Reports of torture pique MP's interest: Falun Gong photos will 'be checked on' 

BYLINE: Martha Tropea, Nanaimo Daily News (British Columbia) 
BODY: 
August 18, 2006 Friday
Final Edition 

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. A3 

LENGTH: 645 words 


A photo of a smiling, healthy Chinese woman is contrasted by another photo 
of her brutalized and bloodied body. 

As a Falun Gong follower, the woman is said to have been targeted by the 
Chinese government, tortured and killed for her beliefs. 

The photos were taken inside Chinese labour camps, said Victoria resident 
and Falun Gong practitioner Joan Quain. 

There are no photos of the thousands of Chinese Falun Gong believers who 
continue to be killed for their organs, she said. Those bodies are cremated 
and all evidence destroyed. 

Quain and four of her fellow Falun Gong practitioners displayed gruesome 
photos of the dead or dying at City Hall on Thursday. The Nanaimo stop was 
part of a four-city awareness campaign on the persecution of Falun Gong 
believers in China. 

"Some people, yes, are put off by it," Quain said about the photos. "We have 
to use shocking things like this to make people wake up." 

The Chinese government is persecuting Falun Gong followers and harvesting 
their organs for sale, she said. 

Backed by information pamphlets and books, the latest weapon in Quain's 
arsenal is a report by human rights lawyer David Matas and former MP David 
Kilgour. 

Released July 6, the report concludes the allegations against the Chinese 
government are true. 

China's government has denied allegations since it banned Falun Gong in 
1999. The report lends legitimacy to the ongoing claims of human rights 
abuses, she said. 

Conservative MP James Lunney (Nanaimo-Alberni) agrees. 

"It presents some compelling evidence," said Lunney after meeting with Quain 
on Thursday. 

Calling the allegations "troubling" and "very disturbing," Lunney said 
Canada can't ignore the issue. 

"We can't afford to turn a blind eye," he said. 

He's already raised the issue with the Conservative caucus and plans to 
discuss it again with the health minister in the fall. More evidence is 
still needed though, Lunney said, adding Canada should investigate the 
matter further. 

"These allegations need to be checked on," he said. 

Quain hopes Canada's interest in securing economic ties with China won't 
dissuade officials from calling for an end to China's human rights abuses. 

"Where does money stop and human rights start?" she asked. "There has to be 
something done." 

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GRAPHIC:
Photo: Glenn Olsen, The Daily News; Victoria's Joan Quain talks to the media 
while other members perform a Falun Gong meditation at Nanaimo's City Hall 
during an information session on the atrocities committed on fellow members 
in China.;
Photo: Lunney 

LOAD-DATE: August 18, 2006