C-SPAN интервюира говорителя на Фалун Гонг

Coming up, we're going to learn more about the Falun Gong, especially in the case of the recent visit by President Hu Jintao at the White House, statements made about the Falun Gong during that ceremony. We will talk to a representative from the organization and find out currently how that person's court case is going, as well as learning more about this issue. We'll be right back. Sunday on C-SPAN's Q&A, Rachel Bronson, author of Thicker Than Oil, America's Uneasy Partnership with Saudi Arabia. The first thing to know is that every U.S. president from FDR to the present has formed very close relations with the Saudis. Rachel Bronson, Sunday at 8 Eastern and Pacific on C-SPAN's Q&A. You can listen to Q&A on C-SPAN Radio on XM and Sirius Satellite Radio. It's also online as a C-SPAN podcast. The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books runs Saturday, April 29th through Sunday, April 30th. C-SPAN 2's live coverage starts Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern with a panel of contemporary biographers discussing the lives of great Americans. Then on Sunday, live coverage resumes at 1.30 p.m. with a conversation on the old world and the new world. This two-day event features interviews between well-known authors and media personalities. Also, various discussion groups share their knowledge on a variety of current events. The L.A. Times Festival of Books, April 29th and 30th on C-SPAN 2's Book TV. For a complete listing of Book TV programming, go online to BookTV.org. Washington Journal continues. Joining us is Arping Zhang. He is a spokesperson for the Falun Gong and welcome. For those who don't know, what is Falun Gong? Falun Gong is a very ancient Chinese meditation system based on the traditional Buddhist school cultivation system and it has two parts. First, it has five sides of exercise, meditation and slow motion exercise like Tai Chi. On the other hand, it has also spiritual components that includes the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. The meditation believes that you have to follow the good moral principles in order to be physically and mentally improved, upgraded. Could it be classified as a religion? In Chinese tradition, it's more a spiritual discipline like a mind-body exercise. In the Western culture, it would be considered a religion because it has spiritual and in the Western definition, anything that has spiritual components will be considered a religion. How is it perceived in China? What do the Chinese officials say about it? Well, ironically, since 1992, the Chinese government actually endorsed the practice up until July 1999 when the government found out there were too many people, 100 million people, doing this meditation and outnumbering the Communist Party membership. So the government gets scared and so they decide to crack down on this group. One of the issues and reasons we have you on is by a woman named Wen Yi Wang who appeared and represented the Falun Gong. What is her story and what is her current state, I guess, as far as her case with the government is concerned? Well, what happens, Wen Yi Wang is a medical doctor and she also is editor of the Chinese Medical Journal, a very respected individual. She's very concerned with the organ harvesting in China on prisoners of conscience, especially on the Falun Gong practitioners. She's been doing the investigating story for over five months and she's very disturbed as a medical doctor that this government is doing this on the prisoners of conscience. And she has been expressing this to the press and to the Congress trying to do investigation. And she's very disturbed that the Chinese government is not looking into this, the press is not looking into this, and also the governments around the world have not taken up the issue publicly. She apparently acts as an individual, as a reporter of the Epoch Times, to quote-unquote speak very loudly, calling attention to the bigger issue of atrocity of organ harvesting in China. And she was put in detention and she was going to be having a preliminary hearing on May the 3rd, which happened to be in the United Nations International Prize Freedom Day. It's going to be interesting because she's very disturbed by this and she wants to send a message to the world, to the press, to our government, that we should not look the other way when massive organ harvesting is taking place in China. There are two witnesses came to this country talking about there are thousands of people detained at one hospital facility in northeast China and thousands have been killed. And this occurred not only in one location, according to a retired army doctor from China, who sent information here that there are 36 such locations in China. We should look into all the labor camps, all the jails, organ transplant hospitals in China to stop this atrocity. There are credible reports on this organ harvesting in the press, and also U.S. Congress has held hearings on this. So there's no reason that our government is not addressing the issue to the incoming Chinese leader and also to the press. Well, she was charged with this misdemeanor. It's very ironic. I'm reading this. She was charged with knowingly and willfully intimidating, coerce, threatening, or harassing Chinese president. This is funny because she's a 47-year-old petite-looking woman, a medical doctor, a mother of two, intimidating a leader with commanding 4 million soldiers with an army of bodyguards. It should be just reversed. The Chinese government is intimidating, coercing, and harassing their own people. So this is what's going on right now. You'll find out more about the Falun Gong when you call the numbers on our screen to talk with our guest, Arping Chong. He is a spokesperson for the Falun Gong and more about the court case. As you look at it, it's 2027370001 for Republicans, 2027370002 for Democrats, and 2026280205 for Independents. We had a caller to this program yesterday talking about what happened at the White House and talking about what possibly could happen to Dr. Wang because of her actions. I want you to listen to the call and I guess get your opinion and thoughts on it. Sure. I think one of the things that American people would care to know about is that Ms. Wang took a terrible chance because her guilt by association is institutionalized in China. This is probably one of the most kind, compassionate groups that I have ever dealt with. Her family, if she has family still in China and probably does, or at least her relatives, will be incarcerated. If they're practitioners, they'll go to the organ camps to donate and contribute to the monetary income of the government. Would that be the case? Yeah. Actually, her father passed away last year and she tried to go back to China to attend the funeral and she was rejected for her paperwork to go back to China. Her passport was confiscated by the Chinese consulate. She held a 24-hour hunger strike in front of the Chinese consulate in order to protest, to go back to China to attend her father's funeral. It is her personal tragedy. But the big picture is that she has been doing investigating on organ harvesting in China for the past five months. As a doctor, she's very disturbed by this inhumane treatment of prisoners of conscience, especially following practitioners. So that's why she thought that it's very sad that she has to risk her press credential to take this move as a very dignified individual to step forward, to alert the international community that atrocities are taking place in China and people should pay attention to it. Are you saying that she got the press credentials for the sole purpose of staging this demonstration? I don't think so because the Epoch Times newspaper gave her the credential. The newspaper is not intending to have her do this. This is purely her individual act. But she, as a medical doctor, she felt obligated to send a bigger message to the international press. I'm very impressed by the Washington Post editorial. Today, there's a Washington Post editorial calling that this is overreacting to protest to put American journalists in jail. And this could happen in China, but not here in the United States. This is against the First Amendment freedom of speech. Her friend is speaking too loud. If she whispers, she'll be fine standing on the press forum. And also what happens, the chart is not grounded. She might have humiliated the Chinese president, but not coerced, intimidating, and harassing the Chinese president. This is just not right. We have plenty of people wanting to talk to you. New York City, you're first. Good morning. Good morning. Go ahead. Yes, hi. I'm calling because I wanted to ask why hasn't this organ harvesting information been in the media before? I salute and think Dr. Ron has incredible courage. And I hope in the future, we will hear more about what's happening and try to stop that. Can you tell me why this isn't in the media more? Mr. Zhang, this is very disturbing. We have some newspapers. I found out that the Toronto Sun, the British paper, and the Washington Times, and the National Review, and some papers have reported on the case. But it's not on a wide scale. And this is why Dr. Ron took this courageous act to alert the international community, especially the press, to look into this serious issue. Because this is a crime against humanity. It's an issue that affronts all individuals, all the people living in the free world. It also affronts our basic values for freedom and human dignity. So this is why she took the step. And we called upon the international community, especially the press, to take a hard look at this allegation and find out the truth. Armonk, New York. Hi, this is Lenny, and I've got three questions for the gentleman. Number one, how could an American attend meditation to Falun Gong in New York? Second, if you went back to China, would you get arrested or harassed? And if you have any family in China, would they be in danger? And three, Lenny, please call me. The first question, if you want to attend the Falun Gong workshop, which is free, happens to be, the exercise is free, you can go to www.falundafa.org, or F-A-L-U-N-D-A-F-A dot O-R-G. In terms of my personal race, since 1999, I've been volunteering to help with human rights issues with Falun Gong. I have received two personal threats, death threats, from people that I don't know. They left a message on my cell phone, and this was reported by Radio Free Asia. My family, my mother and my brother, have received threats from the Chinese government, police, and secret police. Fortunately, my mother came over last summer. After six years, we have not talked to each other. It's a personal tragedy, but I also consider that I'm lucky, because I'm here in a free country, and there are millions of others in China who have lost their lives. According to human rights groups, there are over 3,000 Falun Gong practitioners have lost their lives due to torture in labor camps, and there are 150,000 Falun Gong practitioners right now in labor camps, in jails, and mental institutions. They are going through greater tragedy, and that's why we believe that we should step forward and help these people. Tallahassee, Florida, good morning. Yes, good morning, sir. First, I must say how very, very much I admire Ms. Wong for having the courage to step forward and do what she did. Secondly, I would say I sent an email to the White House to complain. I don't think President Bush should have apologized for her actions to the Chinese president. He is in America, and he should be exposed to American society, and that's part of our rights. It seems the only human rights in China now is to make money, to work and to make money. I have seen many documentaries about the Falun Gong. I think you are wonderful people with a wonderful philosophy, but the only other problem I see is that I don't know exactly what she's being charged with. You went into it in detail, but I was trying to pay attention to my end of the phone line. My point here is that if she did break the law, then she has to be properly prosecuted because people who have gone to oppose abortions or the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, they all knew that when they stepped forward and did the things that they did, they might be jailed for it. That was part of their own courage in saying, yes, I'm willing to be arrested for what I stand for. Again, I think she's a fabulous woman, and I hope that things get better for the Falun Gong and all the people in China. Yes, thank you very much. Actually, yesterday there was a reporter who told me at the courthouse that he compared Dr. Wang with Rosa Parks, who defied the rules but delivered a greater message. The message is to save humanity, to save more lives in China. I also agree with you that we should look into the organ harvesting issue, looking at all the labor camp issues, all the choices that are taking place. And that's the message Dr. Wang tried to send. And as a dignified individual, as a doctor who is the editor of the Chinese Medical Journal, who is a physician at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, she has a PhD from the University of Chicago, she has an MD from the Chinese Medical School. She's a very credible, very rational individual. She had to take the step because she wants to save more lives. The Washington Post reports that the prosecutors maintained that yelling at the president, who was threatening and constituted a crime, willfully intimidating, coercing, threatening, and harassing a foreign official. Who's representing her? There's a court-appointed attorney and there's other individual human rights attorneys. She has received enormous support. There are a lot of individual lawyers, attorneys, trying to lend pro bono support to her. What are Chinese officials trying to do in this case? We don't know because we just know that the U.S. government is charging her with this misdemeanor. And we hope the government will give up this charge. The U.S. government can apologize to the Chinese government for the diplomatic protocol, but not in such a way to put a journalist in jail. Where does she live? She lives in New York. Wharton, Illinois. Good morning. Good morning. Your answer, go ahead. All right. I admire this lady and what she did the other day when the Chinese president was here. And I think it's an outrage that she's been arrested for doing the things that we're supposed to allow. And that's either dissent or public objection to what the person feels the government is doing or not doing. And her being arrested is just about the same thing as what China does to their citizens. And I think we ought to get more uproar about it. Mr. Zhang. Yes. Thank you very much. I think that's the fundamental issue at stake. We are not against the engagement with China. We advocate engagement with China for our very, very fundamental values of freedom and democracy. And we should support the individual rights of people in China, especially millions of Falun Gong practitioners. They've been worst persecuted in China. It's the largest group and for over six years already. And that's why we want our government to pay attention to the issue. I wish that our government has brought up the persecution of Falun Gong in their summit meeting, but it seems that did not happen. And unfortunately, it's very sad that Dr. Wang has to risk her own presidential to alert the international community about the atrocity in China. The Washington Times regularly runs a nobles and knaves column. They have listed Dr. Wang as a noble for what she did. They added in this morning in the editorial pages that was back in China where the ceremony was televised live, albeit with a short time delay. The state-run media censored Dr. Wang's protest. More is the pity, but also the point Dr. Wang was speaking for those who cannot. She has been charged with disorderly conduct, whereas in China, such an outburst is a certain ticket to prison. Definitely. People, when they try to send email to overseas, they can be put in jail for 10 years. That's why we think that Dr. Wang is a really courageous individual fighting for a higher cause. Annapolis, Maryland. Hello. I have a question about the content. I guess what caused her to make this outburst is that I have seen in the news over the last several years when any time there is a somewhat of a, even a semblance of an investigation into a labor camp or facility in China, it's basically a setup. It seems the regime over there had spent a lot of time to clean things up, to make things pretty. They would do things like have the prisoners have their names written on brand new jumpsuits in English, having deer appear and wandering peacefully through the labor camp facility. Obviously, a lot of these investigations are just PR. The allegations of organ harvesting are so severe. They're so ghastly. How can we get in there and do a real investigation? Is there a group that's able to do this? How can we uncover this and verify that these allegations are true? It's a very good question. Recently, the individuals from Falun Gong, they have formed an investigation team and calling upon the international organizations and government to join with them to do independent verification and investigation into all the labor camps, all the jails in China. We understand recently the U.S. government has sent some diplomats to the Suzhou Hospital where the organ harvesting was performed. But that took place two weeks after the story was broken, broke out. That took place in a guided tour. I mean, you're not going to find anything in this hospital when you have a guided tour and two weeks after the story broke out and also at the invitation of the hospital. So that's why we think it is important. If the Chinese government allows people to visit this pre-arranged tour of the hospital facility, why not open all the hospitals to the investigators? Why not all the labor camps, all the jails, all the organ harvesting hospitals? Interestingly, I brought with myself a Chinese website. This is on our own website. It's showing that since 1999, the organ transplant at one hospital... While you talk, I can take that and put it under the camera. One hospital has, you know, the organ transplant has risen to 2,200 cases. And that's the exact date since the persecution of Falun Gong started in 1999. And up to now, they have over 2,000 cases of organ transplant. Where did the organ come from? We understand for kidney transplant, it usually takes not only blood type matching, but also tissue matching. Sometimes it takes over 200, 400 to one ratio to find a matching kidney. If the Chinese website claims that they can find you a kidney within a week, it means that they must have live people waiting to have organ harvested because the kidney can only survive for 24 up to 48 hours. You cannot have an organ bank with kidney in there because they will not survive. So you have to have live people. This Chinese organ transplant hospital has a website in five languages—Korean, Japanese, English, and different languages—to attract overseas organ recipients to go there to have an organ transplant within one week. Come on. We have individuals calling on different hospitals in China and verify as an individual organ recipient to ask, you know, do you have organs and who are the organs come from. And we have voice recordings to verify that the hospital says that we have good organs from healthy people like Falun Gong practitioners. These are documented. So that's why we call for the investigation independently by the International Prize and the Human Rights Group and government so that we can get the truth out. If you want to find more about the Falun Gong, they have a website, faluninfo.net. And will the topic of organ harvesting be on this website as well? Yeah, there will be information there. Is this the sole issue of the Falun Gong or are there others? There are other issues. As I mentioned, since 1999, there are different kinds of atrocities taking place in China. There are people abused, women being raped, and also millions of people lost their jobs. And I have a family friend. My father was a professor in China, a professor of English. And one of our neighbors is a professor of physics, and she was also a Fulbright scholar to the United States. She was put in a women's labor camp for three years for refusing to sign a paper to denounce Falun Gong. That's her only crime. And her daughter is here, an American professor of biology at the University of Texas in Arlington. And we've been trying to rescue her. And it's ridiculous for a senior professor to be sent to a labor camp for three years just because she refused to sign the paperwork. So from there, you can see the atrocities, the widespread abuse in China. She was beaten in the women's labor camp. So there are many other cases. The other alarming issue facing the Falun practitioner, not just in China, but also here in the United States, we have a Dr. Yuan Li, Peter Yuan Li, who's a Princeton graduate, a PhD in EE, and he's developing software to bring down the firewall system in China because Chinese block all the internet communication between Chinese and overseas. So he's trying to develop software to tear down the firewall. And he was beaten up in his home in Atlanta. And this is American. His two computer laptops were taken. This was reported by Forbes magazine, by the Atlanta Journal of Constitution. And I just wish that our government speak up on this to the Chinese leader. You are persecuting your people in China, but don't come here to the United States to intimidate the Americans who are trying to bring freedom to China. There are many documented cases of Falun practitioner here in America being harassed, receiving harassing phone calls from Chinese embassies, and they intimidate their relatives in China to ask them to stop their human rights work here. The last call comes from Washington, D.C. To your guest, Nǐ hǎo. Thank you. Nǐ hǎo. Considering that the state-sanctioned, disappearing, torture, mutilation, rape, and outright murder of innumerable Chinese citizens is worthy of the Third Reich, I'm wondering what your opinion of a select group of participatory nations would be to have a massive economic pullout of China. Since China is a permanent member of the Security Council, it would literally be impossible to have Security Council resolutions passed to impose sanctions on China. But as is now being considered with Iran, if the Security Council does not act, there's now a conversation about the possibility of a group of nations deciding that they will volitionally force their corporations in their own respective countries to pull out of causing economic hardship and putting pressure on the Communist government. Thank you. That's a good question. I wish to mention that Falun Gong is not a political group. It's more a spiritual, individual cultivation practice. Everyone practices on their own free will. And right now, what they're trying to do is a human rights effort to rescue the people being persecuted in China. What you mentioned is a larger issue, that whether the international community, including the United States government, and the people of conscience, we can go business as usual with China by ignoring the atrocities taking place in China. History will judge not what we appear to be saying or pretending to be, history will judge what we do or what we have not done when we could. To not stand up to the evil is to betray good. We should affront these atrocities in China. It's important to see China become a civil country, society, ruled by the law, because it's the interest of not only the Chinese people, but the people of the world as a whole. We don't want the atrocities to take place in China, because such kind of atrocity is a crime against humanity, entire human race. So that's why I urge all individuals, people like you, people with good conscience, to urge our government, the international community, especially the press, to look into all these atrocities and see if we can find a good solution to make sure that China is really a responsible member of the international community, not a rogue state. Dr. Chong is the spokesperson for Paolo Gong. Thank you for your time this morning. Thank you very much. Coming up, we're going to learn about a new report looking at the high school graduation rates for Blacks and Latinos. We'll come right back.