Friday, July 20, 2001

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- An estimated 3,000 advocates of Falun Gong marched from the Washington Monument to the Capitol Thursday to protest the Chinese government's ban on the meditation [group].

Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., greeted the protesters, including 15 Minnesotans, marking the two years since China's government allegedly began killing and imprisoning Falun Gong practitioners.

"Falun Gong is based on practicing truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. Throughout my career ... I have believed in the values you represent more than any values," Wellstone said.

John Nania, who practices Falun Gong in Minneapolis, said that "having a huge number of people do anything makes the Chinese government nervous, since they get their power from controlling people's minds."

Wellstone criticized the decision to hold the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, saying that the city should not receive the honor until it "respects human rights ... and stops torturing people and putting people in prison."

http://www.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisSlug=CHIN20&date=20-Jul-2001&word=falun