To investigate the criminal conduct of all institutions, organizations, and individuals involved in the persecution of Falun Gong; to bring such investigations, no matter how long it takes, no matter how far and deep we have to search, to full closure; to exercise fundamental principles of humanity; and to restore and uphold justice in society.
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Letter from WOIPFG to the Chariman and CEO of Mary Kay, Inc.

October 21, 2003
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October 21, 2003

Mr. Richard R. Rogers
Chairman and CEO
Mary Kay Inc.
P.O. Box 799045
Dallas, TX 75379-9045

Dear Mr. Rogers:

I am writing to you to express my concern about some disturbing news that has recently come to the attention of the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG).

Confirmed reports from China reveal that several employees of the Mary Kay Company in Shenzhen were discriminated against and dismissed from their jobs because of their personal beliefs. According to an article published in the October 19 online edition of the Epoch Times, Mary Kay employees were pressured into signing a letter that required them to forfeit their practice of Falun Gong in order to keep their jobs. Several employees refused to sign and, subsequently, were immediately forced to leave the company. According to the Epoch Times report, the government agency known as the "610 Office" informed Mary Kay officials that operations would be disrupted if the company did not comply with the requirement to have all employees sign a letter agreeing not to practice Falun Gong-a threat that I presume you were unaware of.

Mr. Rogers, you are most likely also unaware of the fact that when your employees are denied basic human rights in this manner, your company is unwittingly being used by the Chinese government regime to further the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Falun Gong is a meditation and exercise practice with teachings emphasizing virtue and high values such as truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Since its introduction in 1992, it quickly spread to nearly 100 million people throughout China, and is now practiced in over 50 countries. Governments around the world have issued hundreds of awards and proclamations commending Falun Gong and the general well-being and harmony it has brought to practitioners and their families, as well as their communities.

In 1999, however, feeling threatened by the practice's quickly growing popularity, the Jiang regime initiated a campaign to eliminate it. Jiang at that time established a Gestapo-like agency called the 610 Office specifically to handle the persecution. At present, 800 deaths from torture have been verified by outside sources, but the actual number far exceeds that. Tens of thousands have been arbitrarily detained and sent to labor camps and prisons. Thousands of healthy people have been sent to mental hospitals where they are drugged and abused. And many female practitioners regardless of age have been raped and brutalized.

This political persecution launched by Jiang is still in effect and escalating at a horrific rate. It not only violates China's own constitution and international law but also undermines human morality and conscience. Government and non-government officials worldwide have condemned the persecution and its violations of human rights. Lawsuits have been filed or prepared in at least 10 countries, charging Jiang and 610 Office officials with genocide and crimes against humanity.

The Mary Kay Company emphasizes that "Integrity and the Golden Rule must guide every business decision," stating that it will carry out its mission "in a spirit of caring" and by "living the positive values" on which the Company was founded. It seems that the principles of Falun Gong, which promote positive values and teach practitioners to be kind, responsible, dedicated workers who care about others first and live according to the highest moral and ethical standards are quite in line with Mary Kay's fundamental principles.

Your company also encourages employees to balance their lives "with God, family, and career in harmony." Therefore, it is even more disturbing that your Chinese employees are being denied their careers because of their spiritual belief. The Jiang regime targets not only Falun Gong but also unregistered Christians, Tibetans, Uighur Muslims, and other spiritual, religious, and ethnic groups.

This is a matter of great concern and one that the WOIPFG intends to investigate. We urge you to conduct an investigation into this matter as well, in order to ensure that Mary Kay's mission is fulfilled and that American ideals and freedoms are protected and preserved in businesses overseas.

For your information, I am enclosing Witness to History to provide you with an overview of the Falun Gong situation in China, and also the Falun Gong Report for 2003, which specifically documents the persecution of women.


Sincerely,

John Jaw
President of WOIPFG


World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong

Tel：1-347-448-5790；Fax：1-347-402-1444；
Mail Address：P.O. Box 84， New york, NY 10116
Website： http://www.upholdjustice.org/, http://www.zhuichaguoji.org/