Plano Star Courier [Texas]: Falun Gong practitioners under persecution, group says

July 14, 2001

Practicing Falun Gong has kept him away from his medicine bottles for almost five years, according to 74-year-old Shao Xuyao of Plano.

"Before practicing Falun Gong, my health was very poor, and I had to take medicine bottles with me during my business trips," said Shao, who used to work for the Chinese water resources bureau in a small town. "But after practicing it, my health improved and I don't need any medicine."

Three Plano practitioners attended a press conference Thursday at the JFK Memorial Plaza in Dallas, held by a group of Falun Gong practitioners from Los Angeles. The group, comprised of 11 American and Chinese practitioners, are traveling across the country, headed to Washington D.C., to raise awareness about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. [...].

[...] Prior to the 1999 crackdown, Falun Gong had attracted an estimated 60 million practitioners in China, almost as many as the party's members.

The Chinese [party' name omitted] Party took no action, unaware of its existence, until one morning two years ago, when the leaders found practitioners meditating outside government offices, protesting a magazine article that criticized Falun Gong [...]

On April 25, 1999, about 10,000 people showed up to demonstrate outside the central government's building. The party was stunned not only by the numbers of followers, but the scope -- high-ranking party officials and military officers were also on the list of membership.

[...]

The crackdown escalated last year, and a nationwide system held police and factory bosses accountable when people around them practice Falun Gong.

Police threw members who refused to disavow Falun Gong into labor camps and prisons.

Gina Sanchez, of Los Angeles, spokesperson of the press conference, said in June, 2001, at least 35 deaths of practitioners have been reported and an unknown number of others who have been detained in the camp are still receiving emergency treatment for injuries.

"We are seeking every means - diplomatic, legal and humanitarian - to stop any further killing of innocent people in China," she said.

While the Chinese government viewed it as a threat to national security, millions of practitioners regarded it as a way to achieve health and enlightenment. Stacey Zhang, a software engineer at XO Communications in Plano, started to practice Falun Gong three years ago and she now practices daily for about one-and-a-half hours.

"Through practicing Falun Gong, I find inner peace and feel energetic," she said. "The three principles teaches me to speak the truth, be kind to people and bear hardships."

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