March 07, 2003

Falun Gong practitioners rallied at City Hall Thursday to protest the Chinese government's recent arrest of a U.S. citizen who follows the movement.

Seven adherents of the meditation and exercise regimen, which is banned in China, said they wanted to draw attention to the plight of Charles Li.

Li, a U.S. citizen, faces 15 years in prison after Chinese officials found him in possession of Falun Gong materials.

He was arrested last month shortly after he landed in China to visit his family, said Tracey Zhu of New Haven, who attended the rally. He has been allowed only one meeting with a U.S. Embassy official and is unlikely to get a fair trial, Zhu said.

Li, who was on a Chinese government "watch list" for his political views, had also accused the Chinese of practicing genocide against their own people, the protesters said.

"He may be seen as a hostage by the government, someone who can be used as leverage with the U.S.," said Min Deng, also of New Haven.

The group has collected more than 100 signatures urging the State Department to press Chinese officials for Li's release, and also seeks the release of about 40 other U.S. citizens held in Chinese prisons.

Two other state residents, Tie Wu of Middletown and Shelly Ren of Rocky Hill, are pressing the cases of family members who have been jailed for practicing Falun Gong.

Scott Roberson of New Haven was himself briefly jailed in China a year ago before being expelled from the country. He said the Chinese frequently torture, starve or brainwash such detainees, but did not do so to him, because he is not Chinese.

"There is a lot of jealousy over the popularity of Falun Gong, which is also called Falun Dafa because it has more followers than the Communist Party," said Zhenyu Sun of Orange.

Since the system was made public in 1992, more than 100 million Chinese have learned it, she said. [...]

Roberson said the series of five exercises is akin to yoga or tai chi, and it has three governing principles: truth, compassion and tolerance.

"Where I used to get all upset if someone cut me off when I was driving, now I say, 'So what does that really matter?' " he said.

The system also emphasizes health, said Jian Ye. The New Haven resident said he has gotten relief from his allergies through Falun Gong.

Several of the demonstrators at City Hall Thursday said they meet regularly in parks or in each other's homes, to exercise and study Falun Gong together, Roberson said.

"You can't do that in China. There is no rule of law there," Jian Ye said.

They selected Milford for the rally because it was centrally located for many practitioners

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