Italy: Practitioners File Lawsuit Against Those Responsible for Slandering Falun Gong

During the past two years, more and more people have come to know the facts of the persecution against Falun Gong in China. This has been due to the great efforts of local practitioners in Chinese districts throughout Italy, especially in Milan, but also in front of the Chinese Consulate in Milan. People have come to realise that Falun Gong is good and have seen the true situation behind the brutal persecution by the Jiang regime in China.

Since the end of 2001, practitioners have regularly been to the Chinese district to distribute materials revealing the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong. Practitioners have also held activities to let people know what Falun Gong is. At the beginning of these activities, some of the empoyees of nearby stores who had not learned the facts of the persecution would throw rubbish near where the practitioners appeal was taking place. The people however were stopped by police and fined immediately. Since then, no one has done anything against practitioners.

Between the end of 2000 and March 2001, the Chinese Embassy in Rome and the Chinese Consulate in Milan instigated Chinese groups and societies to hold picture exhibitions slandering Falun Gong. They also manipulated Chinese newspapers to spread the Jiang regime's propaganda by publishing articles defaming Falun Gong. However, the exhibitions were not attended by many people and when some Italians heard about the so-called exhibitions, they visited Falun Gong websites to learn more about Falun Gong.

In order to uphold justice and to warn those who were slandering Dafa that there actions would not be accepted, practitioners filed a lawsuit against the people responsible for the slanderous exhibitions and newspaper articles, including Shu Maogao, the Consul General of the Chinese Consulate in Milan who published defamatory articles in a Chinese newspaper called “European Chinese Newspaper”. This article incited hatred and threatened Falun Gong practitioners. The lawsuit was also filed against three Chinese newspaper companies (Xinhua Times, Europe-China Times and European Chinese Newspaper in Milan), the organisors of the picture exhibitions and all the persons who had published articles slandering Dafa and Dafa practitioners in the Chinese media in Italy.

After filing the lawsuit, the Italian police began an investigation by collecting evidence. The investigation frightened those who had committed the wrongdoings immensely. The lawsuit was to tell them that it was illegal to incite hatred against their innocent countrymen and that helping a tyrant to do evil deeds can only have a damaging effect on themselves.

Among the defendants, the Editor of the European Chinese Newspaper, Ming Jiang, repeatedly published articles slandering Dafa under the pen name of "Taishan". The articles were similar to the type of articles which were published during the "Cultural Revolution", in that they contained negative language and provoked conflict between Falun Gong practitioners and overseas Chinese people. Ming Jiang and the newspaper were charged in court as a result of his actions.

Practitioners had explained the facts to Ming Jiang many times. He had even read materials exposing the Jiang regime's persecution of Falun Gong and told practitioners that he already knew the facts about Falun Gong. In fact, he told practitioners that he did not believe the propaganda in his own newspaper, but he had to publish these articles to make a living. Also, the propaganda spread by the newspaper has actually resulted in more and more Chinese people realising the truth about the persecution.

Recently, when practitioners were appealing in front of the Chinese Consulate in Milan, they met a Chinese person who said “the party is going mad and its people are also going mad...Falun Gong practitioners only want to obtain a healthier body, which is nothing to do with the party. It is indeed shameless to frame Falun Gong.” People are gradually awakening. Lies have no place among the Chinese people who have righteous thoughts and the ability to distinguish the truth from lies.

Chinese version available at http://www.yuanming.net/articles/200303/18190.html