December 18, 2001

Come February 2002 those potential hotbeds known as Salt Lake's Olympic protest zones will, at times, be filled with people silently doing [Falun Gong exercises.]

[...]

Followers of Falun Dafa - a spiritual movement, not a religion - will sit legs crossed in one of the six downtown protest zones and silently protest while making yoga-like movements with their arms.

It's a much more tranquil image than that of a throng of hot-blooded animal rights or anti-commercialism activists, who are also seeking space inside the protest zones.

[Practitioners] of Falun Dafa, or Falun Gong as it's sometimes called, will be protesting China's persecution of the movement's followers there, said University of Utah student Sheng Mei, the group's liaison in Salt Lake City.

In China, Mei said, Falun Dafa was banned after it received more support than the government liked. Now followers of Falun Dafa often receive beatings, imprisonment or banishment from the Chinese authorities, Mei said.

"They're kicked out and beaten up or arrested," he said. "They're treated pretty bad."

Besides their silent meditations, Falun Dafa followers will hand out literature explaining their movement and its persecution in China.

While the protests will likely be weekly and small - around 50 people each - Mei said the silent sit-ins could draw thousands if support grows nationwide.

Besides the Falun Dafa, only one other group, the Disabled Rights Action Committee, has thus far been granted permission to use Salt Lake City's protest zones, which can accommodate 600 people at any given time.

[...]

The protest zones are located around the downtown area and near Rice-Eccles Stadium, home to the opening and closing ceremonies. The zones have restrictions on how many people can be inside at one time and for how long.

http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,355013080,00.html