Chinese Communist Regime Increases its Propaganda Campaign Against Falun Gong Outside of China

Between February 6th and 8th, Finnish Falun Gong practitioners received numerous offensive phone calls, which most likely originated from the Chinese Government. Two Falun Gong practitioners revealed how they received over 400 calls that slandered Falun Gong and spread lies about the peaceful qigong exercise practice. In total, practitioners in Finland received close to 1500 calls. This is an alarming example of how the persecution campaign started by Jiang Zemin extends over Chinese borders. People across Europe, the United States, Australia and Asia were victims of this telephone hate campaign. This is the first time the Chinese regime’s propaganda has been used abroad in such a widespread and aggressive manner.

The phone calls were recorded messages in Chinese and English, and the calls came with very short intervals, one after another. A practitioner from Helsinki told Clearharmony that his phone rang without pause for fours hours on two consecutive days. Practitioners around the world received the same kind of messages.

The main topic of the recorded messages was the so-called “self-immolation incident” from four years ago. In January 2001, some people set themselves on fire on Tiananmen Square in Beijing and the Chinese government claimed that they were Falun Gong practitioners. This unfortunate tragedy was exposed to be staged soon after it happened. “The phone calls felt annoying and disturbing. The content of the message is shocking, as it is exactly what has caused so many people to think negatively of Falun Gong, and it has caused many people to develop hatred towards Falun Gong”, a practitioner from Helsinki stated.

When Falun Gong was made public in 1992, it gained enormous popularity in a very short space of time, and received awards for its effects on improving health. However, after the Chinese Government staged the so-called self-immolation, many people started to believe the propaganda that Chinese government was using in its attack on Falun Gong. The media in China is completely controlled by the Communist Party and access to news from the outside world is blocked so many people are unable to access any true information on Falun Gong.

Thorough analysis of the incident can be found on the website of World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong. (link) The International Education Development, an NGO which testified at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva in 2001, has also stated: “We have obtained a video of that incident that in our view proves that this event was staged by the [Chinese] Government.”

Finnish practitioners reported the calls to the police and contacted the security bureau of Finland. The matter was taken seriously and an investigation was launched. According to newspaper “Kaleva”, the Foreign Ministry of Finland will immediately be involved when China is proved to be behind the calls.