November 8, 2001

For the sake of her spiritual compatriots in China, Christine Loftus begins a solitary march from Niagara to Toronto today.

Loftus, a sophomore at Brock University, is a practitioner of Falun Dafa, a Chinese spiritual movement also known as Falun Gong. Those who follow Falun Dafa in China have been branded enemies of the state and have been violently repressed for several years.

"I wanted to bring attention to what is happening in China," Loftus said. "This seemed to be a good way."

Loftus, who lives in Barrie when not attending classes at Brock, has been practicing Falun Dafa - consisting of repeated exercises reminiscent of t'ai chi - for three years.

She now practices with [...] other students at Brock's Falun Dafa Club.

Like many followers in North America, she is horrified by the treatment Chinese practitioners have received at the hands of the [Jiang Zemin's] government in Beijing. Many have been arrested over the last few years.

To raise awareness of the issue, Loftus is walking from Brock to [McMaster University, then to] the University of Toronto and then to Ryerson Polytechnic University.

"I will be meeting with the student unions at those universities and carrying a petition with me," she said.

Loftus was scheduled to begin her walk this morning at 8am.