Annex Town Crier Toronto: Falun Gong Follower Awaits Spouse's Return

October 28, 2003

(Cleawisdom.net) It's been more than two years since Li Zhang has seen her husband, Lizhi He.

He and Zhang are followers of the meditation-exercise practice Falun Gong, which has been banned by the Chinese government since 1999. He was a civil engineer with the Construction Ministry of the Chinese government and in 2000 was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for his Falun Gong activities, where he remains today.

Falun Gong has a reported following of almost 100 million[...]. Considered a cultivation practice, Falun Gong consists of two main divisions: the principles and the exercises. Practitioners cultivate, or improve, their mind, body and spirit by incorporating teachings based on the universal principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" into their daily lives. As well, they regularly practice five sets of exercises, similar to Tai Chi.

The [practice] also emphasizes the cultivation of moral qualities in daily life. Practitioners lead normal family and work lives as responsible, contributing members of society. Whenever in conflict with others, they don't fight back, rather, a practitioner strives to look inside for self-improvement and become a better person under all circumstances. [...]

Zhang and He have been practicing Falun Gong since 1995. He was arrested and jailed while they were going through the process of immigrating to Canada. Zhang appealed to the Chinese government to release her husband, but she was under the threat of detention herself. She decided to come to Canada alone and fight for him from here.

"The last I heard from my husband is two years ago, he was in a prison hospital in Beijing," she told the Town Crier. "His face was swelled up, he had a very bad cough and he was coughing up blood. Other than that I do not know what is happening to him."

Zhang says the imprisonment of her husband and hundreds like him is based on fear.

"In China, there's just one voice from the government, they're scared, and they're brainwashing people, but they just don't know what Falun Gong is."

[...] Falun Gong follower Joel Chipkar says the communist government feels threatened by the practice because it has spread across China faster than any other teachings in history. Anything that has an ideology other than the Communist party's in China, he says, is dubbed an evil cult that has to be eliminated.

"It's a very corrupt government there right now," he says. "Falun Gong teaches the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance, and because these principles have spread across the country, it's scaring the government."

Chipkar says the Chinese government uses intimidation to get followers to stop practicing Falun Gong, and it doesn't stop at their geographical borders -- local businesses have been targets as well. He says anyone who deals with a business in China has been told by the Chinese consulate to be sure there are no Falun Gong followers working with them, or there will be no business dealings.

Annex residents, the group says, have been supporting the protestors, bringing hot beverages, honking their support with their car horns and signing every petition. They plan on staying there as long as it takes.

"I want people to know what is happening in China, to all these innocent people," says Zhang. "I want people to lend their voice to help us stop this persecution. Also, appeal to people to stop the hate propaganda, not just in Canada, but all over the world."

Until that happens, Zhang says she'll continue to wait for her husband, and try to stay optimistic.