September 02, 2001

James Li's elder brother Li Baifan was persecuted, imprisoned, and possibly murdered by the Chinese government - because Baifan embraced a popular exercise and meditation practice called Falun Gong, the universal principles of which are truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

Li, a software programmer from Lansdale, came to Public Square in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday morning with a group of fellow practitioners from the Philadelphia area to educate people about Falun Gong and give a demonstration. Plains resident Marie Robinson organized the event with fellow practitioner Terri Morse of Media.

As the group of over a dozen practitioners performed the exercises to the strains of mellow Chinese music, petitions were circulated in favor of a resolution in Congress to condemn the Chinese government for its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Morse suggested residents urge their Congressman to pass the resolution. "People are starting to find out the atrocities and human rights violations going on in China right now.''

She said the practice of Falun Gong, which is also known as Falun Dafa, is "simple but profound,'' and consists of two parts: performing exercises similar to T'ai Chi, and living by the three Universal Principles. "When we live by these principles, we start to harmonize not only with ourselves, but with family, then the larger community, then the world,'' Morse said. "The best feature is that you see changes in people in many positive ways, both physically and mentally.''

Dr. Shiyu Zhou, a computer science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said Falun Gong was first introduced in China in 1992, but the practice has deep roots in ancient Chinese tradition.

For the first four years, Dr. Zhou said, the Chinese government endorsed Falun Gong because its beneficial effects saved millions of yuan in health care costs. However, by 1999 the government grew concerned when it was discovered that Falun Gong practitioners outnumbered [party's name omitted] members.

"This totalitarian regime fears losing control of people's minds and hearts,'' Dr. Zhou said. [...] As a result, Chinese President Jiang Zemin started a campaign to eradicate Falun Gong, using methods which Dr. Zhou said include propaganda, brainwashing, and very often violence and torture. "People are suffering and dying for the practice of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance,'' he said.

Dr. Zhou's own father served time in a Chinese prison for practicing Falun Gong, but unlike James Li's brother, he survived the ordeal.

Li said Baifan was an award-winning teacher at the East China Normal University. The Chinese government put him under house arrest in October of 1999 for refusing to give up Falun Gong, and he was later sent to the Shanghai Detention Center.

In March 2000, Baifan went to Beijing to protest. Li said, "To tell the government that Falun Gong is not a crime is a crime itself.''

Baifan was arrested without a warrant and put into a "re-education through labor'' camp, where he was completely cut off from the outside world until April 2001, when he was permitted to phone his mother. He told her he was allowed to visit for one day, accompanied by a police officer.

On April 14, Baifan's mother waited all day for him. That night a police officer came to tell her Baifan had died in the morning. The cause of death was ruled suicide - although suicide is forbidden by Falun Gong. "He was said to have jumped from a 10-story building,'' Li said. "But I don't believe that.''

When Baifan's family went to the crematorium, they were not allowed to dress his body for the funeral and were only permitted to see his head, which showed no mark of injury.

Li stated his brother was under constant police guard, and officials have refused to disclose the identity of Baifan's guard at the time of his alleged suicide.

Ying Chen, a systems manager in Philadelphia, has a similar story. Her younger brother Gang Chen is currently in an enforced-labor camp outside Beijing, where he has been subject to torment such as sleep deprivation, beatings, and forced re-education.

"What makes it hard is he wasn't doing anything wrong,'' Chen said. "They came into his home at one o'clock in the morning and dragged him and my mother from their beds without any reason.''

Chen's mother was released after 30 days; Gang Chen was to be kept in the camp for a year, but officials told his wife they had decided to keep him there longer.