[10/3/2000]By A Freelance Writer

October first, 2000. While uniformed and plainclothes policemen kick and pummel members of the banned Falun Gong [group] in Beijing's Tienanmen Square, in Boulder's Eben G Fine park, practitioners of the meditation exercise practice serenely, their only threat being the dropping temperature. Fifteen months after the CCP outlawed Falun Gong, the group, former Beijing Resident and current Colorado Daily correspondent Joshua Samuel Brown went to the park to discuss the [group], their beliefs, and their outlook on the future with local Falun Gong Practitioners.

(Boulder, Colorado) I was living in Beijing in August 1999, when the Falun Gong meditation [group] was declared "[...]" by the Chinese government, and the group's practices & literature was outlawed. Prior to this proclamation, members of the group could be seen practicing their quiet exercises day or night in parks throughout the city. With this proclamation, between 60 and 100 million law abiding Chinese citizens became criminals overnight. Distressed by the groups numbers and loyalties to non-communist ideologies, the government hoped that they could "nip the group in the bud". Instead, the persecution has only brought the group into the spotlight, both inside and outside of China.

"The number of practitioners of Falun Gong are much higher than the number of (communist) party members in China, and this led to the crackdown" FG practitioner and Boulder resident Zheng Qu told me after last Sunday's meditation practice at Eben G. Zheng Qu has been a Falun Gong practitioner for several years, and while he currently lives in Boulder, he was persecuted for his beliefs on a recent trip to China. He describes his experiences on his last trip home to China:

"On December 16, 1999, I, my wife and my son were in Beijing, heading for a courthouse to sit in on the trial of 4 members. This is permitted in Chinese law. We were approached by policemen and asked if we were Falun Gong members. Of course, we said yes. To lie would have gone against everything we believe in. My family and I were arrested, and because so many practitioners had been taken in that day, we were all taken to an outdoor sports arena to be processed. It was December, and very cold. We were denied food and water for a full day, after which my family and I were released."

Zheng Qu believes that only his 2-1/2 year old son's status as an American citizen saved him from being sent back to his home province in Western China for trial and probable incarceration. He and his family returned to Boulder. Other practitioners detained that day were not so fortunate. Zheng Qu told The Daily "To my knowledge, some of those arrested that day were detained until Feb 4, 2000. The practitioners whose trial we had been going to witness received sentences between 7 and 14 years."

The story of Zheng Qu and his family is a comparatively happy one among the eight Colorado Falun Gong practitioners who have been imprisoned by Chinese authorities in the last year. Xiouxiang An, a medical technician from Denver, was arrested on January 28, 2000, and taken to Beijing's Chaoyang detention, after being questioned by police in Tienanmen Square. Upon her return to America, Xiouxiang stated that "There were 34 of us, more than half of whom were Falun Gong practitioners, squeezed into a 400 square foot cell. There was one non-flushing toilet, and we were forbidden from doing our exercises or meditation. Whenever a practitioner would begin doing any exercise or meditation, an official would come in and smash their head against the wall. Other (non-Falun Gong) prisoners were encouraged to beat us."

Xiouxiang An was released on February 28, and has since returned to Denver. While the situation for practitioners in China looks increasingly grim, Zheng Qu takes a philosophical view of the crackdown. "It is terrible, of course, but the Chinese government, through the crackdown, is helping to spread Falun Gong throughout the world. With each news story that leaves China, more people around the world become interested in Falun Gong. I believe that the persecution will eventually end"

Other practitioners of Falun Gong I spoke to also said that the government crackdown on the group was having an effect quite opposite from what the Chinese Communist party anticipated. Falun Gong is practiced. One practitioner Perry Ash is one of the growing number of students of Falun Gong outside of China. He first discovered the practice through literature presented at this summer's Boulder Asian festival, and says that the government crackdown on Falun Gong was among the factors that brought the group into notice in the first place.

"While I probably would have learned of Falun Gong eventually, the crackdown certainly brought it into the forefront of my consciousness sooner. I've been a student of martial arts and eastern philosophies for years, and I find the exercises I've learned through Falun Gong pretty amazing. The teachings of Master Li allow for a higher level of cultivation at a more rapid level than other forms of energy cultivation I've studied."

Falun Gong practitioners hold sacred the three principles of "Zhen, Shan, Ren," or "Truthfulness, Compassion & Forbearance". "The practice & study of Falun Gong teaches us to be unselfish and altruistic in all of our affairs" Said Zheng Qu, speaking of compassion "This is why the charges made by the Communist government (of Falun Gong being [...]) are so preposterous that even the people making them do not believe them. I believe that the crackdown will eventually end, and that those who once oppressed Falun Gong will come to embrace it. While times are rough now, our practice helps us to cultivate the forbearance to see any tough period through"

It is their adherence to the principle of Truthfulness that has made practitioners of Falun Gong such an easy target for police persecution. A common tactic of police in mainland China is to walk down the street asking everybody the question "Are you (a member of) Falun Gong?"

"Very few Falun Gong members will ever seek to hide their beliefs, for to do so would go against the very principles of Falun Gong." Zheng Qu told me. "Speaking for myself, I knew that answering honestly would lead to my arrest, However, looking past the fear, I realized that my honesty would give me the opportunity to explain my position to my oppressors? Falun Gong is not a crime, and I am not a criminal."

Members of Boulder's Falun Gong community will be hosting a nine session seminar designed to teach the exercises and philosophy of Falun Gong. The seminar will run from Saturday October 7 until Sunday October 15, and will include the videotaped lectures of Master Li HongZhi, followed by a teaching of the exercises that comprise Falun Gong. Lectures will be in Mandarin with simultaneous English translations. Sessions will be held on Saturday and Sunday from 4-6 PM, and on weekdays from 7:30 -- 9:30 PM. For more information, please call 303-786-1272.