A 15-Year-Old Practitioner's Statement at the Rally Launching the "Save the Persecuted Kids" Bicycle Ride from Washington D.C. to Chicago

May 13^th, 2004

Hello everyone. My name is Brian Nieh. I am 15 years old and I'm currently a sophomore attending the magnet program at Montgomery Blair High School in Maryland.

As you all may or may not know, Petals of Peace is a non-government organization aimed at exposing the truth about the children in China who are suffering from the persecution of Falun Gong. I, along with other teenagers, calling ourselves the "Pedals of Peace", were moved by these stories and just couldn't stand by and watch the innocent endure unnecessary persecution for believing in "Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance". Therefore, we have decided to bike to Chicago to tell people the stories of all these innocent children. In China, they do not have the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion and belief, or the right to an education. They are suffering and without a voice to tell anyone, thus we have taken it upon ourselves to make sure their unspoken words and stories are heard by the world.

Yin Xiaotian is my age, 15 years old. He took the high school entrance and placement exam and earned the right to go to the best school in his Changchun City district in China. But he was denied the right to go to the top school, or any school for that matter, because he practiced Falun Gong.

Chen Ying, a high school student and a Falun Gong practitioner, went to Beijing to peacefully appeal in July of 1999 and was subsequently illegally detained. She died one month later by torture while in police custody.

Qu Yao, a 14 year old from Liaoyang City, was orphaned after his mom left home to escape police persecution and his dad was forcefully arrested and sentenced to labor camp for two and a half years without any legal reason.

These are but a few of the thousands upon thousands of stories of the affect this pointless persecution has on the innocent children in China. How can we, living comfortably in this land of freedom and liberty, sit here and watch as 14 million kids are being abused, being persecuted? It is our duty to do everything within our ability to expose the truth behind China's many lies, and to give these children a voice, whether through a bike ride, an origami folded lotus flower, or a postcard. As the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Now about the bike ride, I can't stand here and tell you all that this ride will be a cakewalk, an easy task. It isn't. It will be arduous, but what's a sweat or a blister here and there compared to the sufferings endured by the 14 million kids in China? They are the ones being tortured, being orphaned, being denied of their education for their beliefs in "Truth, Compassion, Tolerance", the beliefs in Falun Gong. One person once asked me, "Why don't you just drive to Chicago? Why bike?" Well, why not just fly? Anyone can do that. But we are here to take a stand, and get everyone's attention so that the voices and the stories of all these victimized children can be heard.

I allude again to Dr. Martin Luther King, as he stood not far from us in the same city as he proclaimed that he had a dream. I too have a dream. I dream of a day, in the near future, when this madness ends and the children of China can live truly free, without the burden of the persecution weighing heavy on their shoulders. And when that day comes, I plan on riding with the Pedals of Peace in China, maybe from the capital city, Beijing, to Changchun, the city in which Falun Gong originated.

Thank you all very much for your support, and may our message be heard.