Plain Dealer: Falun Gong devotees seek new image

Tuesday, November 28, 2000

Falun Gong changed Xiaoling Zhang's life.

The 26-year-old doctoral student at Ohio State University used to be uneasy. Her marriage was troubled and she couldn't sleep. But through Falun Gong's rhythmic movements and meditation exercises, Zhang has found focus.

"I find my life harmonious and more meaningful," she said.

Zhang and others are offering free workshops on Falun Gong in the next few weeks throughout Northeast Ohio. They also want to raise awareness about what practitioners of Falun Gong face elsewhere. The Chinese government has banned the group, labeling it [XX].

"Maybe this persecution is big advertising, but on the other hand this persecution is very brutal," said Zhang, who has been practicing Falun Gong for about two years. "Actually, we are neither religious nor political. We are for self-improvement."

Compared with tai chi and yoga, Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, is a mixture of slow-motion exercises and Buddhist and Taoist concepts, which members say promote health and morality. Membership estimates vary from 2 million to 100 million worldwide.

Zhang and other practitioners estimate there are about 40 Falun Gong members in Columbus, about a dozen in Cleveland and a handful more in Cincinnati, Dayton and Akron.

"I was really moved and struck how effective it was on health improvement," said Qing-Qing Qiu, a physicist who lives in East Cleveland. "That's why I started to do the practice."

The Chinese government takes a dimmer view. Zhang Yuanyuan, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said [...]

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Human rights organizations and group members say the government has jailed more than 10,000 practitioners and has killed at least 80. The Chinese banned the group out of fear that its size was a challenge to the government's power, they say.

Zhang said the main purpose of the upcoming seminars is to teach the "truthfulness, benevolence and forbearance" that is the Falun Gong credo. But there also will be information about its battles with the Chinese government.

"When more and more people are aware of this persecution and more righteous people show their support, then the persecution in China will stop," she said.

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