By VANESSA HO

(Clearwisdom.net) A mild-mannered, fortysomething software analyst from Bellevue, Kim Eng doesn't seem like a take-to-the-streets type of guy.

But yesterday, he and his wife packed up their Honda minivan and hit the road for an 11-day mission. Destination? President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas.

A devoted Falun Gong follower, Eng will join thousands of other Falun Gong believers in Texas next week when Chinese President Jiang Zemin visits Bush.

Along with about 30 other Seattle-area followers, Eng plans to call attention to the Chinese government's three-year crackdown on the spiritual practice, followers announced yesterday at a news conference at Westlake Plaza.

Chinese authorities have [...] jailed thousands of followers.

[...]

Eng will stop in five cities on his way to Crawford as part of a campaign to pressure the Chinese government to release Falun Gong detainees, some of whom have relatives in the United States. Followers are calling the campaign a "Family Rescue" effort.

"At each stop along the way, we hope to let more people know about the persecution in China," Eng said.

[...]

Human rights reports have said that the crackdown has resulted in at least two dozen deaths and the sentencing of hundreds of people to labor camps. (Editor's Note: These are incorrectly cited numbers. Confirmed deaths due to persecution exceed 500 with tens of thousands sent to labor camp.)

Tongwen Wang, a 35-year-old immunologist from Seattle, said China's "propaganda" about Falun Gong has prompted her to speak out. She also plans to be in Texas next week.

"If people in China know Falun Gong is good, (they will understand) it has great healing effect," she said. [...]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/91559_falungong17.shtml

Posting date: 10/18/2002
Original article date: 10/17/2002
Category: News & Media Reports

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