FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 3/28/2002 Canadian University Student Missing in China TORONTO, March 28, 2002 -- 22-year-old Christine Loftus, a student at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario and a native of Barrie, Ontario, has disappeared while traveling in China with her boyfriend Jason Pomerleau, 24, of Boston. The two, who met at a Falun Gong experience sharing conference in 1999, were traveling in China to inform the Chinese citizens about the ongoing persecution campaign against Falun Gong and the true beneficial nature of the practice?facts that are completely shrouded in an intense government propaganda campaign against Falun Gong. It is suspected the two were detained while distributing materials on their fourth day in China after both failed to call friends back home at agreed-upon times. Both Christine and her boyfriend Jason had called friends the day before and mentioned that their trip was going well. They each set times the next day to call again but were not heard from after that. Foreign Affairs of Canada was notified of Christine's disappearance at noon today. Raised in Barrie, Ontario, Christine is currently in her second year as a Child and Youth Studies major at Brock University. She has been very active in raising awareness of the persecution of Falun Gong in China in the university community. In November, she completed a five-day walk from St. Catharines to Toronto visiting four universities and gaining much support from student governments to call for an end to the persecution. Christine started practicing Falun Gong 3.5 years ago after she and her twin brother Jason Loftus came across the practice at a Barrie health show. Jason Loftus, an engineering student at the University of Toronto, went to China himself in February and held a press conference in Beijing to disclose that the "self-immolation" tragedy on Tiananmen Square was a setup by the Chinese government intending to demonize Falun Gong and justify the persecution campaign. Jason was detained for 27 hours by Beijing police and abused before being deported and sent home to Canada. Christine's trip to China comes at a time of extreme escalated persecution against Falun Gong in Changchun, China. Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action Notice on the situation in Changchun on March 15 noting ¡°Dozens of suspected members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement have reportedly been detained during a security crackdown in Changchun City, Jilin Province, and that Amnesty International believes they are at serious risk of torture or ill-treatment. Since this time, reports of at least 5000 Falun Gong practitioners abducted over a two week time and, more alarmingly, at least 100 deaths in police custody, have been received. Orders have been handed down to cremate bodies without identification or notice so it is impossible to ascertain the true death toll. Jason Loftus had just this morning completed his 24-hour segment of the rotating hunger strike outside Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham's constituency office in Toronto, calling for Canada's voice to condemn the ongoing slaughter in Changchun. Falun Gong practitioners in Ottawa, Quebec City and Vancouver are also doing hunger strikes calling for Canada's aid to rescue practitioners facing the crisis in Changchun, China. Jason Loftus said, "Given the recent developments in Changchun, I am very concerned for my sister's safety. I am asking that the Canadian government call for her immediate release as she has been detained unjustly. I also ask that they condemn the ongoing massacre in Changchun, China. China needs to know that slaughtering innocent people is unacceptable to the world community. This is one thing that Canadians going to China have strived to accomplish. International support can help to stop this evil persecution once and for all." Contact: Jason Loftus 416-977-4281 (home), 416-246-4071 (pager) Cindy Gu 416-419-9981 (cell) Joel Chipkar 416-709-8678 (cell) Background on Falun Gong: Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a powerful self-improvement practice based on the universal principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" and consists of gentle exercises and meditation. It was made public in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi and quickly spread by word of mouth throughout China. Falun Gong is now practiced in over 50 countries. With government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing Falun Gong, China's President Jiang Zemin outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999. Unable to crush the spirit of millions who had experienced improved health and positive life changes from Falun Gong, Jiang's regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while quietly imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it. The Falun Dafa Information Center has verified details of over 380 deaths since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. Government officials inside China, however, report that the actual death toll is well over 1,600. Over 100,000 have been detained, with more than 20,000 being sentenced to forced labor camps without trial. ___________________________________________________________________________ For background on the spiritual practice and the crisis in China, please visit http://falundafa.ca/infocentre. To subscribe, unsubscribe or change the delivery mode, please visit http://mulist.cjb.net ___________________________________________________________________________