No governments should participate in any China-sponsored meeting or research on organ transplant. No private company should provide goods or services to any Chinese transplant program.

A full copy of the report can be obtained at: http://investigation.redirectme.net/

UK MP's Response on Organ Harvesting in China

The crime of organ harvesting from living people in China has shocked the world. They are shocked by the appalling practices of organ harvesting in China. Oxford MP Andrew Smith wrote in his letter:

"I take a close interest in human rights, and have been working closely with Amnesty International on the situation in China in particular.

I was instrumental in securing, yesterday, the first meeting between Amnesty and representatives of the government of China, at the London embassy, I raised the question of abuse and execution of prisoners and organ transplants, and cited the British Transplantation Society report witch you sent Dan Paskins. In response the officials we met said that new guidance has been tightened. Both I and Amnesty are very sceptical about this, both because there is a lot of money to be made out of this, and reports indicate that some prisons in China are run like private fiefdoms, and because there is no opportunity independently to verify what is going on."

He continues to say: "I will certainly do all I can to try to bring these practices to an end. A key demand which could help tackle the abuse of prisoners, and other human rights issues, is for Amnesty and other human rights organisations to be able to visit China, meet people and make reports. I urged the Minister responding to the debate to raise this, and the other human rights issues, when he visits China in the near future."

United Kingdom: Press Conference and Parade Mark Seven Years of Persecution 

On Saturday 15th July, UK Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference and parade in central London to let people know that Falun Gong has been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for seven years. Practitioners from several European countries also came to join the event.

On July 20th 1999, the Chinese Communist Party officially began persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. Thousands of practitioners were arrested and detained simply because they practise this peaceful exercise and cultivation system to improve their health and moral standards. They cultivate their bodies by practising the five sets of Falun Gong exercises and cultivate their minds by reading the Falun Gong books and learning how to improve their moral standards by following the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.

This did not fit in with the CCP's forced atheist doctrines. The CCP leader in 1999 was Jiang Zemin and he launched the persecution against Falun Gong, swearing that he would "eliminate" the practice within three months. Seven years later, the practice is still being persecuted and almost 3,000 practitioners are documented as being killed whilst the undocumented figure is thought to be many times higher.

The press conference was held opposite the Chinese Embassy and several speakers talked through a megaphone about different aspects of the human rights abuses against Falun Gong. European Falun Dafa Association Chairman Peter Jauhal explained how the CCP have persecuted Falun Gong practitioners for seven years and talked about the regime's "savage, inhuman, debased and completely evil" behaviour.

Mr Jauhal went on to talk about recent revelations tat the CCP has been harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners and selling them to people who need a transplant; the practitioners' bodies are then incinerated. He quoted a report released last week by former Canadian Secreatary of State David Kilgour and Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas: "The allegations here are so shocking that they are almost impossible to believe, [They] represent a grotesques form of evil which, despite all the depravations humanity has seen, would be new to this planet. The very horror makes us reel back in disbelief. But that disbelief does not mean that the allegations are untrue."

Other speakers included Lord Thurlow and John Dee, Vice Chairman of European Friends of Falun Gong, who talked about the organ harvesting atrocities and the support that the organisation has received from dignitaries and VIPs, calling for an end to these crimes: "Along with many UK MEPs, we call upon the UN Human Rights Commission and the World Health Organisation to investigate the allegations against China fully by sending a group of experts to China to see for themselves what is going on."

Messages of support were sent from several MEPs who wished the activity success and expressed their concern at the CCP's human rights abuses.

After the press conference, the practitioners paraded through central London. The beautiful sunshine meant that the streets were crowded with throngs of people. The public's response to the parade was very positive with many people staring transfixed as the magnificent procession passed by. Some practitioners wore traditional yellow Chinese exercise suits and carried banners revealing that Falun Gong is practised in over 70 countries and other facts about the practice and the persecution. Others were dressed in white and carried placards with pictures of practitioners from China who have lost their lives in the persecution.

Leaflets were handed out as the procession passed through many of London's famous streets, including Oxford Circus, Regent Street and Piccadilly Circus. People stared in disbelief at a banner bearing pictures of some of the torture methods used to force Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their beliefs.

After the parade finished, several smaller activities took place across London including at Chinatown and St Martin's Square. Practitioners re-enacted some of the forms of torture used in Chinese forced labour camps and collected petition signatures from people who wanted to call for an end to the persecution. Whilst these other events were taking place, a petition was handed into the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street. In the evening, a candlelight protest took place opposite the Chinese Embassy.

Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott MEP
STATEMENT ON 15 July 2006

Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott MEP (Yorkshire & Humber UK EPP-ED/Conservative) Vice-President of the European Parliament and rapporteur for the EU's new Democracy and Human Rights Instrument travelled to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan on 21-29 May 2006 on a fact-finding mission, in particular to investigate claims of organ harvesting.

On the occasion of the seventh anniversary of the start of the persecution by the Chinese government of Falun Gong practitioners in China, there is enough circumstantial evidence to alert the international community to what amounts to genocide. In particular I pay tribute to the recent report by David Kilgour, Canadian lawyer and former parliamentarian.

Whilst in Beijing, I interviewed a Chinese former prisoner, Mr Cao Dong, a Falun Gong practitioner who had seen the cadaver of his best friend with holes where organs had been removed.

The United Nations' annual report on China has since 1999 consistently documented widespread human rights violations committed by the Chinese communist regime against Falun Gong practitioners in China. Such violations include illegal arrests and detentions, brainwashing, torture, and killing.

Now, the atrocities have culminated into the most despicable crime of all - removing organs from living Falun Gong practitioners held as prisoners of conscience in China's gulag-like network of jails and labor camps, and selling them at huge profit to unsuspecting victims worldwide who are in desperate need of transplants. The UN owes the world an enquiry.

It is time that the People's Republic of China opened its doors to allow unrestricted investigation of all labor camps, hospitals, mental institutions, and related facilities.

Edward McMillan-Scott, MEP

Russia: Practitioners Protest CCP Atrocities outside the Chinese Consulate in St. Petersburg

On June 30, 2006, practitioners held activities outside the Chinese Consulate in St. Petersburg to protest the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) brutal persecution of Falun Gong.

For several years, Falun Gong practitioners' applications to protest in front of the Chinese Consulate in St. Petersburg have been denied by the Russian government. However, through a recent sharing and communication, Russian practitioners recognized that all things in the world, including law, are created by Dafa, so they have to provide ways for Dafa practitioners to validate the Fa. The government created obstacles to our protests with the excuse of following orders. This is an old force arrangement, so we have to firmly deny it. Practitioners as one body did not recognize this until now. Now, all practitioners have achieved a common understanding. Although the government denied our application, we went ahead with our protest outside the Chinese Consulate on June 30^th while practitioners in Moscow simultaneously protested outside the Chinese Embassy.

In the three days before the activity, Falun Gong practitioners clarified the truth to all departments of the government and police offices in St. Petersburg. Though the governmental officials dared not accept our protest application under huge pressure from the CCP, they listened to the truth clarification especially carefully because they saw the resolute attitude of Falun Gong practitioners. They expressed their understanding and hoped that practitioners would bring them more information in the future.

On June 30^th, before the Falun Gong practitioners arrived at the Chinese Consulate, a lot of police were waiting. Practitioners immediately clarified the truth to them. Meanwhile, a police officer who had already learned the truth said, "You can put out your banners. We will not stop you." So everyone spread out the banners to protest. A reporter from Radio Moscow interviewed practitioners on the spot and broadcast the protest in a positive way on its night program. In the one-hour protest, officers in the Chinese Consulate came out and took photos and videos of every practitioner. They kept pressuring the Russian government. The cell phones of the police officer on the spot beeped all the time. We could see that they were under huge pressure from their superiors. At last, a high ranking police officer, lieutenant colonel, came to ask Falun Gong practitioners to end the protest or he would be fired. Practitioners ended the protest and moved farther away from the Chinese Consulate and continued to send forth righteous thoughts across the river.

Afterwards, the police called the organizer of the activity to the police office and asked her make a written statement. She made it clear on the record that it was illegal for the police to stop such a protest. The police told her a judicial decision would come the following Monday.

Three Senior MEPs Appeal to European Union to Further Investigate CCP's Organ Harvesting from Living Persons

On July 12, 2006, the vice president of the European Parliament Human Rights Branch Committee, Dr. Charles Tannock, the Human Rights spokesman for the European Parliament EEP-ED, Mr. Simon Coveney, along with the vice president of the European Parliament, Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott, jointly signed to submit an interpellation to the European Parliament Committee, asking the Committee to further investigate the allegations regarding Falun Gong practitioners having their organs harvested in China. The following is the full text of the interpellation in written form:

Topic: The allegation of the Falun Gong practitioners having their organs harvested in China

Two Canadian lawyers Mr. David Matas and Mr. David Kilgour issued "Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China" on July 6, 2006, according to their independent investigation. The investigation content is the disturbing revelation from China, which is the organizations of People Republic of China have harvested the innocent living Falun Gong practitioners' organs without their consent. In the process of harvesting their organs, these organizations execute the death penalty, which is beyond the judicial system, to torture and kill the Falun Gong practitioners. It is said that the mutilated bodies whose organs were harvested were cremated immediately to destroy all evidence of the crimes. It is said these crimes are happening on a large-scale in China, and these are done on purpose and systematically.

To harvest the organs from the unwilling specific living object or groups is an atrocious crime and against all international laws and regulations. The CCP regime has strongly denied these allegations. Does the Committee understand these most serious allegations? Has the Committee read the adducible report and if asked the Chinese delegation further investigating the allegations regarding this case, and replied the evidence behind their findings?

Dr. Charles Tannock, Mr. Simon Coveney and Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott also jointly signed to submit the same interpellation in written form to the European Council.

Washington DC: Falun Gong Practitioners take part in Independence Day Parade

The Fourth of July is Independence Day in the United States, and also a national holiday in the US. Falun Gong practitioners from Washington DC and New York were invited to participate in the Independence Day Parade for the fifth year in Washington DC, adding unique oriental divine charm to this grand celebration.

The sweltering weather did not deter several hundred thousand enthusiastic spectators on both sides of Constitution Avenue. Over a hundred groups took part in the parade, which featured all kinds of floats, military bands and dancing performances. Many groups focused on the theme of celebrating freedom and independence. The Falun Gong practitioners' contingent was the 99^th in the parade procession.

Three practitioners in exercise costumes walked at the front of the contingent holding a banner reading "Falun Dafa" in both Chinese and English. Following closely was the Divine Land Marching Band composed of more than two hundred Falun Gong practitioners. The band was divided into eight columns, traversing the entire Constitution Avenue, vast and mighty.

Behind the band was an exquisite float on which several Falun Gong practitioners of different nationalities demonstrated the exercises. A huge pink lotus flower blossomed on top of the float, together with numerous smaller lotus flowers symbolizing Falun Gong cultivators' purity and uprightness. Four "celestial maidens" in traditional Tang Dynasty costumes elegantly danced on both sides of the float. The Falun Gong practitioners' performance gained rounds of applause from the audience.

Mr. Tie, who was among the spectators who once served in the US Air Force, and currently works in Washington DC, said, "It is really not easy to have such a free environment here, but most of time, we take all this for granted." When seeing Falun Gong practitioners' contingent pass by he said, "Here is a free country, everyone can express their principles freely. I sincerely hope that people in other places can enjoy the same freedom as we do."

Albert Monroa and Mary Faynyuk, two volunteers from Amnesty International were also among the spectators. Mr. Monroa said, "I treat the Independence Day every year as a reminder, reminding us of the principle for founding this country. We have responsibility to make more efforts to allow more people in the world to enjoy the same freedom as we do."

On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was officially adopted in Philadelphia in the United States. Today is the 230^th anniversary. This day every year, a variety of activities, such as parades, memorial ceremonies, concerts, and fireworks displays are held across the United States to celebrate the special day.

Germany: Urgent Rescue Effort for Falun Gong Practitioner Wang Xiaoyan; Exposing the CCP's Crimes of Organ Harvesting

By Wang Ji

From July 6 2006, Falun Gong practitioners at the University of Augsburg in Southern Germany organized a two-week long activity, appealing for the urgent rescue of Falun Gong practitioner Wang Xiaoyan in China and for the immediate end to the harvesting of organs from living people by the Chinese Communist regime.

Wang Xiaoyan lived in Dalian City, Liaoning Province. She is the wife of Zhang Zhendan who currently studies in Germany. Both of them are Falun Gong practitioners. Ms Wang was unable to join her husband in Germany because the Chinese police confiscated her passport. On May 27 this year, she was abducted by police when she left home for work. Police then forcibly entered her home and took away her computer, printer, external hard diskette, Falun Gong books and many other things. She is currently being detained in the Yaojia Detention Centre in Dalian.

A year ago, Zhang Zhendan studied at the University of Augsburg, and many people in the university know him. When students learned about the atrocities of organ harvesting from live Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist regime and the news of Ms Wang's detention by the Chinese police, they signed the two petitions without any hesitation.

A Falun Gong practitioner who organized this activity said that because in Mainland China, almost all forced labour camps and detention centres are involved in the organ harvesting of live Falun Gong practitioners, they decided to combine the two topics, rescuing Wang Xiaoyan and exposing the CCP's organ harvesting.

According to a witness statement from a veteran military doctor in Shenyang city, Chinese officials falsified at least sixty thousand signatures on consent forms for donating organs. A student wrote: "The western countries should immediately stop people from having organ transplants and purchasing organs in China. If German citizens go to China to purchase organs, they should be instantly fined and jailed."

Another student wrote: "Don't trade with any countries where there are no basic human rights." Three more students agreed with the above statement.

Other student wrote: "China has no human rights. It is terrible." "Everyone has the right to protect one's health and life. Respecting this right is the duty of every human being for the sake of all mankind."

Twenty Additional Deaths of Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners in China Confirmed in June 2006

Twenty deaths of Falun Gong practitioners as a result of persecution in Mainland China were confirmed in June 2006. Among those are eight female practitioners, representing 40% of the total; 14 deaths occurred between January 2006 and June 2006. Five of these practitioners died in June 2006. Due to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) information blockade, the ages of four practitioners are unknown. Eleven of the 20 practitioners, 55% of the total, were over 55 years old. Minghui/Clearwisdom website statistics showed that at least 76 deaths of Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China have been verified between January 2006 and June 2006. Since the CCP and Jiang Zemin's group began persecuting Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, the deaths of 2,915 Falun Gong practitioners have been verified through non-government channels.

The 20 deaths that were verified in June are of people distributed across six provinces. Seven practitioners were from Jilin Province; four practitioners each were from Heilongjiang Province and Liaoning Province; two practitioners each were from Shandong Province and Guizhou Province, and one practitioner was from Hebei Province.

Even under the strict information blockade relating to the truth of the persecution, the deaths of 2,915 Falun Gong practitioners have been verified. We do not presently know for sure how many innocent lives have actually been lost during the seven years of' persecution.

Since March 2006, when the existence of the secret Sujiatun Concentration Camp was exposed, witnesses and testimonies have reached other countries through various channels. The testimonies indicate that agents from the CCP have harvested organs from living Falun Gong practitioners at labour camps, prisons, concentration camps and hospitals throughout China, for sale in the organ transplant industry. This horrific persecution has lasted seven years; its cruelty and extent is extremely shocking. Following are examples of specific cruelties.

Mr. Wu Liantie was killed by people in Panjin Prison for refusing to "reform"

Anyone capable of "reforming" a Falun Gong practitioner in Mainland China will receive several thousand yuan in bonuses and possible promotion. Guards in labour camps, detention centres and prisons are lured by the money and personal interest to subject Falun Gong practitioners to inhuman torture, in order to force practitioners to renounce their belief. Falun Gong practitioner Wu Liantie was killed, "since nobody could 'reform' him."

Mr. Wu Liantie, 48 years old, lived in Huangbei Village, Ciyutuo Town, Liaozhong County, Shenyang City, Liaoning Province. He began practicing Falun Dafa in July 1998 and was acknowledged all around the village as a good person.

Since the CCP launched the persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, lawless police officials and agents from the 610 Office often raided Wu Liantie's home to harass his family. As a result, his entire family made the choice to leave their home. They were homeless between the spring of 2001 and 2002.

When Wu Liantie was at home on April 13, 2005, he was arrested. Participating in the arrest were Li Wei, head of the National Security Division, and five or six other policemen from the Ciyutuo Town Police Station. They took Mr. Wu to the First Detention Centre in Liaozhong County and tortured him. Four days later he was sent to the Zhangshi Brainwashing Centre in Shenyang City. After two weeks he was sent back to the detention centre. Wu Liantie was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment in December 2005 and was detained at the 3^rd Division at Panjin City Prison. For about eight months after his arrest, his family was forbidden from visiting him.

The Panjin City Prison officials told Mr. Wu's family members on May 24, 2006 to come to the prison. When they arrived they discovered that Wu Liantie's body had already been placed in the freezer of the Panjin City Funeral Service Centre. They were not told the cause and time of his death. A person who had seen Wu Liantie alive said that Mr. Wu had been sent to the Second Hospital in Panjin for emergency treatment; however, upon investigation, the hospital officials said Wu Liantie was dead on arrival. When checking his body, his family members found a triangular opening inside his left elbow covered by bandages. There was blood on his shirt and between his lip and teeth. Wu Liantie's sister and brother questioned the police asking, "Our brother was healthy when he was sent to the prison! How come he died within just a few months?" The police had no words of explanation and only agreed to pay a certain funeral fee.

Later, a guard in the prison told Wu Liantie's family members, "Your brother was quite eloquent; nobody could 'reform' him." Wu Liantie once told the guards, "The CCP used deceiving means to frame me and sentenced me to eight years in prison. I did nothing wrong. Our Teacher told us to be good people and improve our minds and bodies. I used to suffer from a skin disease; now you all can see that it's totally gone since I began Falun Gong practice. Why do you want to 'reform' me? What do you want to 'reform' me into?" The guard told Mr. Wu's family, "Wu Liantie was a good man!"

According to inside sources, since international human rights organizations plan to investigate Chinese prisons and Wu Liantie had persistently "clarified the facts" of the persecution under all circumstances, we can only assume that authorities at the Panjin Prison were afraid that he would expose the persecution, so they killed him.

In three days, Mr. Zhang Shunlong was arrested, tortured to death and his body secretly cremated

Mr. Zhang Shunlong, 44, lived in the Xincheng Sixth Group, Yanping Township, Dongliao County, Jilin Province. The police unconstitutionally arrested him on May 26, 2006, from his home. Policemen from the local Liaoheyuan Police Station were involved who then tortured and killed Mr. Zhang that same day. His body was cremated on May 28, 2006 without his family's approval.

Before Zhang Shunlong's arrest, on April 26, his younger brother, Dafa practitioner Zhang Shunhong, sister-in-law Liu Xiangzhuo and several other practitioners were arrested and detained in the Liaoyuan City Detention Centre. Early in the morning of May 26, 2006, Zhang Shunlong, his wife Lu Fengling and Ms. Lu's younger sister (a non-practitioner) and Zhang Shunlong's older brother Zhang Shunming planned to go to the Dongji Police Department to request the release of their family members. Agents from the Liaoyuanhe Police Station arrested all of them. The police beat Mr. Zhang Shunlong savagely in the police station. Eyewitnesses saw him falling to his death from the third floor of the guard building. According to eyewitnesses, Mr. Zhang had been beaten until he was covered in blood -- it was a terrible sight to see. Mr. Zhang's body was then dissected and cremated without the family's approval.

The Liaoheyuan Police Station administration officials have sealed all information about Zhang Shunlong's death.

Mr. Zhang's wife Lu Fengling, also in detention at the time, was profoundly distraught because of his sudden death. She appeared mentally disoriented and was released home. His older brother Zhang Shunming and sister-in-law (a non-practitioner) are presently incarcerated in Liaoyuan City Detention Centre.

Mr. Zhang's family remaining at home consists of his elderly mother (in her 70s or 80s) and two young children, in addition to his recently released and now mentally incapacitated wife.

Radio France Internationale Programme "Parisian Chinese": Three Falun Gong practitioners sue Zhou Yongkang

According to a report on the RFI programme "Parisian Chinese" broadcast to Asia Pacific and Metropolitan Paris on the night of July 21st:

Reporter: Good evening my friends.

Zhou Yongkang, the head of Chinese Public Security is visiting France this week and has been the guest of Sarkozy, the French Home Secretary. Nevertheless, apart from coinciding with unusually hot weather during his visit to France, he also ran into Reporters without Borders Organisation protesting against the Chinese authorities' persecution of reporters and dissidents on the internet.

On Friday July 21st, news was heard that three Falun Gong practitioners were planning to sue Zhou Yongkang in the French courts. On this occasion we interviewed the French Falun Dafa organisation's spokesman Mr. Zhang Jianping about this incident, who told us some relevant information.

Zhang Jianping: In 2002, around the end of November and the start of December, Zhou Yongkang has been the Chinese Communist Party's Chairman for the Sichuan Provincial Committee. After that he became the Head of Public Security i.e. the Police Department) and also one of the persons-in-charge of the Armed Forces. Both these positions undeniably hold direct responsibilities for the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, locally and nationally. In Europe we found three Falun Gong practitioners, two of whom were from Sichuan Province in China, one is Ms. Mo Zhengfang and the other is Mr. Li Heping. The third one is Ms Dai Ying who is temporarily living in Norway, and she suffered persecution when Zhou Yongkang was the Head of Public Security.

These three Falun Gong practitioners asked the French Falun Dafa Association to hand the lawsuit on their behalves into the Court of Paris to sue Zhou Yongkang.

Reporter: Did the Court of Paris accept the lawsuit?

Zhang Jianping: Yes. At about lunchtime today we handed the lawsuit into the Court of Paris and the lawsuit has already been accepted.