Jackson Citizen-Patriot, Michigan: Practitioners tell of abuse in China

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Song Zhang languished in a Beijing prison for eight months in 2000 -- two months for each word he dared to say.

Tuesday, the retired English teacher uttered them again through a bullhorn to passersby in downtown Jackson: "Falun Dafa is great."

Zhang, 68, said he was one of the lucky practitioners of what's also known as Falun Gong, a form of meditation and exercise banned by the Chinese government.

Communist officials have killed and cremated thousands of adherents for their beliefs, Zhang and other followers contend.

Many victims are kept alive while their organs are harvested, which can net more than $100,000 each, Falun Gong followers allege.

A 2006 human rights report found evidence of abuse. Investigators David Kilgour, former Canadian secretary of state, and human rights attorney David Matas called for a United Nations investigation.

Chinese officials did release Zhang, who sought asylum in 2003 with family in Madison Heights, near Detroit. He joined 10 other followers on a six-city tour across Michigan Tuesday, including Lansing and Battle Creek, to raise awareness of free speech and human rights abuses in China.

"It's a form of genocide," he said.

The quest has caught the eye of some lawmakers, including state Sen. Mike Goschka, R-Brant.

"The practice of harvesting organs from innocent prisoners of conscience is a crime against humanity," Goschka said in a written statement.

There are about 100 Falun Gong practitioners in the state, said Dongdong Zhang, a follower from Pontiac. The basic tenants are truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.

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