On the afternoon of February 18, western practitioners Bart Carlucci, Scott Chinn and Sterling Campbell held a press conference in a hotel of Somerset, NJ.
Practitioners tell of their purpose for going to Tiananmen Square and rough treatment by Beijing police.
Bart Carlucci said he started practicing Falun Gong in 1999 and benefited very much. To speak for the Falun Gong practitioners persecuted in China and let Chinese people know the truth of Falun Gong, he went to Beijing on February 11. On February 14, he, together with 6 other western practitioners arrived at Tiananmen Square but was stopped by police. When police found a Falun Gong book on one of the practitioners, all the practitioners were rounded up and dragged onto a police van. They were taken first to Tiananmen detention center and several hours later moved to an airport detention center. When he asked to speak to the American embassy his request was denied. He asked the police, "What are you thinking when you are beating innocent people?" The police said, "I just obey the order. This is my job." Every time he attempted to tell the police that Falun Gong changed his life and that Falun Gong had spread to all over the world and only in China it is persecuted, he was switched to another room.
Scot Chinn is a software engineer in New York City and has practiced Falun Gong for two and a half years. Falun Gong has helped him to understand the meaning of life and brought him good health. He has been to many countries and met many practitioners. Practitioners are all very kind. He does not understand why such a good cultivation way is persecuted. He wanted to tell the real situation to the Chinese people. In Tiananmen Square his mouth was gagged when he shouted Falun Dafa Hao. His wife was thrown to the ground and almost passed out.
Sterling is a musician. He started practicing Falun Gong in 1998. Arrested together with Bart, he was forced to face a wall and was beat up.
Category: News & Events
