October 29, 2002, Tuesday
By Steven Cross, The Lariat
SOURCE: Baylor U.
DATELINE: Waco, Texas

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Falun Gong practitioners protested for the release of fellow believers imprisoned in China and explained the beliefs and practices of their spiritual movement while in Waco during the past two weeks.

Jiang Zemin, leader of the Chinese Communist party, arrived in Waco on Friday to meet with President Bush in Crawford.

Kitty Wang, a Falun Gong practitioner and alumna of Southern Methodist University, said followers gathered in three places around Waco and Crawford.

Wang said that followers displayed banners for Jiang when he landed at the Texas State Technical College Regional Airport. The followers in Crawford also practiced meditation and Falun Gong exercises in Tonkawa Park and held a media conference in the Amsaler building.

Lelin Tee, a Falun Gong practitioner from Dallas, said she came to Waco to protest during the visit from Jiang.

"We came here to tell people that he is persecuting our brothers and sisters," Tee said in a phone interview.

"Over 7,000 practitioners have been tortured to death or put in jail," she said. "We want to remind Bush to tell Jiang to stop persecution in China."