The Manchester Journal (Vermont): Falun Dafa practitioners demonstrate in Manchester

article date: 07/11/2003

By Anita Pomerance
Journal Correspondent

MANCHESTER - Seven Falun Dafa practitioners gathered in Manchester June 29 to publicize persecution of their fellow practitioners in China and to educate the public about their spiritual practice, one which combines five sets of exercises with the principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance.

They demonstrated their exercises and gave out brochures on the Town Green, and also displayed posters on the bridge at Routes 11/30 and 7A proclaiming "Bring Jiang to Justice."

According to the brochure, Falun Dafa is an ancient Chinese practice only taught in private until 1992, when Li Hongzhi introduced it to the Chinese public.

It is also referred to as Falun Gong, a term for the concrete aspect of the practice, as opposed to the theory, according to Anatole Polishchuk, a practitioner staying in Manchester.

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Currently, it is practiced in 50 countries, and "millions of practitioners worldwide have reported dramatic improvements in health and a deepened spiritual awareness," according to the brochure.

Falun Dafa became popular in China by the late 1990s, with 70 million to 100 million practitioners, according to Madeline Good of Seabrook, N. H., who came to Manchester for the event. The movement was perceived as a threat to the atheist Communist government, Good said.

According to information available online at www.faluninfo.net, 10,000 Falun Dafa practitioners had held a "legal, peaceful gathering" outside the government compound in Beijing in April 1999.

In July 1999, President Jiang Zemin banned it, and since then, according to the brochure, tens of thousands have been "illegally detained, tortured and sent to forced labor camps."

Polishchuk said the persecution doesn't make sense since there is no formal organization and practitioners were good for the economy because few people needed to use doctors.

Banning Falun Dafa, he said, was "the decision of two or three people, same as the Gestapo. They have unlimited power."

Good said that although Jiang stepped down as president in November 2002, he still controls the Falun Gong Control Office [the "610 Office," created by Jiang to persecute Falun Gong--ed.]. Currently in China, 25 percent of the country's income is being spent on the campaign to ban practitioners, she said.

Falun Gong practitioners are fired from their jobs, female practitioners are forced to have abortions, and marriages between practitioners and non-practitioners are broken up, Good said. Chinese law allows for appeals, but those who try to appeal are [persecuted].

At labor camps, there are no visits, and people are tortured to have them renounce their beliefs, she said.

Good said reports of these events come to practitioners in the U. S. who have relatives in China.

She said the human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have been uncovering and opposing current abuses. They have documented more than 700 deaths from torture, a number that keeps rising, while sources from China give even higher figures, she said.

Good said there are now nine lawsuits worldwide against the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners, among them a class action suit against Jiang for torture and genocide filed in Chicago last October.

Good also described current attempts to rescue American citizen and Falun Dafa practitioner Dr. Charles Li, who was arrested in China on Jan. 22 and given a three-year sentence for "intent to sabotage TV broadcasting."

His charges did not mention Falun Dafa, she said, because as an American citizen his freedom of belief is protected.

Both Good and another of the Falun Dafa [practitioners], Dr. William Franklin McCoy, who practices homeopathic medicine in Cambridge, N.Y., embraced Falun Dafa after experiencing other exercise and meditation practices.

Good, a retired librarian and physical education instructor, said she tried Zen, reiki, massage therapy and t'ai chi at a middle school continuing education program before adopting her current practice a year-and-a-half ago. "Falun Gong is home to me," she said.

McCoy said he and his wife Louise had been doing Gurd Jieff, another form of spiritual practice, for many years, but they found that they preferred the spiritual focus of Falun Gong.

They were drawn to the principle that "the fundamental nature of the universe can be summed up in these three words: truthfulness, compassion and forbearance."

Good also agreed with the three principles. "It's about your moral character. Its ethics were mine. It returns you to your original self," she said.

Good said it helped develop her compassion. "Rather than having you step out of society, you become very responsible to your family and friends," she said.

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She said all practice sites are run by volunteers and books are available for free on the Internet.

McCoy also cited health benefits. "People tend to get healthier when doing Falun Dafa, over time." For example, he said, his wife recovered sensation in a finger that had been numb for 10 years due to Lyme disease.

They heard about Falun Gong in Florida (in 2000) and began going five days a week. Now in Cambridge, he and his wife meet most days with two other people.

McCoy explained the four sets of standing exercises, [...]

The first, "Buddha Showing a Thousand Hands" is to "open up all the energy," he said. Others, according to the brochure, use "energy from the cosmos," correct "abnormal conditions in the body" and "circulate energy widely." The fifth exercise is meditation in the lotus position.

These exercises are done outdoors at least once a week in Manchester by college student Anatole Polishchuk, a Russian citizen living in Latvia. This is his third summer in the United States.

He said he discovered Falun Dafa five years ago after having tried karate, kickboxing and t'ai chi. He said Falun Dafa, "answered questions in [his] life."

He said he finds fellow practitioners in the United States through the Internet, and has traveled with them to demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises and publicize its persecution.

Recently, he went to Chicago, where people from 30 countries protested the atrocities in China at the Chinese consulate, displaying a banner with pictures of Falun Dafa practitioners known to be killed by torture.

Polishchuk said he would be happy to work on Falun Dafa exercises and meditation with anyone interested from now until mid-October.

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For Falun Dafa information, practice sites and contacts, and downloading books, people may visit www.falundafa.org. or call toll free, 1-877-FALUN-99.

For information about the persecution of Falun Dafa in China, they can visit www.fofg.org. or www.faluninfo.net.

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