January 13, 2002

By shutting up they hope you'll listen. Practitioners of Falun Gong have staged a worldwide silent protest to draw attention to the treatment of followers of that [belief] in China.

Members of Toronto's community lined the sidewalk in front of the Chinese Embassy on St. George Street Saturday night, and clasped their muffled hands in silent [meditation]. Clad in parkas, hands clasped [in meditation], they sat peacefully along the cold pavement and joined the vigil.

"There are 100 million people in China alone that practice Falun Gong," said Jason Loftus, a member of the [group] in Toronto. He said that as high-level Chinese officials became wary of [its] popularity, they began to clamp down on freedom [of belief]. "Many have been tortured to death (and) put in labour camps. We want to tell (people) that we're against this type of persecution."

There have been 20 [reported deaths] of Falun Gong in recent months. A telephone campaign has freed at least one girl from a Chinese labour camp.

http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20020113-001/page.asp