Free speech… what’s ‘free’?
I can’t believe this… Falun Gong blocks publishing a paper that carries a story seems to be sympathetic to them? Now you know what free speech these people claim they treasure and are fighting for. It’s free only if you concur with their views.
Lawrence, perhaps the Asia Pacific Post needs a lawyer to file a lawsuit? Time to get some business. :)
You can check out the original article of the Post here. The following press release is from the Asia Pacific Post. It has won several Jack Webster Awards for Journalism. For a pdf version of the hard copy, check out here and here.
NEWS RELEASE – FALUN GONG HOLDS CANADIAN FREE SPEECH HOSTAGE
-Falun Gong gag order shuts down independent Metro Vancouver newspaper-
In an unprecedented attack on freedom of speech in Canada, the Falun Gong movement this week forced a local printer to block production and distribution of an award-winning independent newspaper.
Readers of the Asian Pacific Post, published by Post Group Multimedia Inc. in Vancouver, British Columbia, were surprised to find their local news boxes empty Thursday after Epoch Press blocked delivery of the weekly newspaper.
“This is an act of political vandalism,” said Asian Pacific Post Managing Editor, Michael Roberts. “The economic impact to our business aside, which is considerable, this an assault on press freedom and an
insult to all Canadians who enjoy rights and privileges enshrined in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”“This is bullying, pure and simple, by a group which the Post has, ironically, long supported in its fight against similar oppression by the Chinese government.”
Printer Frank Ciu – in consultation with senior Falun Gong members in Canada – hijacked the Asian Pacific Post print run claiming a January 8, 2009 front page article on a Falun Gong travelling arts show was
offensive to his beliefs, and to the beliefs of his fellow Falun Gong practitioners.“The Falun Gong, which owns this printing press, vetted our article and finding it not to its taste, simply refused to let it see the light of day,” said Roberts. “This is a first in Canadian journalistic history and an outrage of the highest order.”
“Incidentally,” added Roberts. “The article in question supported the Falun Gong and its right to stage the Divine Performing Arts show without interference from China.”
Dr. Dianna Wang, director of the DPA’s organizing committee in Vancouver, said she was shown the front page article in advance of its print run and in consultation with Falun Gong “HQ” and the vice-president of the Divine Performing Group, decided they could not allow the story to be distributed.
The Asian Pacific Post is currently looking for a new printer.
“We feel completely betrayed,” said Roberts. “This is a matter of trust and a point of principle.”
Here’s an editorial from the Province today. I’m glad to see the mainstream media are awakening (I won’t say from what, otherwise CIV will get a landslide attack comments).
Falun Gong printer holds BC newspaper hostage
The next time you pass the Falun Gong practitioners in front of the Chinese consulate on Granville Street, look beyond the meditative protestors to get a feel for their pain.
They stand there day and night in rain, snow and sleet fighting for the freedoms we take for granted and which China has disallowed the Falun Gong.
For the Falun Gong, freedom of expression is central to their cause after China banned the movement, arrested its followers and labelled it a cult.
But don’t tell that to Frank Cui, the owner of the Burnaby-based Epoch Press, which is affliated to the Falun Gong movement, that estimates it has over 100 million followers worldwide.
Cui, is a devout Falun Gong practitioner and has printed The Asian Pacific Post, an independent award-winning Vancouver weekly, for the past three years.
Last Thursday, Cui held the Asian Pacific Post hostage.
He and other senior members of the Falun Gong group in Vancouver felt that the newspaper’s front page story was detrimental to their cause.
The story was about an elaborate dance production showcasing Chinese culture that is expected to perform in Vancouver this April. The story claims the group has been targeted by the Chinese government because the show’s local presenters are the Falun Dafa Association of Vancouver and New Tang Dynasty TV, a North American broadcaster founded by and affiliated with Falun Gong practitioners.
Cui and his cabal did not like the “balanced” approach in the story.
They did not want readers to see the Chinese government’s views of the Falun Gong.
They wanted to control the content. They said they had a “legal right” to do it.
When Harbinder Singh Sewak, the publisher of the Asian Pacific Post said no, Cui refused to release last week’s paper from the print shop.
“Outrageous..we have always been an independent paper with independent views…we don’t allow anyone to control our content, let alone our printers,” fumed Sewak, who stands to lose tens of thousands of dollars.
Cui in an emailed press statement said : “Unfortunately news reporters feel that they must “balance” stories about Falun Gong or events they are involved in by adding the bad words or opinions from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) , but in my feeling, between victim and perpetrator there can never be any neutrality or balance.”
Cui has apologized but not before saying “Articles like this one that gives voice to the communist regime make people think that maybe the CCP is justified in their attack and that maybe Falun Gong somehow deserve to be killed or tortured.”
The Asian Pacific Post article entitled ‘Dancing to their own tune’ (you can read it at www.asianpacificpost.com) is a far cry from what Cui says it is. You may think that this is an isolated incident involving one member of the Falun Gong movement who went a little too far.
But the emails and conversations between the The Asian Pacific Post, show organisers, Cui and other Falun Gong followers involved in this case – which we have been made privy to – show a disturbing side to the Falun Gong.
The control they say China exerts on them, is the same control they want to exert on others.
The freedom, they say China denies them, is the same freedom they have denied the Asian Pacific Post.
In fact, Mr Cui adds:
Tags: asia pacific post, falun gong, Press freedomUnfortunately news reporters feel that they must* “balance” *stories about Falun Gong or events they are involved in by adding the bad words or opinions from the CCP, but in my feeling, between victim and perpetrator there can never be any neutrality or balance. Society should support the victim 100% and condemn the perpetrator.
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Short URL: http://www.chineseinvancouver.ca/?p=8340
This isn’t about Falun Gong, really. I practice Falun Gong, I don’t have anything to do with this decision. Falun Gong isn’t a group or a movement or an organisation. It’s a personal spiritual discipline. Anyone can read the books, learn the exercises, and practice it for free. This is exactly what I’ve done for the last 4 years. There’s no membership, leaders, buildings, organisation, or any structure.
Let’s put it in perspective: If a Christian did something like this would you say Christianity is such and such, or if a swimmer did something, that swimmers are all a certain way? It’s inaccurate and unfair to equate the individual decision of one person as representative of a whole group.
Matt.
Taipei
its a matter of contract law and good or bad business practice if u are a christian run printing outfit and someone wants u to print anti christ stuff u can say no if you want to unless you are contractually bound to print it and the point is not what the newspaper thinks of its own article but what the printer thinks and knows so the newspaper should get a contract with a printer that says no interference unless we are printing counterfeit bills
this is the same as a newspaper that won’t publish your article he has that right is his paper would you say he interferes with your free speech ? yes but its his forum you can take your free speech somewhere else now i would say a newspaper has a social obligation to accomodate people with different views than a print shop a newspaper even though is privately owned has a far more public role to play than a printer
now what falungong is doing is they claim to have 100 million followers and a huge warchest full of $$$ they have their own newspaper tv stations and printing press and all that so they can create and enjoy their own free speech you and I can only envy the size of their media empire but not their imperial ways, i guess
Matt from Taipei writes that this issues is not about Falun Gong..HE IS WRONG..This has everything to do with Falun Gong and Falun Dafa. The story was about the Falun Gong show, the people who suppressed the article were Falun Gong followers, the printer is affliated to the Falun Gong and his actions were determined by his faith to the Falun Gong movement.
If this isnt about the Falun Gong movement, then Christ isn’t about Christianity.
Falun Gong is a practice, not a movement. There is no organisation, structure, hierarchy, administration, etc.–just books and exercises on the net that anyone can practice. To show what I mean, if you replaced Falun Gong with “swimming” in your note, would it make sense?
“This has everything to do with swimming. The story was about a swimming show, the people who suppressed the article were swimmers, the printer is affiliated to swimmers, and their actions were determined by their faith in swimming…”
Wouldn’t that sound a little weird, and someone would say “Look, swimming is just a practice that anyone can do, why is it that as soon as someone starts swimming they are part of an organisation or a group, and all have to do the same way and represent one another? They’re just discrete individuals who choose to do this.” — wouldn’t someone ask that? This is the same situation with Falun Gong. Of course his choice was determined by his faith in Falun Gong, but the problem is still with his actions, not with other Falun Gong practitioners, like me for example, who had nothing to do with his choice, or with the teachings and exercises of Falun Gong.
This is all I’m pointing out. I never said I agree with the decision.
you can practice falun gong on your own or with a group but that does not mean your religion does not have an organization that runs tv shows, publishes newspaper and owns printing plant i do not see that as a bad thing
but no you want to believe and want us to believe all this is spontaneous that somehow falun gong spreads like wild fire on its own how exciting
If I practice Falun Gong on my own or with a group, then a few people who also practice Falun Gong decide we want to start a newspaper, and then in another city, a practice group decides they want to start a TV station, and then in another city, a radio station, etc., with discrete groups of people starting businesses, or media outlets, or websites, etc.–does that make Falun Gong an organisation? The distinction is that there is no central structure, hierarchy, or central organisation to Falun Gong, there is no central link between these cities, only horizontal ones crisscrossing randomly. There are no buildings, headquarters, or bases, just people all over the place doing their own thing, and working together to do things together.
Falun Gong was and will always be a free practice that anyone is welcome to engage in. Falun Gong practitioners can get together and do what they like though, but those things aren’t Falun Gong, they’re those peoples’ own business. They do it because of their Falun Gong practice, but that doesn’t equal an organisation. Because of the persecution and all the things that are happening because of it, basically an informal network of people who practice Falun Gong has been formed, but that’s it.
I would suggest the swimming example for a useful understanding. Swimming is still swimming, it’s just that once swimmers in China starting getting persecuted, swimmers all over the world decided that was enough, and they would do what they could to tell people about it. There were some swimmers with money in a certain city and they started a newspaper, then some others who started a TV station, etc.. This is basically what has happened. It’s fairly simple.
And of course Falun Gong spreads on its own, how do you think I learnt it? I found the books on the internet and read them and liked them, and started to practice it. Many practitioners I’ve spoken to have a similar story. No big deal, yo.
Matt Robertson is a reporter from Epoch Times:
http://www.google.com/search?q=Matt+Robertson+Epoch
You’ll also find him on Wikipedia defending the honor of Falun Gong by keeping out all facts he/they don’t want people to know.
So much for the likes of Frank Cui, Falun Dafa Associations, HQs, organized propaganda like Epoch Times, NTDTV, SoH radio.
Oh, my, I can’t believe Charles Liu’s post on “chineseinvancouver.ca” site. Growing up as a minority in Vancouver (well, say Canada would be more appropriate now), we know that slapping a label onto someone and deny whatever this labeled group says (no matter how logical or reasonable) is way to easy and undermines our fair and independent judgment. Matthew Robertson could using “Chinese” instead of “swimming” and sounded logical to me: “Chinese is still Chinese, it’s just that once Chinese in China starting getting persecuted, Chinese all over the world decided that was enough, and they would do what they could to tell people about it. There were some Chinese with money in a certain city and they started a newspaper, then some others who started a TV station, etc..” but then Charles Liu slapped: “Matt Robertson is a reporter from (a Chinese Paper)..You’ll also find him on Wikipedia defending the honor of Chinese by keeping out all facts he/they don’t want people to know.” Many minority groups know how hard it is to get voices heard and not necessarily that we don’t want people to know, that’s why blogger websites like this is a bliss for the variety of opinions, but keep yourself neutral and independent and hope I won’t see another full excerpt of an article from a China owned academy on the editorial of another Canadian media/blog that claimed to be an independent platform.