By Falun Gong practitioners in Sydney, Australia
On May 17, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners and their lawyer, Mr.
Barrie Goldsmith, held a press conference at St Martin's Square in busy downtown
Sydney to reveal the details of their defamation lawsuit against a local Chinese
newspaper, known in English as 2ac. The lawyer has submitted the file to New South
Wales Supreme Court. Mr. Barrie Goldsmith, representative of Sydney Falun Dafa
Association John Deller and some Falun Gong practitioners answered questions raised
by the media on the spot. Many media outlets, including ABC TV, SBS Radio, AAP
News Agency, NTD TV and SOP Radio came to conduct interviews.
Background of the lawsuit against
the Chinese newspaper
Representative
of the Falun Dafa Association John Deller stated that the lawsuit was brought
about by an article published in the Chinese newspaper on December 18, 2003. The
article seriously attacked Falun Gong, likening Falun Gong to the Japanese cult
Aum Shinrikyo, and alleging that Falun Gong is an “evil cult.” The newspaper stated
when publishing the article that the information was from a spokesperson for the
Sydney Chinese Consulate General, but the report seriously distorted the facts,
damaged the reputation of Falun Gong practitioners, had an extremely bad influence
on the public, and caused great harm to Falun Gong practitioners.
Falun
Dafa Association is a legally registered organization in Australia and is protected
by Australian laws. Before seeking a legal solution, Falun Gong practitioners
negotiated with the newspaper in hopes that the newspaper would follow the principle
of fair and objective reporting and offer an apology to Falun Gong for publishing
an article that did not have any basis in fact; however, the newspaper declined
the offer. Without any other ways to seek justice, Falun Gong practitioners decided
to take legal action and sue the newspaper in both a class-action and individual
action lawsuits.
Falun Dafa, also
known as Falun Gong, is an ancient Chinese cultivation practice based on the universal
principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Since Falun Gong was introduced
to the public in 1992, it has been spread to more than 60 countries across the
world in 12 years. More than 100 million people of different races and nationalities
are practicing it. The book Zhuan Falun, which contains the main teachings
of Falun Gong, has been translated into more than 20 languages. Falun Dafa has
been honored with more than 1,000 awards and proclamations from many countries.
One of the plaintiff Falun Gong
practitioners, Lee Cheezhong said, “Aum Shinrikyo killed many Japanese people
by releasing sarin gas in the Tokyo subway. However, Falun Gong is a peaceful
qigong group composed of people from all walks of life who conduct themselves
according to the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, work hard and
diligently, and selflessly make contributions to society. They have also influenced
people around them, and fostered the upgrading of morality in society, playing
an active role in creating a more spiritual civilization. But the article published
in 2ac Chinese newspaper compared Falun Gong to a group of people who have caused
great harm to society, causing the worst possible associations in the public mind.
Moreover, the newspaper repeatedly published articles that defamed Falun Gong.
Although practitioners negotiated with the newspaper several times in hopes we
could clarify the facts in the newspaper, the newspaper rejected all of our offers,
including a letter from the practitioners' lawyer. At last, a legal summons
was delivered to their lawyer, and they have no way to escape this time.” (translated
from the Chinese)
The media have
freedom of press but they must also be responsible for the contents they publish
At the press conference, when
a journalist asked whether the freedom of press means that the media can arbitrarily
publish articles they receive, regardless of the content of the articles, the
lawyer for the Falun Dafa Association, Mr. Barrie Goldsmith, stated that the freedom
of press doesn't allow people to irresponsibly and arbitrarily publish information
from other sources. Any television station, radio station, or newspaper should
be responsible for the news contents they publish. A general rule is that the
media cannot arbitrarily publish anything others provide without being responsible
for it themselves. One of the plaintiffs, Falun Gong practitioner Lee Cheezhong,
believed that there is the right of freedom of press overseas, but the freedom
of press should be based on the truth.
Jiang's
group in China manipulates the media, deprives people of their right to know,
disseminates propaganda conforming to their needs, stops all voices they don't
like to hear, and brainwashes the people. They control the public through such
methods. And then, the people who have been brainwashed voluntarily attack dissidents
on behalf of the dictator and safeguard his interests. Such control and utilization
over the media, and depriving people of their right to know is evil. If such methods
are used to incite hatred and persecution, it is an even bigger crime.
It
has been reported that there have been some precedents for putting the media on
trial around the world. When the UN Criminal Court dealt with Rwanda's Genocide
case on December 3, 2003, the court made a severe verdict, sentencing two defendants
to life imprisonment, and the third defendant to 35 years of imprisonment. The
three persons were the founder of RTLM TV Station, a magazine publisher and a
former senior official at the same TV station. According to an AFP report on December
3, 2003, RTLM TV Station once blatantly instigated the slaughter of innocent people.
According
to a report from the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun
Gong, since October 2002, Jiang Zemin and people from the “610 Office,” an organization
in charge of persecuting Falun Gong, have been sued for crimes of torture, genocide
and crimes against humanity in Chicago, Spain, Taiwan, Germany, Korea and Belgium.
Stop Jiang's group from exporting hatred overseas and
inciting hatred and persecution overseas
Falun
Dafa Association Representative John Deller believed that articles published in
the 2ac Chinese newspaper that slandered Falun Gong actually represent the Jiang's
group's extending its hatred and persecution of Falun Gong abroad, and inciting
hatred overseas.
The purpose of the lawsuit is to stop the
Chinese newspaper from continuously publishing lies about Falun Gong and commentary
articles that slander Falun Gong. At the same time, John Deller thought it would
be a good reminder to all overseas Chinese media, that they should not irresponsibly
publish fabricated news that defames Falun Gong, a legal organization. Thus, it
can effectively stop Jiang's group from exporting hatred overseas.
According
to a report from the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun
Gong, Jiang's group has manipulated the state media during the entire process
of persecuting Falun Gong, constantly trumping up various lies such as murder
cases and suicide cases on TV and in newspapers and other media to frame Falun
Gong. At the same time, they deprived Falun Gong of any opportunity to clarify
the truth, and blocked all information channels to prevent people from learning
the truth about Falun Gong. However outside China, since Jiang's persecution
of Falun Gong began, during the past five years, the people around the world have
witnessed the rationality, peacefulness, kindness, perseverance and tolerance
demonstrated by Falun Gong practitioners when facing the persecution. The practitioners
only want to have a legal environment to practice the exercises, and to have the
right to believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. What they oppose is only
the persecution imposed upon them. Through Falun Gong practitioners' unceasing
truth clarification to various segments of society, the public's understanding
of Falun Gong has become clearer.
The
initial hearing for this case will be held on Friday, May 21 between lawyers for
both sides and the court.
Posting date: 22/May/2004
Original
article date: 21/May/2004
Category: Australian
News
