(North Carolina, USA)

Why have I gone to China?

By the time this is read, I will be in Tiananmen Square with Falun Gong practitioners from all around the world, standing solemnly to proclaim that Falun Gong is good, and that the righteous citizens of China should have the freedom to practice, "Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance." This historic event signifies the joining of the East and West, as we stand together as one body, exercising our fundamental right to follow morality.

You might be wondering, what compels a person to do such an act? Haven't people been beaten, tortured, raped, and even murdered in China for standing up for their belief in Falun Gong? What compels a Caucasian 31-year-old public school teacher from Durham, NC to risk his life by going to China and standing up for his beliefs? And what does this have to with us here in America? In my whole life, I have valued morality and sought truth and a deeper understanding. Mostly, I simply read and pondered about living a true life. I was always fascinated by the life of Gandhi, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Jesus, Dr. Martin Luther King, and other noble historic figures. But, who's really living a virtuous and noble life now? Who would be willing to give up their life for righteous principles? Who actually lives by thinking of other's first? Who puts virtues like truth, compassion, and tolerance above all? For many years, I have seen or heard many talk of virtue but have observed very few actually living a life of virtue.

In 1999, I walked into the public library in Durham, where I met two Chinese Falun Gong practitioners. Since then, I honestly and wholeheartedly believe that I have encountered a group people who have entered a realm of purity of thought and action that I thought was impossible. For they do not practice a religion; there are no formalities, worship, rituals, or fees or memberships, but live morality with every step and breath they take and they operate on the basis of morality in all situations and in all environments.

In a short time, after practicing Falun Gong myself, I felt myself becoming calmer and kinder. My goals in life became less selfish and I became more concerned for others. My aim became striving for good, virtue and a clean mind, rather than for superficial, materialistic concerns. In everyday life, this only benefited society. I got married after practicing Falun Gong because I began to value responsibility, and I immediately began teaching because I knew I had developed enough patience and tolerance to be effective in a school environment. In fact, I knew I had enough strength to model virtue to students rather than having the students' worries mold me into a nervous wreck.

To put it briefly, I have learned that Falun Gong is good and that it teaches people to be good to one another. Isn't it insane that noble people are being persecuted for trying to be good? It makes me wonder at the type of people that exist in this world. I have come to the conclusion that evil people really exist. Like an apple, some people have just become rotten all the way to their core. A few people at the top of the Communist regime in China have indeed become corrupted to their core. The actions of the Chinese regime are so hideous that I find it difficult to write about them. But, we must reveal their acts so that this persecution comes to an immediate end.

For 28 months, China's president Jiang has carried out a brutal campaign of terror against the 100 million citizens who practice Falun Gong. According to inside government sources, at least 1,600 people have died, 20,000 have been unlawfully held in labor camps, 100,000 arbitrarily detained, and tens of millions denied the basic rights of belief, assembly, and petition. The officials responsible for the persecution have violated international and national laws, in an effort to use "any means" to "eliminate" Falun Gong. At the same time, the government has escalated its persecution of Catholics who acknowledge the authority of the Pope, evangelical Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, and Uigher Muslims. Beyond the numbers of torture and murders mentioned above, the stories from China are even more grim. One mother and her baby were hung, 15 women were thrown in jails cells with male criminals to be raped, some were burned to death, a few were dragged behind motorcycles to their death. Even these accounts do not approach the true scale of terror launched by China's president. But, to my amazement, there is not even one case where a practitioner has ever hit back in violence. However, the practitioners do not back down, but simply stand solemnly for 'Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance." This great teaching has created a people that can stand for principles under the most extreme environments. Thus, it is a clear sign that truth, once again, has emerged in people's hearts.

Martin Luther King, Jr. stated that, "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Not only has this regime launched an attack on its own good people, it has interfered with practitioners and citizens all over the world. Even here in Durham, when our mayor awarded the area group with a proclamation of "Falun Dafa Day," the Chinese government bombarded the Durham's mayor office with propaganda and tried to pressure our mayor to rescind the proclamation. There have even been American practitioners beaten by thugs hired by the Chinese regime. It would take a great deal of time to describe all of the harassment that Falun Gong practitioners have experienced overseas. As we see, injustice anywhere is bad in itself, but injustice spreads. In contrast, our president has stated that the persecution of Falun Gong is, "unworthy of all that China has been and unworthy of all that China should become."

Since I know the real story of Falun Gong, wouldn't it be unconscionable for me just to sit back and let innocent people be persecuted? Wouldn't it be wrong to let this campaign of terror spread more widely? Wouldn't it be wrong to sit back and watch as one of our most cherished ideals, the freedom of belief is being trampled?

Suppose I was looking out my window at home, and saw my neighbor's child sitting quietly, his hands folded in prayer. What if, suddenly, his parents ran out outside and began to beat the child ferociously for trying to know God? Wouldn't it be wrong if I did not say something? Our neighbor, China, is doing just that to millions of innocent citizens.

I go to China because these evil acts cannot and should not continue. Aren't the attacks of September 11th proof that people have strayed too far from Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance? These virtues make up the fabric which binds humanity together, which offers our children a secure future. How can I not go to make my appeal to the Chinese government? Due to this great teaching, this public school teacher from Durham, NC will travel 8,000 miles to tell truth in China. I know that I will encounter foreign faces, a vastly different culture and language, and possibly fierce and hostile policemen, but because of Falun Gong, the truth in my heart shatters all fear.