About 40 Falun Gong practitioners in the Atlanta area expect to be among the thousands gathering in the nation's capital on July 19 to draw attention to China's escalating persecution of the movement's adherents.

The Atlanta group will set out Friday on an auto tour for Washington, passing through Greenville, S.C., Charlotte, Greensboro, N.C., and Richmond.

At each stop, the group plans to hold a news conference to highlight the plight of practitioners in China, many of whom have been forced into labor camps or committed to mental institutions for "re-education." Human rights groups say 252 practitioners have died in police custody --- almost half of those deaths occurred this year, they say.

China claims the movement [Jiang Zemin government's slanderous terms omitted]. Practitioners say Falun Gong is a spiritual practice with no political aspirations.

"The practitioners in China cannot speak up," said Becky Yao, who is helping coordinate the trip, "so we have to be their voice."

The gathering in Washington, coinciding with the second anniversary of China's crackdown on Falun Gong, is expected to draw more than 3,000 practitioners from various states and countries as far away as Taiwan, Yao said.

A group from Florida that is cycling its way to D.C. passed through Augusta last week. Another, from Boston, is making the trip to the rally on foot.

Posting date: 7/13/2001
Category: News & Media Reports

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