Sacramento Bee (San Francisco): Island of serenity: In Bay Area cities, Chinese exercises help devotees get the day off to a relaxing start

Monday, June 10, 2002

Suchen Zhang, above right, practices Falun Gong at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco with Alan Huang, left, and Sheung Ma. Practitioners of the Chinese exercise regimen gather at the plaza each morning.á Sacramento Bee/Jose M. Osorio

OAKLAND --

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At Civic Center Plaza, which fronts San Francisco City Hall, a small group of Falun Gong [practitioners] gathers each morning under sycamore trees for exercises and quiet contemplation -- despite a cacophony of speeding motorcycles, screeching tires and truck warning beeps that would irritate most others.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a form of "qigong," a self-improvement strategy that involves physical movements and meditation. Many of its [practitioners] in China, estimated to be in the tens of millions, have been brutally repressed by the government in recent years.

Julie Wu, who spoke only a little English, said she has been attending the exercises almost every day for 6 1/2 years. "If you practice (the exercises,) you will look very young," said Wu, 66.

Jimmy Pettway, a stage manager at the Lorraine Hansberry Theater, said his problem with illegal drugs has ended and his life has improved since he started participating each morning. "I came here with $20 in my pocket," he said. "I started with (the Falun Gong exercises) and the next week, I had a job at UCSF."

In Oakland, larger crowds of Chinese Americans and a sprinkling of other ethnic groups gather each day around 7 a.m. at BART headquarters, which is on the edge of the city's Chinatown. At any one time, several classes are going, including Falun Gong, aerobic dance and various forms of tai chi -- which is both an exercise and a martial art derived from Taoism, a Chinese belief system.

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Kit Leong, 64, an Oakland nurse, said the Falun Gong routine in which she spends an hour each morning "purifies the whole body."

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Falun Gong practitioners gather at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco each morning for exercise and contemplation. The self-improvement movement has been repressed in China in recent years.á /Sacramento Bee/Jose M. Osorio

Wanda, who gave only one name because she has family members in China, practices Falun Gong.á /Sacramento Bee/Jose M. Osorio

The book "Zhuan Falun" was written by Li Hongzhi, who introduced the Falun Gong movement to China in 1992.á /Sacramento Bee/Jose M. Osorio

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