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Mississippi and Alabama Greet Falun Gong Practitioners from Afar on Car Tour (Photos)
(Clearwisdom.net August 22, 2003) The Southern branch of "The Car Tour to Rescue Charles
Li" continued moving east and arrived at Biloxi, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama. Press
conferences were held in front of the two city halls, respectively. Biloxi and two neighboring cities make up the second largest population area in Mississippi. The
major newspaper, The Sun Herald, covers 6 counties and several hundreds of thousands people
read it. A reporter and photographer from the newspaper attended the press conference in the
morning. The WLOX ABC affiliate also came to cover the event. When a reporter asked the
practitioners why they selected Biloxi for the press conference, the practitioners answered,
"To let more people know about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, we
have visited many cities and come here today. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank the people
here for their support -- the City of Biloxi declared May 26 as Falun Dafa Day in Biloxi."
After the press conference, the practitioners went to the Mayor's office and city council, expressed
their appreciation and delivered truth-clarification literature. The press conference at 2 pm in
Mobile was also successful. Reporters from the local newspaper Mobil Register and TV station
came to interview the practitioners in depth. People here were kind and wanted to sign to help end of the persecution after learning the facts
of Falun Gong. A staff member at city hall said, "I have been here for a while to see you. My
daughter practices Yoga and the hand gestures are similar to yours. I know Falun Gong is good. Hey,
the lady stands so long under the sunshine, does she feel hot?" Texas Falun Gong practitioners participating in "The Car Tour to Rescue Charles Li"
arrived at Pensacola, Florida on August 20, 2003. Reporters from WEARabc3 TV Station came to conduct
interviews. A photographer took footage of the practitioners doing the exercises. A practitioner
talked about Charles Li's illegal arrest in China and the reason for his return to China: to let
more people know about the on-going persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, expose the
Jiang regime's lies and call on kind-hearted people to help end the persecution. A passer-by heard
and asked what they could do to help. The reporter asked what the American people and government
could do to help. The practitioners asked people to sign to help rescue Charles Li and hoped the
American government would increase its efforts to rescue its citizen. After the press conference,
the practitioners visited the Mayor's office and met with an editor and reporter from a local
newspaper. A major local newspaper, The Pensacola News Journal, did not send anyone to the press
conference due to being shorthanded. The practitioners went to the newspaper and an editor listened
attentively about the persecution and Charles Li's situation. He said he would read the literature
carefully. Earlier on the same day, when the practitioners arrived at Dothan, Alabama, local TV station
WOHNTV18 covered the event. A local major newspaper did not send anyone to the press conference also
due to being shorthanded. The practitioners also visited the newspaper after the press conference
and explained the facts to a editor. A police officer looked at our poster boards and literature in
detail and said he would tell this matter to his colleagues and other people. He had a group photo
with the practitioners. |