CALGARY—Continuing its trip around the world, the Human Rights Torch Relay (HRTR) arrived in Calgary Monday, bringing with it the message that "The Olympics and crimes against humanity cannot coexist in China."
Initiated by the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG), the HRTR is a global grassroots campaign to press for an end to human rights atrocities in China before the Olympics in August.
Representatives from a handful of non-governmental organizations joined the relay at the outdoor plaza by City Hall, and entertainment was provided by local musicians.
Host Caylan Ford stressed that the point of the relay was not to be divisive but rather out of respect for the Chinese people, conveying a hope that China could take a positive role on the world stage.
However, she said the Chinese communist regime is blocking this kind of development with its ongoing human rights violations against groups such as Tibetans, Uyghurs, Christians, Falun Gong practitioners, journalists, lawyers and democracy and human rights advocates.
Guest speaker Dr. David Swann, MLA for Calgary-Mountain View, emphasized the need for people to take a stand against human rights abuses wherever they occur.
"It is also true that we are all responsible at some level for violations of human rights, for all that is needed for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. We are all responsible for violations of human rights when we remain silent. So this is a call to each one of us."
Winston Liu, a graduate student at the University of Calgary, came to Calgary in 2005 to escape religious persecution in China. Liu practices Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline which follows the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) outlawed Falun Gong in 1999, since then carrying out an unprecedented level of persecution against the group. Liu spoke of his ordeal in China.
"During the time I was confined in the detention center… the mental torture I endured was worse than the physical abuse… The police told me directly that they would try to drive me insane if I continued to practice Falun Gong… Toward the end of my [sentence] my hair turned grey and I was on the verge of mental collapse."
Liu added that his wife was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the crime of "downloading Falun Gong materials" from the internet.
Liu also said he underwent "extensive medical exams" while in prison. Allegations surfaced two years ago that Falun Gong practitioners jailed in China were being murdered for their organs which were in turn sold at high prices, mainly to foreign transplant tourists.
These allegations have since been confirmed in Bloody Harvest, a report co-authored by former MP David Kilgour and Winnipeg-based human rights lawyer David Matas.
Kevin Chazotsang, spokesman for the Tibetan community in Calgary, talked about the history of the CCP's repression of the Tibetan culture and people. It is estimated that over one million people have been killed in Tibet as a result of the China's policies in the region.
"Freedom of speech is non-existent in Tibet and in most parts of China, so we have to be ten times as loud here in Canada to speak for those who can't speak for themselves," he said.
Other speakers were Giao Pham, a representative of the Vietnamese community and Lu Decheng, the Chinese democracy activist who spent over a decade in prison for throwing paint-filled eggs at Mao's portrait in Tiananmen Square during the 1989 student demonstrations.
While Ford reiterated that those present were not against the Chinese people but only wanted to raise public awareness of the CCP's human rights crimes, nonetheless a small group of Party supporters tried to disrupt the event.
Two Chinese men approached the gathering, shouting profanities and making obscene hand gestures while attempting to fight with relay supporters and guests.
But order was quickly restored after five members of the Calgary Police Service bicycle team broke up the shoving and escorted the two troublemakers from the plaza. They left the scene without being detained.
Rally organizers also spotted a man in the crowd sporting a high-powered Nikon camera with a professional lens. The man, who appeared to be unaffiliated with any media group, was taking pictures not of the event or its guest speakers as other media were — he was instead focusing on relay supporters and coordinators.
After an organizer approached the man and asked him if he was there on behalf of the Chinese consulate, the man left.
When the Chinese Spectacular played in Calgary in April, consulate officials attempted to pressure the local Chinese community into not attending or supporting the cultural show, telling people, among other threats, that they would be refused passports if they wanted to return to China.
HRTR is calling on China to release all prisoners of conscience and end the persecution of Falun Gong, Christians, lawyers, reporters and "all who have become prisoners of the Olympics as a consequence of China's pre-Games whitewash."
HRTR condemns the arrest of close to 2,000 Falun Gong practitioners since January 1 and China's support of the regimes of Sudan, Burma, North Korea and Zimbabwe.
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