The Daily Herald on Wednesday, October 16

Thank you to all in Utah who were so supportive of the 500 Falun Gong practitioners who came to Utah during the Olympics.

It was a delight to have them here from many states across the United States, and from as far away as Germany and Taiwan. Their beautiful group meditation and contributions to the Olympic spirit were appreciated.

Thank you to the U.S. House of Representatives, which recently unanimously passed Resolution 188 in support of Falun Gong and urging China to cease its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Falun Gong is an ancient traditional Chinese self-cultivation practice, which believes that the essence of the universe is truth, compassion and tolerance.

Falun Dafa is not a religion. There is no membership. The gentle meditation exercise classes are free of charge and the books are available to read for free from the Internet. Falun Dafa is practiced in more than 50 countries around the world.

To date in China, more than 450 practitioners have died as a result of police torture and brutality, more than 20,000 have been tortured while confined in labor camps and prisons, and more than 100,000 have been detained and forced to attend brainwashing classes. Falun Gong has met all of this with non-violence.

I hope that when Jiang Zemin visits the United States this month, President Bush and good-hearted Americans will raise their concerns over human rights violations in China.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A6.

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