July 17, 2003 Thursday Final Edition
TORONTO (CP) -- Several dozen adherents of the Falun Gong spiritual movement rallied Wednesday to
mark the fourth anniversary of the punishing crackdown in China on the group.
Comparing the campaign to the Nazi persecution of the Jews, they called for an end to the
attacks, torture and imprisonment of practitioners in China and to a global propaganda war being
waged by Beijing.
"The extent of the brutality is shocking," said Li Zhang, whose engineer husband Lizhi
He, 38, has been in a Chinese prison for more than two years.
"Knowing I could be kidnapped at any moment, I fled to Canada alone."
Falun Gong practitioners, based on the 1992 teachings of a Chinese man, Li Hongzi, use meditation
and gentle exercises to enhance their well-being. The practice has spread to millions of people in
countries around the world including Canada, although the largest group of adherents remains in
China.
[...]
Four years ago, Jiang Zemin, the Communist leader of the country ordered a crackdown.
Falun Gong practitioners were jailed. Authorities have been accused of torturing some of the
prisoners to death.
Thirteen family members of 10 Canadians were jailed in the crackdown, although eight have been
released.
Proponents accuse the Chinese government of exporting its anti-Falun Gong campaign through its
embassies and consulates, including in Canada.
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