Thursday, February 14, 2002

A 25-year-old Columbia woman is believed by her parents to be among 40 members of the Falun Dafa spiritual group detained today in Beijing after a Tiananmen Square demonstration protesting Chinese treatment of the banned Group's practitioners.

The demonstration - the fourth and largest protest held at the square by foreign members of the group - took place amid crowds of tourists celebrating the Chinese New Year. [...] Practitioners believe a combination of meditation and breathing exercises are a spiritual process to improve oneself. Sara Effner, who left for China on Tuesday to participate in the demonstration, was supposed to telephone her parents when she returned from the protest. The demonstration occurred at 2 p.m. Beijing time, or 1 a.m. Missouri time. This morning, the Effners had yet to hear from their daughter and believed she had been detained. A desk employee at Effner's hotel said she had not seen Effner and that Effner was not in her room this morning.

"I know if she were not arrested, she would have called me," said Sarah's father, Randall Effner. "You pretty much assume it will happen, you try to keep a positive mind, too; you don't go there wanting it to happen."

The Department of State has confirmed at least 40 followers were detained today, but they do not know the nationality of the detainees or whether Effner was among those arrested, said Ianthe Jackson, a spokeswoman for Rep. Kenny Hulshof, R-Columbia. In 2000, Hulshof assisted in the release of former Columbia resident Sue Jiang after she was arrested by the Chinese government for practicing Falun Dafa.

Randall Effner contacted Hulshof and his own representative, Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo, this morning for assistance in contacting the state department and other authorities. Both congressmen have agreed to help the Effners, but Hulshof spokesman Eric Feltner said Effner's release might be more difficult than Jiang's because Effner went to the country to protest.

Effner, an employee at Clover's Natural Food, explained her reasons for going to China in a prepared statement she wrote before her departure.

"For a long time it has been the desire of my heart to go to China to testify to the goodness of Falun Gong so that these people who have been betrayed by the lies can finally learn the truth," Effner wrote in the statement e-mailed to reporters this week.

http://www.showmenews.com/2002/Feb/20020214News008.asp