AP: Falun Gong supporters plan 221-mile journey to raise awareness

á9/26/01 4:21 AM

TROY, Mich. (AP) -- Nearly two-dozen people plan to walk from Detroit to Muskegon starting Wednesday to protest the actions by the Chinese government against people who practice Falun Gong.

Also known as Falun Dafa, the meditation [group] is outlawed in mainland China as an "[Jiang Zemin government's slanderous term omitted]," but the group remains legal in Hong Kong and frequently protests there against Beijing's suppression of mainland followers.

Tim and Yanna of Troy are among area Chinese Americans participating inthe walk, which begins at Hart Plaza in Detroit. Most will make the 221-mile journey in shifts, and they expect to be in Muskegon by Oct. 8.

"I want people to know about what is going on in China," Yanna told The Oakland Press. "There are horrible atrocities going on every day, against innocent people. Those people have no rights, their names are given to the government and terrible things happen to them."

In countries around the world, other Falun Gong practitioners have protested China's actions by making massive walks. Tim Sun said people in Seattle, San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C. have made similar walks.

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