By Tania Fuentez

Saturday, July 14, 2001

ATLANTA -- Falun Gong practitioners held a symbolic walk at a downtown Atlanta park Friday, hoping to alert passers-by of the abuses they claim many practitioners suffer at the hands of the Chinese government.

Practitioners were kicking off a weeklong trek from Atlanta to Washington, D. C., some on foot, others driving in groups or sitting at Chinese consulates in protest.

This month marks the two-year anniversary of the Chinese government's crackdown on the Falun Gong. Stops are planned in Charlotte, N.C., Greenville, S.C., Richmond, Va. and Greensboro, N.C. The group will rally Thursday outside the White House.

Amy Lee joined about 40 people Friday at Woodruff Park, calling for an end to the abuses. Lee said she left China earlier this year after being beaten and arrested several times for doing traditional Chinese exercises associated with Falun Gong.

"A Western journalist showed sympathy and helped me come to America several months ago," Lee said through a translator.

On Thursday, the group said 10 members had been killed at a Chinese labor camp. China denied the allegation.

The petite 33-year-old woman will not use her real name in fear of retribution. Her husband, a member of the Chinese [party' name omitted] Party, was forced to divorce her after police interrogated him for several hours. She also had to leave a 6-year-old daughter behind, she said.

Last summer, Lee said she was apprehended by Chinese police, beaten and detained after carrying a banner in Tiananmen Square protesting the crackdown.

"The police got me. They beat me in the car and in the police station. They tore out my hair. I was stripped of my clothes," she said. "Even after three months in jail I still have bruises on my body."

Falun Gong has spread to more than 40 countries, attracting millions with its mix of Eastern philosophies, meditation and exercise.

[...]

Chinese officials have said that [Jiang Zemin government's slanderous terms omitted]. The Falun Gong says its teachings forbid all forms of killing, including suicide. Practitioners say they have no political or spiritual affiliation.

Yan Wang, a Falun Gong practitioner, plans to be in Washington next week. "A lot of people have a misconception in China about what Falun Gong practitioners are doing," Wang said. "We are normal. We're just trying to be a better person."

On the Web Falun Gong Information center: www.faluninfo.net

Walk to Washington: www.walktodc.org

http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/071401/LOCgongap.shtml

Posting date: 7/15/2001
Original article date: 7/14/2001
Category: News & Media Reports

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