October 6, 2005

Li Weixun, a 49-year-old woman from Jinzhou, China, arrived in Vienna on Sept. 21. She fled China due to persecution for her advocacy of Falun Gong, a meditation discipline consisting of mind and body exercises with an emphasis on the refinement of moral character.

As Falun Gong has gained popularity in China and other countries, the Chinese Communist Party has become increasingly intolerant of its practice, according to Weixun and another Chinese Falun Gong practitioner and Vienna resident, Tiny Tang. Weixun's brother remains in a Chinese prison, the two women said, for helping other Falun Gong practitioners flee the country.

The State Department has recognized religious persecution of Falun Gong since 1999. Weixun is the first Falun Gong practitioner without family or other ties to the United States to be granted permission to remain in the country as a U.N. refugee, according to a press release from the Falun Dafa Information Center. As such, it is hoped that her case will open doors to other Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted in China.

Weixun is currently staying with Vienna resident Amy Xue, who learned of her on a Falun Gong Web site.