Houston Chronicle: Breaking with tradition [Excerpt]
By MARY VUONG
March 15, 2002, 6:58AM [...] This year, some spiritually driven Texas college students chose to spend the
weeklong respite from school in Houston, doing something different. A
decision that meant rising -- not going to bed -- at dawn.
[...] Separately, two women protested the Chinese government's persecution of
Falun Gong practitioners. [...] Danielle Wang, a junior at the University of Texas in Austin, and Kitty
Wang, a graduate student at Southern Methodist University, staged a four-day
hunger strike outside the local Chinese Consulate to oppose their homeland's
treatment of Falun Gong followers. [...] The women, who are unrelated, said they have been personally affected by
China's [persecution] on practitioners. Danielle Wang, 22, said her father was sentenced to a 16-year jail term in
1999 because he is a practitioner. She left China in 1998 to join her mother
in San Antonio, and now studies civil engineering. Kitty Wang, 28, said the Chinese police arrested and detained her for two
days in 2000 for practicing Falun Gong in a park. She came to Dallas shortly
after, seeking an MBA degree. Beginning Tuesday, the students surrounded themselves with large signs and
dressed in bright yellow tops adorned by sashes that read "Hunger Strike for
Justice." They practiced Falun Gong exercises and read founder Li Hongzhi's
books as his message came alive via a portable cassette player.
Occasionally, local followers joined. "I hope I can attract attention from the public and raise awareness,"
Danielle Wang said. "I want to help my father." The Chinese government's intensified actions against practitioners this year
made her "feel more obliged to get involved," Kitty Wang said. So she asked herself, "Why don't I use this time to do something
meaningful?" http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1296504
Chronicle
Danielle and Kitty Wang stage a four-day hunger strike outside the
local Chinese Consulate.
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