10/01/2001

VANCOUVER (CP) _ About three dozen Falun Gong members demonstrated outside the Chinese Consulate on Monday to mark the start of a cross-country walk against state repression of fellow practitioners in China.

Supporters are beginning a 4,500-kilometre relay across five provinces as part of the SOS! Global Rescue Walk taking place in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

The demonstration coincided with an Oct. 1 national holiday in China.

''We hope to awaken people's hearts and show that terrorism has no boundary,'' said Falun Gong spokesman Sophia Bronwen.

''To date, nearly 300 Falun Gong practitioners have been confirmed dead in police custody in the crackdown,'' she said. ''More than 100,000 are reported to have been sent to labour camps without trial.''

Bronwen asked supporters to write Prime Minister Jean Chretien with their concerns before he travels to China next month.

Supporters describe Falun Gong as a mind and body self-improvement' practice, marrying physical exercises similar to Tai Chi [...].

They say that those spiritual elements, as well as the movement's popularity - an estimated 70 million to 100 million people practise it in 30 countries, with the majority in China - have turned the Chinese government against it.

Falun Gong practices have been taught for centuries, but mostly between individual masters and students.

Last year, 10,000 Falun Gong members surrounded Beijing's Zhongnanhai leadership compound demanding official recognition of Falun Gong and a halt to attacks on practitioners in China's state-run media.

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