By LAURA CZEKAJ
Ottawa Sun, August 03, 2008
http://www.ottawasun.com/News/National/2008/08/03/pf-6340611.html
Chinese native Lucy Zhou has found no joy in the selection of her homeland as the host country for the Olympics.
A Falun Gong practitioner and Ottawa resident, she says the massive sporting event has only caused the Chinese government to crack down harder on those who adhere to the spiritual practice.
The Chinese government has banned the practice, which is also known as Falun Dafa.
"We are protesting the large-scale arrest of Falun Gong practitioners before the Olympics to clean the streets," says Zhou, who adds that group members have been excluded from the games in violation of the Olympic charter.
TIBETAN CLASH
International agencies have accused the Chinese government of torturing and killing Falun Gong followers, which authorities have denied.
Zhou says despite the opportunity the Olympics offers the international community to hold China to task for its actions against its own citizens, little has been done to remedy the situation for practitioners as the games are set to begin.
Ottawa has been the site of several protests in the months leading up to the Beijing Olympics.
The selection of China as Olympic host sparked protests by Tibetan nationalists opposed to the Chinese rule of their homeland.
Demonstrators converged on Parliament Hill on several occasions in the spring, drawing attention to the violence occurring in their homeland as Tibetans and Chinese police clashed.
In response to the local protests, pro-Beijing Chinese also gathered on the rolling lawn of the Parliament buildings saying that westerners were only hearing a distorted version of the Tibetan uprising.