October 2, 2001

Amid students scurrying to early-morning classes and gardeners noisily cutting the campus grass, Ye stands in a state of serenity and peace.

His eyes are closed, and his body is in meditation mode as he practices Falun Gong, the Chinese-originated mind and body cultivation system, outside USC's von KleinSmid Center.

For Ye, the practice was a salvation when it helped cure his migraines and poor health conditions more than two years ago. He has found that Falun Gong or Falun Dafa, as it is also called, gives him a sense of inner peace and spirituality.

"It purifies your mind and body," said Ye, a graduate student in public policy and management. "It forces you to look inside yourself and it cultivates you."

Ye and about a dozen other USC students have formed a Falun Gong club and gather on campus each morning to practice.

Some say Falun Gong [...], while others say it is simply a form of meditation. It is founded on three principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance and is based on two components doing a set of five meditation positions for two hours and reading the book about the practice.

Although the practice may seem harmless, Ye has had to pay a price to practice Falun Gong. In China, Falun Gong is illegal. Followers and supporters are sent to prison, and some have reportedly been killed. Ye is now afraid to return to China in the near future even though his family lives there.

The president of China, Jiang Zemin, declared Falun Gong illegal in July 1999 after the number of followers exceeded 70 million and exceeded the number of [party' name omitted] followers. [...]

To date, 100,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been arrested and detained in China, and more than 20,000 have been illegally sent to labor camps without trials, according to the New York-based Falun Dafa Information Center. Another 288 practitioners have been killed, according to the center. Organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have spoken out against the persecutions.

[...]

Ye has been a Falun Gong activist since the practice was deemed illegal and now takes an active role in educating people about the practice.

He participated in a 274-hour vigil in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles three weeks ago to demand the release of 130 practitioners detained in the Mansanjia labor camp in China. He has also written letters to American government officials about the practice and distributes pamphlets on campus about the killings in China.

"This is a peaceful practice, and I know I'm doing the right thing," Ye said. "Falun Gong is based on good principles. It helps you create a better life and a better society. It should be respected, protected and encouraged."

Zhou, a graduate student in communication, believes the Chinese government knows she has been defending Falun Gong. One of Zhou's friends was sent to jail in China for practicing and told Zhou that a Chinese policeman showed her a picture of Zhou.

Like Ye, Zhou is a native of China and does not plan on going back to her home country soon. She compares her activism to a part- time job, but says her small sacrifices are nothing compared to those who suffer in China.

"I went to Tiananmen Square (in China) last year and was there watching the police beating people," Zhou said.

Memories of an elderly practitioner have stayed with her since last year.

"He was lying on the ground in a pool of blood," she said. "He slowly picked up his clothes, wiped the blood and dust off of it and climbed into the police car by himself. He never said a word, and there was an air of dignity around him. I was shaking with anger and fear."

Zhou does not understand how a practice she believes helped her become a more positive person could be considered a bad thing.

"This is benign, and the crackdown in China is so brutal," she said.

For Mohebi, a graduate student in industrial engineering who started practicing three months ago, the practice serves as a better alternative to the gym.

"Before when I went to the gym I felt tired and sleepy all day," Mohebi said. "This gives me energy. There is high energy flowing in your body."

Mohebi, who was having problems sleeping, said that after the first day of practicing, she could sleep better. She also said Falun Gong helps her purify her mind so that she can better focus on her studies.

"After doing the exercises, you feel so light, and all the negative thoughts are gone," she said. "You feel so calm."