Express-News Staff Writer

February 7, 2000 San Antonio Express-News

Luo Yan unclasped her folded hands and slowly swept her arms skyward in a fluid, gentle stretch.

The traffic on a downtown freeway clattered behind her in the distance. But Luo's eyes remained closed, her face placid, as she blotted away city noises to reach a tranquil spot within herself that she has learned to find through the Chinese exercise and meditation routine called Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong.

" We are in another state of being," said the Baylor University student who came to the United States from China two years ago. " There is calmness, tranquility. It seems to separate us from the noises."

Luo was among about a dozen Falun Dafa practitioners who displayed their art Sunday during the Asian New Year Festival at the Institute of Texan Cultures.

It marked the first time the institute has held the festival, which outgrew its previous location at the San Antonio Museum of Art.

Organizers estimated more than 4,000 people came to the celebration that showcased the panorama of cultures from 15 Asian nations.

Representatives from San Antonio's Asian communities marked the start of the year 4698 with everything from martial arts and dance displays to fortune telling to dragon painting.

"All the different national groups have gotten together to share their culture with the city and, in doing so, they are helping our young people to feel positive about their heritage," said May Lam, one of the longtime organizers and supporters of the festival.

But for practitioners of Falun Dafa, the event was more than a mere chance to show off the art they say has enhanced the well-being and morality of millions. Falun Dafa has recently been the subject of crackdowns by the Chinese government.

The Communist Party leadership in that nation has tried to ban the meditative practice, sometimes with brutal techniques. Some Falun Dafa leaders have been arrested and sentenced to prison, and books about the movement have been confiscated.

Sunday's festival was a chance for Falun Dafa practitioners to seek greater public understanding of their art and to appeal for justice for those imprisoned in China.

"It's very sad," said Janice Cheung, an Austin accountant who helped demonstrate Falun Dafa on Sunday.

Falun Dafa is a nonpolitical movement that uses gentle stretching exercises and meditation to help purify the body and find peace for the spirit, Cheung explained. Practitioners have found the ritual helps them with physical ailments, such as diabetes and allergies, and helps them develop tolerance.

But the Chinese communists became suspicious when they realized there are more Falun Dafa practitioners in the nation than members of the Communist Party, Cheung said.

"It is a matter of control," Cheung said. "In China, the people do not get to elect their president. If a figure is more attractive than the leadership, then they are threatened."