The Medicine Hat News (Alberta, Canada): Walking for freedom of Falun Gong

Picture: Ping Li and Weijie Zhong meet with media and concerned citizens in front of City Hall Wednesday afternoon. The two are part of a three person team walking 900 kilometres from Calgary to Regina to raise awareness for Falun Gong prisoners in China.

Thursday, November 1, 2001

[...] Members of Falun Gong stopped in Medicine Hat Wednesday to get support for religious tolerance in China.

Ping Li and Wei-jie Zhong are walking from Calgary to Regina and stopping in every municipality on the way as part of the SOS! Global Rescue Walk. Other members of Falun Gong are taking up the cause around the world to focus attention on the hundreds of thousands of people imprisoned in China because of their faith.

China outlawed the spiritual meditation practice in 1999 [...].

A ridiculous notion, according to Medicine Hat MP Monte Solberg.

"The only thing they engage in is very mild forms of civil disobedience," he said. "And that is enough for Chinese authorities to consider them a threat to the state."

A former Foreign Affairs critic, Solberg said he has taken Falun Gong's case to the Foreign Affairs committee and to several Chinese officials.

[...]

Falun Gong is based on the principles of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance. It focuses on peaceful meditation exercises that participants can practise on a daily basis.

[...]

"The principles transcend all religions, races, and countries," he said.

The Chinese government outlawed Falun Gong after it received reports on how many people practised it, and that high ranking officials were among their number.

"They want to keep power forever, they don't allow any principles," said Guan.

Chinese police have made hundreds of thousands of arrests since 1999 and several hundred Falun Gong practitioners have been reported tortured and killed in police custody.

"China is the biggest human rights abuser in the world," Solberg said.

That's why Li volunteered to walk 30 kilometres a day for the Global Rescue Walk. The University of Alberta masters graduate said the response from Albertans so far has been positive.

"People really appreciate our courage and support us and wish us success," she said.

Guan said the welcome in Medicine Hat was very friendly. He met with Mayor Garth Vallely who promised his support. Guan is hoping all Albertans will write to their representatives to get them to pressure China into relaxing their religious intolerance policies.

Canada is involved in pressuring China on human rights issues said Solberg.

"Canada has a committee that meets once a year with Chinese officials specifically on human rights, and Falun Gong are very prominent in those discussions," he said.

The biggest pressure on China may prove to be economic. With China's entry into the World Trade Organization, their winning bid for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and continuing trade with western nations, Solberg hopes China will open up to western values such as freedom of religion.

"There's always hope that things will loosen up," he said.

Until then, Falun Gong will continue its global awareness campaign.

"They are drawing attention to an important abuse of religious freedom and for that reason they should win our admiration," he said. "I hope that at some point their efforts are rewarded with real religious freedom and tolerance in China."