No information on leaders of the Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa and Falungong) in Jiangmen or on a Falun Gong demonstration in Jiangmen in July 1997 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

For information on the organization of the Falun Gong, including references to the absence of visible leaders with this belief system, please refer to CHN33627.E of 21 January 2000, CHN33255.EX of 3 December 1999, CHN33180.EX of 26 November 1999 and CHN33002.EX of 8 October 1999. In addition to these Responses, a directory of Falun Gong organizations around the world lists only volunteers in China and Asia; for China, the directory states that there are "too many [volunteers] to be listed" and adds that "Falun Dafa practitioners can be found in public parks in all the cities every morning" (Falun Dafa in Michigan 2000).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

Falun Dafa in Michigan. 2000. "Falun Dafa Volunteers in China and Asia." http://www.umich.edu/~falun/contact_as.html [Accessed 25 May 2000]

Additional Sources Consulted

Asiaweek [Hong Kong]. 1997.

IRB Databases.

News From Human Rights Watch/Asia [New York]. 1997-2000.

NEXIS.

REFWORLD.

U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC. 9 September 1999. Annual Report on International Religious Freedom for 1999. "China."

World News Connection (WNC).

Internet Websites, including:

Amnesty International.

Human Rights Watch.

Internet Search Engines.

Note:

This list is not exhaustive. It does not include subject and country-specific publications available in the Resource Centre.