Eye Level Pasadena

June 7, 2007

• Pasadena Weekly: No cause for celebration: Falun Gong practitioners object to planned Chinese Olympic Rose Parade float

June 25, 2007

• City council meeting, June 25, 2007: Local residents speak at a Pasadena city council meeting about their and their family members’ experiences with human rights abuses in China and their concern about a planned Rose Parade float celebrating the Bejing Olympics. (Jump to agenda item #2 and fast forward to 29:04 in the video; then see agenda item #11.) Excerpts from the meeting below the fold at the bottom of this post.

June 27, 2007

• Rights Readers (book club blog for the Pasadena chapter of Amnesty International): The Olympics Come to Pasadena

June 28, 2007

• Under the Dome: Chinese take outs from Monday (see also the detailed comment from Jenny, one of the Falun Gong practitioners who spoke at Monday’s city council meeting)
• Pasadena Weekly: ‘We need to speak out on that’: Rose Parade float prompts council to consider official review of human rights abuses in China

July 4, 2007

• Pasadena District 6 Blogger: 4th of July and Freedom

July 7, 2007

• Kenneth Todd Ruiz, Pasadena Star-News: Local Falun Gong Seeking Support

July 9, 2007

• Kenneth Todd Ruiz, Under the Dome (follow-up blog post to his Sunday article): Sunday postmortem

July 16, 2007

• Kenneth Todd Ruiz, Pasadena Star-News: City urged to review China ties

July 17, 2007

• The Adventures of Aaron Proctor in St. Louis: Big Trouble in Little Pasadena

June 19, 2007

• Joe Piasecki, Pasadena Weekly: Roses are Red: Human rights groups push the City Council and Tournament of Roses to rethink a controversial Chinese Olympic-themed float

About Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa)

• Falun Dafa: A Brief Introduction
• The Falun Dafa Books (translated into English and free online)

About Xicheng: Xicheng is Pasadena’s Chinese sister city. It is near the labor camp where Jenny Liu’s mother is being held.

Cross-posted at Pasadena Conversations.

City council meeting, June 25, 2007: Local residents speak at a Pasadena city council meeting about their and their family members’ experiences with human rights abuses in China and their concern about a planned Rose Parade float celebrating the Bejing Olympics. (Jump to agenda item #2 and fast forward to 29:04 in the video; then see agenda item #11.)

• Wen Chen (29:04):
  “Good evening mayor and council. I am a ten year resident in Pasadena. I work for Caltech. I’m from Caltech Falun club and also a member of Amnesty International, group 22, at Pasadena. Today I as an individual come here because I have deep concerns about the fact that next year in 2008 Rose Parade we invited Chinese government to have a float during the Rose Parade. We all know that the Chinese government have terrible records in human rights abuses, and especially the persecution towards Falun Gong. And we know that Falun Gong is a peaceful body and mind exercise based on the principals truth, compassion, tolerance. And because of its popularity, over 17,000,000 Chinese people practice it which is recorded by U.S. World and News Report in 1999 and also it is regarded as independent thinking by Chinese communist regime. They started a crackdown towards Falun Gong in July 1999. Since then more than 3,000 deaths were recorded and these are confirmed by Amnesty International. We are very concerned that such a government with terrible human rights records have a float in our peaceful Rose Parade. And tonight we have here four ladies who were victims in Chinese labor camp. They personally suffered persecution by Chinese government. And also a member of us, a former Pasadena resident,Jenny Liu, whose mother is still in China in labor camp because of Olympics. So we strongly hope that our city can raise our request to the Chinese government to help rescue our family members. That’s all of my talk. I’ll let my fellows to continue their conversation.”
• Jenny Liu (31:22):
  “Good evening mayor. Good evening council members. My name is Yaning Liu, also called Jenny. I am here — I used to live on Wilson/Union for three years. I only recently moved to Baldwin Park. I’m here to seek your help to rescue my mother. My mother, Xuing Li is a 63 year old retired high school teacher in Bejing. She has been teacher for 30 years, and she is honored as excellent teacher by her school. She began to practice Falun Gong in 1995, after learning from a colleague. December 15, 2008 [sic] 8p.m., three policemen — three Bejing policemen — broke into my parents’ home, searched for Falun Gong books, and once they found some, they arrested her. They even threatened to arrest my father who they knew doesn’t practice Falun Gong. And they also asked me if I practice Falun Gong in America. And my father asked them on what grounds they arrest my mother, and they said it’s because somebody reported that she still practice Falun Gong, and no one could practice Falun Gong in China, not even at home. That’s disturbing the law from being implemented. And a month later, my father received a notice from the Bejing government. They said they’re going to send my mother to a labor camp for two and a half years. And now my mother is in Bejing female labor camp in Daxhing[?] district which is next to Xicheng district, our Pasadena sister city. My mother’s recent arrest is not an isolated case. I’ve heard quite a few Falun Gong practitioners have been arrested because the 2008 Olympics is approaching. And the Chinese communist party has a tradition to make mass arrests before big events. I hope that the city council can help to rescue my mother. I hope that you can write a letter to the Bejing government to request a release of my mother. And also a few days ago, I wrote the mayor a letter regarding inviting the Chinese communist party into our Rose Parade. I just want the city council be aware of the severe human rights violation in China before we make any decisions. Thank you.”
• Bin Li (34:41):
  “Good evening mayor, council members, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Bing Li. I live in Rowland Hights. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to bring you some information while exposing a horrible genocide persecution happening in China and it lasts for eight years. It’s not easy for me to be here today. Leaving China for America for me was just like escape. Just because I practice Falun Gong, the principle is truthfulness, compassion and tolerance, I was sent to the mental hospital and was sent to the labor camp and in prison for one year. Early last year it was revealed that the Chinese communist party are removing organs from live Falun Gong practitioners for transplant at a large profit. The report I distributed to you just now is the report [...] allegation about organ harvesting on Falun Gong practitioners. It was made by third party. David Kilgore and David Matthews in Canada. They are human rights attorneys. The information I brought you today concerns not only the state of Pasadena but also concerns everybody here. There is a list of criminals who have been sued overseas just because they participate in the persecution of Falun Gong, and many of them are Chinese top officials, and I know that there are business relationship between City of Pasadena and China. I hope that you know the list, and prevent those criminals from entering into our city. If they enter into our city and are seen here it’s not good for our city. And one more thing. Tell your city to not go to China to do the transplantation. Because if one transplantation in China made possible it’s one innocent people murdered by Chinese communist party. Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, is a peaceful meditation spiritual practice deeply rooted in Chinese culture. I started practicing Falun Gong August 1996. On July 20, 1999, the then communist leader initiated a brutal crackdown against the Falun Gong. As a result the Chinese communist party imprisoned me three times and put me into mental hospital once. They brainwashed and tortured me physically, mentally and spiritually until I lost my sense of feeling. The first day I was sent to a dispatching center in Bejing two guards brought me to a small… [more to come]
• Chris Holden’s remarks after hearing the first speakers, and after it was announced that the remaining speakers could continue speaking at the end of the meeting (beginning at 42:45 in the video):“I recall the time when the council was contemplating establishing a sister city relationship in China, and one of the concerns that was raised at that time was the concern about human rights violations that were occurring. The council went forward and adopted the relationship nonetheless, and maybe at this point there is an opportunity to use that relationship for good. And maybe we need to understand precisely some of the issues that are going on because it was referenced by one of the speakers that some of these violations are occurring in the district adjacent to or within close proximity to the district that we have our relationship with that would pull us into needing to take some kind of position. I think we need to first understand comprehensively what is going on — I think the information that was presented to us can be very helpful — but maybe get to a point where if we do need to, as a council, on behalf of residents who have family members in China and because of our relationship with a portion of the Chinese community there that we need to take a position, we need to say that if something is being done that is creating a human rights violation or an inhumanity issue then we need to maybe speak out on that. But I think it’s important for us to fully understand what all the issues are, and then at such a time take a position, whether in writing or some other way of communicating, but I think in responding to those who have come out to speak to let them know that their issue is an important one. And that at least we should take an effort to better understand it and to let them know how we would be prepared to respond at the appropriate time. So I throw that out because I wasn’t sure how we were resolving that particular matter and I think it’s important that those who come out to know that they’ve been heard and that if there’s a desire to move in a certain direction…”
• Victor Gordo’s remarks (beginning at 46:28):
  “Mayor, you know, I agree with Chris. You know, we don’t control the floats or who’s invited to participate in the Rose Parade, but certainly the perception is there that we have a say in it because it’s our city and the Rose Parade is of course associated with the City of Pasadena. But it’s the Tournament of Roses that selects the floats and sends out invitations. But I do think we have a responsibility here to have our voice heard and to say something, because the parade is viewed throughout the world and the message that will be sent is that it’s the City of Pasadena that’s inviting the Chinese government to have a float in its parade, and so I would suggest that you approach the Tournament of Roses — I don’t know if you already have — and that we proceed along the lines that Chris has outlined.”
• Mayor Bogaard responds (beginning at 47:37):
  “One of the challenges when we take up a factual investigation of this kind, of course, it’s in a foreign country and a long distance away. And at the same time, I think we’re forced to look into the heart of our own country and raise the same questions about it that we raise about a country abroad. And that sometimes makes it… causes us to be circumspect about our public statements about others because of our own long history which falls short of perfection in regard to recognition of human rights across the board and for all the great people of this country. So let’s see what kind of review — I think the Tournament will take this very seriously and want to help respond to the questions that are being raised.”

Tags: China, Falun Gong, Pasadena and the wider world, Pasadena's sister cities, Rose parade, Xicheng