Honorable Consul General Kim Kyung-keun

335 E. 45th St.(4thFl.)

New York, NY 10017

RE: Expulsion of Falun Gong Practitioners

Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners (GMR) is appalled to learn that your government had expelled Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Wu –secretly – on July 1st, and at the same time had denied the refugee applications of 31 Falun Gong practitioners and planned to expel them.

We understand that right before the expulsion of Mr. Wu, China’s propaganda chief Li, Changchun had made a visit to Korea.  Judging by the Chinese communist regime’s continuous practice of exporting its hate campaign towards Falun Gong across the borders, we believe that Beijing has again coerced Korea into becoming an accomplice to its hate crime.

For decades, the Korean people have strived to build Korea into a sovereign, democratic nation.  The constitution of Korea guarantees freedom of assembly, freedom of thought, and freedom of speech and expression.  It is deplorable to the international community, and humiliating to the Korean people, that your government compromised its sovereignty and democratic principles to expel a Falun Gong practitioner, just to please Beijing.

Practiced by many Koreans, the principles of Falun Gong are Truth, Compassion and Forbearance. Practitioners improve their mental and physical wellness not only through a series of slow and elegant exercises, but also through development of their moral nature by following these principles in their lives.  When the heart is pure, the mind becomes balanced, the body becomes energized, so health and happiness ensue naturally. Thus, individuals have been empowered to leave behind addictions and bad habits, and to live harmoniously with their families.

However, the atheist Chinese communist regime could not tolerate the popularity of Falun Gong and it launched the largest religious persecution in the world in July 1999.  Massive propaganda campaigns were launched to demonize Falun Gong, to humiliate practitioners, and to compel them to renounce their faith. For the past 10 years, Falun Gong practitioners have been subjected to arbitrary detention, beating, torture and “transformation through reeducation”.  Under Beijing’s brutal pogrom, to date over 3,000 Falun Gong deaths have been documented, as well as over 63,000 accounts of torture. Yet an estimate puts the actual death toll in the tens of thousands.

Therefore, your government’s expulsion of Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Wu puts his life in direct jeopardy. We have witnessed many similar tragedies in the past. For instance, in August 2002, Mr. Li Guojun and his wife Zhang Xinyi were deported to China by the Cambodian government despite their having valid U.N refugee status. As soon as they arrived in China, they were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms.   According to sources in China, the couple is now being held at the Number One prison of Changsha, yet UNHCR has been unable to locate them.

We ask your government to do the Korean people proud, to immediately reopen and re-consider the refugee applications of those 31 Falun Gong practitioners. As a beacon of democracy in Asia, please shine your light to give hope to the oppressed in China and North Korea.

Yours truly,

Li Li
Executive Director
Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners
http://globalrescue.net