Dallas Morning News: Falun Dafa practitioners tell of persecution

FORT WORTH - Kitty Wang sat in a detention cell just over nine months ago.

She was denied water, food and even sleep.

Ms. Wang sat as her captors, Beijing police, questioned her about her beliefs in Falun Dafa. She was arrested after practicing the regimen in a park near her home in China.

"I was scared," she said. "The government had banned these exercises, and they kept asking me why I wanted to keep practicing."

Ms. Wang and several practitioners of Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, performed exercises at the Fort Worth Water Garden on Sunday afternoon, celebrating World Falun Dafa Day.

Falun Gong, a set of exercises and spiritual principles, has gained attention since its public introduction in 1992, principally because Chinese officials ban it.

Passing out literature to curious Fort Worth onlookers, Ms. Wang and her fellow practitioners hope to raise public awareness about religious persecution by the Chinese government.

"I began practicing almost three years ago," Ms. Wang said. "The moral principles are as important as the physical part."

Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, infused the ancient practice of qigong with spiritual discipline and ethical behavior. Qigong is a catchall name for techniques of spiritual and physical disciplines.

Qigong uses physical exercise to promote spiritual health. After the Chinese cultural revolution, which began in the 1960s, Chinese officials tolerated the qigong practice, providing that it focused solely on the exercise and not on spirituality.

The advent of Falun Gong, which is an offshoot of qigong, angered Chinese officials because of its emphasis on spirituality.

Practitioners of Falun Gong perform five exercises.

The first four are performed standing, and the last is done in seated meditation.

Crowds normally converge in public parks throughout China for morning exercises. However, police and military officials easily can pluck Falun Gong followers from the crowds because of their specific regimen.

"I was scared because I've never done anything illegal - I didn't understand why they were doing this to me," Ms. Wang said. "After I was released, I don't know why, but I still got to come to the United States to study."

Ms. Wang is studying for her master of business administration degree from Southern Methodist University. In her spare time, she teaches others about the principles and practices of Falun Gong.

"I think this can really help people's relationship with each other - it's also a benefit to society," she said.

However, practicing Falun Gong in the United States does not always put practitioners out of reach for punishment by the Chinese government.

Dakun Sun, an organizer of the World Falun Dafa Day event in Fort Worth, is a man without a nation.

"The Chinese consulate refused to renew my passport, and I can't travel and I can't go back home," Mr. Sun said. "They got my name from a local Web site about Falun Gong - I think they matched my name to my passport and would not renew it."

Mr. Sun asked whether he had broken any laws while in the United States and asked what he could do to get his passport renewed.

"They never told me on the phone what I did wrong, and they never returned my calls," he said.

A trip to the consulate in Houston revealed that his passport was withheld because of his Falun Gong practices, Mr. Sun said.

He was granted a three-year work permit by the U.S. government but said he is unsure what he will do when it expires.

Three principles of Falun Dafa are truthfulness, benevolence and forbearance. Truthfulness, Mr. Sun said, discourages him or any other practitioner from lying about their faith.

"Police in China will sometimes go up to random people in the streets and ask them if they practice Falun Gong," he said. "We value truthfulness and we say, 'yes.'"

Mr. Sun described a more offensive way police root out Falun Gong practitioners.

"They walk up to people and tell them to curse the name of Mr. Li, our teacher," he said. "Of course we won't do that."

Mr. Sun came to the United States six years ago to complete his master's degree in computer science. He lives in Richardson and volunteers time to teach others about Falun Gong. He also helps organize events that raise awareness about religious persecution in China.

Falun Gong practitioners shy away from calling the movement a religion, because that term implies a specific organization.

"We don't belong to an organization," said Stacy Zhang of Dallas. "We read and practice on our own or in groups. I went to see a lecture given by [the founder] Mr. Li and I never stopped."

Mrs. Zhang said the exercises and principles also improve health, as well as cultivate moral fiber and body awareness.

"It's peaceful to the mind and body," Mrs. Zhang said. "I want to do whatever I can to promote the Dafa."