The Charlatan (Canada): Falun Gong - When Kindness Kills

Oct. 11,2001, Vol. 31, Issue 9

Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. Three simple words. Three words not commonly associated with violence but with peace. Three simple words that landed a University of Ottawa student in jail facing the possibility of torture and even death.

Wang was detained twice in Chinese jails for Practising the ancient art of Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa.

The practice, which involves five sets of exercises and meditation, and promotes a (philosophy of peace and well being), was banned by the Chinese government in 1999.

In the wake of the ban, Falun Gong practitioners charge that the Chinese government has used its power to detain, punish and even torture those who are associated with the movement. Why the Chinese government chose to ban the practice of Falun Gong is attributed to the [party's name omitted] government's fear of the growing participation in the practice.

Wang speculates as to why the ban was put into effect "I think one of the most important reasons is because Falun Gong is so popular," he says. "According to official reports over 70 million people practice it in China, which exceeds the Chinese [party's name omitted] Party's membership.

Wang sees the action taken against Falun Gong practitioners as a reaction to the threat the president sees in its popularity. He says, "The president, is afraid of losing his power, he wants people to listen to him... even though he knows Falun Gong is very peaceful and if you hurt [the practitioners] they will not fight back."

He had an intimate glance into the wrath of the Chinese government's crackdown on the practice of Falun Gong during his detention for practicing the art.

Wang says the prisons were worse than he had thought they would be, with guards trying to force the prisoners to renounce their faith in Falun Gong and engaging in abusive tactics if they didn't. "You can't imagine how terrible it is in there, in prison," Wang says, "because I thought I knew before, from TV but actually it's not like that."

Wang still carries the scars from the handcuffs he was forced to wear, and he says it took him a long time to recover from the coughing fits he suffered from the blows to the chest he was dealt by prison guards. Still the Falun Gong rescue coalition, S.O.S., says Wang's experience in prison is just one of hundreds.

Its literature states there are over 20,000 people in labour camps across China and 263 Chinese are already dead from the torture they have suffered while detained.

Pamphlets released by the group allege torture methods which include brainwashing, rape, electric shock and forced injection of drugs to damage the central nervous system.

The fear of this kind of torture is what drove Lingdi Zhang and her family to fight for the successful release of her father, professor Kunlun Zhang.

The elder Zhang previously taught at McGill University and he was imprisoned in China and sentenced for three-year term. After the efforts of the Zhang family, who rallied the international community around them with pleas for support in the media and demonstrations, Zhang was released and made it back to Canada.

According to Zhang, her father was lucky to make it out alive and relatively unharmed. She says he suffered torture with an electric shock device and was threatened with death.

"They told him that if he died, nobody would know why, they said 'we can just bury you and tell everyone you committed suicide."

' Zhang says support for her father's release came from all over the country and the international community until the Chinese government caved to the pressure and released him.

"The whole country [Canada] got involved... it was so wonderful," Zhang says. "It was a very moving moment, letters came from every corner in Canada, from all sides of the country."

Zhang, a Falun Gong practitioner herself, has decided to devote her time to the fight to free other captives currently imprisoned in China right now.

"Three years is too long," she says, "What China is doing is almost like state terrorism. . . they just close the door and do whatever they want."

Why do these people keep practising then? What keeps people active in Falun Gong in China when the price to pay is so high?

For Zhi, she says it has meant she is able to handle the challenges life brings much better than she could before she started practising.

"When I get angry I try to keep calm and kind. In my work and studies I pursue them a lot and while I still get anxious I can put it down and still work hard because mv heart is calm and peaceful."

Zhang found herself attracted to Falun Gong for similar reasons, saying, "After I read [the book] I thought, this is good stuff. It was like you're looking for something for a long time and you've finally found it."

She says her whole family benefited from practising the exercises and reading the books. "The philosophies were very profound," Zhang says. "After we all started practising, my whole family was very energetic, we never got sick again."

Zhang's fight to protect the ancient art of Falun Gong and rescue those who are persecuted for doing it is a long and hard one. She gets a worried look in her eyes when she speaks of those still in Chinese detention camps.

"It is most urgent now to rescue practitioners in China, almost everyday someone dies," she says.

"I cannot even sit down and read a book without thinking about those people."