The Madison Times (Wisconsin): Falun Gong was "self-cultivation," now a protest action

August 31-September 6, 2001

(Clear Wisdom) Characterized by some as [Jiang Zemin government's slanderous term omitted] and by many others as a peaceful form of personal fulfillment, Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa, has gained over 100 million adherents and enthusiasts throughout the world. Falun Gong is at its root a Chinese health and spiritual practice somewhat related to other slow-movement martial arts like Tai Chi or Qigong. However, what distinguishes it from these other, more traditional practices is the sheer number of people who claim to use the exercises and written code of ethics that guide its followers.

Li Hongzhi, who formally presented the practice at a Chinese Martial Arts exposition, founded Falun Gong in 1992. Initially, the Chinese [party's name omitted] Party accepted Falun Gong, and at times even promoted its use among party members. However, by the end of 1998, China's party leaders became aware of the fact, through census data collected by authorities, that Falun Gong had grown larger than [party's name omitted] Party and had become the largest voluntary organization in China. As a result of this discovery, the attitudes of party authorities toward Falun Gong practitioners were drastically reversed. Over the past three years, a campaign of violent and bloody oppression has been enacted by China as a means to eradicate the movement from the country, forcing its founder, Li, into exile.

In response to China's actions, individuals involved with the international Falun Gong movement, including some Madison residents, have begun to raise their voices in protest. "Falun Gong has no organizations and there is no money involved in this movement; this is a movement that is concerned only with self-cultivation," said Liam O'Neill, a Falun Gong practitioner, at a protest against China's policy on the Capital Square. "It makes no sense that China's leaders would be threatened by this movement. But since [1999] there have been over 100,000 arrests and at least [250] cases of tortured and murdered Falun Gong practitioners." O'Neill went on to characterize China's persecution of the Falun Gong as not unlike China's cultural revolution, [...]

Members of the United States Congress have responded to China's campaign against the Falun Gong by introducing Resolution 188, which states that "this policy [banning Falun Gong] violates China's own constitution as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Outside of condemning China's actions, this bill also calls for the immediate release of all Falun Gong practitioners currently being held as prisoners of conscience, and describes the movement as a "peaceful and nonviolent form of personal belief practice."

The Falun Gong made international headlines several months ago, when a crowd of supposed practitioners protested China's policy by dousing themselves in kerosene and lighting themselves on fire, all of which was captured on film. Because of these acts of self-immolation, China's authorities have been able to confirm their claim that Falun Gong is in fact [Jiang Zemin government's slanderous terms omitted] among its initiates. However, members of the Falun Gong have denied these allegations and point to Li's Zhuan Gong [Correction: should be "Zhuan Falun"], which is the movement's primary text, as evidence to their denials. "I have read this book many times," said Sunny Hu, a business major at the University of Wisconsin who has been practicing Falun Gong for three years. "Nowhere does it encourage violence. Falun Gong is a peaceful movement that encourages three principles: truthfulness, benevolence, and forbearance. Li Hongzhi has written in his book that killing, even oneself, is not right and that it will cause a great amount of bad karma to accumulate."

Although Falun Gong practitioners cannot decisively prove that those individuals who killed themselves in protest were not members of the Falun Gong, they believe that the action is outside of the scope of their faith, and was in fact a ploy by Chinese authorities to step up their campaign of terror. According to O'Neill, regardless of whether or not these suicides were indeed committed by Falun Gong members, the fact remains that China is in the middle of a shocking situation, and we need to send out the call that thousands of lives are at risk. "These people are being beaten, tortured, and murdered, and we need to send an urgent message that this needs to stop."