July 17, 2001

Practitioners and supporters of Falun Gong gathered in uptown Charlotte Monday to heighten awareness of the persecution the spiritual movement faces in China.

While some practitioners demonstrated Falun Gong's slow, controlled exercises, others urged passers-by to recognize the Chinese government's crackdown on the movement.

"Each day, innocent people are being murdered in China," Robert Calloway, a Falun Gong practitioner from Atlanta, read from a statement. "We urgently call for immediate action from all good people and institutions around the world."

An ancient and sometimes controversial Chinese discipline, Falun Gong (pronounced "fah-luhn gong"), gained widespread appeal in China after its introduction in 1992.

The Chinese government banned the practice in July 1999, deeming its growing popularity a threat to Communist rule.

Tens of thousands of practitioners have since been detained in China and thousands sent to labor camps without trial, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center, a volunteer group based in New York, N.Y.

Human rights groups report that more than 150 people have died from police brutality and torture since the crackdown began in 1999.

Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners and supporters will gather in Washington, D.C., for a demonstration later this week to mark two years of persecution in China, said Al Whitted, a practitioner from Raleigh.

Members of the group that gathered in Charlotte Monday were on their way to Washington, part of a network of supporters journeying from around the country to attend the event.

More than 70 million people around the world practice Falun Gong, according to the Falun Dafa Information Center. Small groups of practitioners meet in Charlotte and other North Carolina cities to perform the ancient exercises, Whitted said.

http://www.charlotte.com/observer/local/pub/falungong0717.htm

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