September 7, 2001

Today an "SOS! Global Walk" is taking place all across the U.S., Europe, Australia, and Asia. Today, the five of us will start our journey on foot from Toronto to Ottawa, where we will appeal to our Prime Minister for the urgent rescue of the peaceful and good Falun Gong practitioners in China who are being persecuted for their belief in "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance."

Today, practitioners in China are slandered, suppressed, tortured and murdered by their own senseless and insecure government and yet, their hearts have never faltered. With the power of "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance," they have upheld their sacred right to practice their beliefs. With their rock solid courage and peaceful hearts they have won the respect and admiration of millions worldwide.

Today, we start our 20-day journey to symbolize the courageous hearts of these hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China who continue to peacefully protect virtue and goodness for the future of their society.

Throughout our journey we will pass through 45 Ontario cities and towns. We will talk to people about the brutal persecution. We will tell people the heroic stories of Falun Gong practitioners in China who have suffered and died for their beliefs, and we will call upon all people to support the precious principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance."

Today, we walk to Ottawa carrying tens of thousands of signatures on petitions from kind-hearted Canadians across the country. These signatures represent the hearts of Canadian people who support and protect virtue and goodness in our world and condemn the brutal persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China.

Twenty days from now, we will present these signatures to our Prime Minister requesting that he make every effort to urge the President of China to release Shenli Lin, the husband of a Canadian artist and to end the brutal persecution of Falun Gong.

Twenty days from now Falun Gong practitioners will continue their walk to the United Nations in New York City to ask the UN to send an independent investigation team to China to investigate the widespread and systematic persecution of the peaceful Falun Gong.

Together, we make our call: "SOS! Urgent: Rescue the Falun Gong practitioners persecuted in China!"