Published June 16, 2002

For silent moments Saturday, Chinese grandmothers and businessmen in suits sat cross-legged in Daley Plaza, meditating about those who have died for practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual movement banned in China.

"Over 400 have been killed since [the movement was banned in 1992], maybe hundreds more," said Andy Cook, an organizer of the two-day regional Falun Gong conference and commemoration in Chicago.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, combines yogalike exercise with meditation to promote physical and spiritual well-being. In 1999, the Chinese government banned the popular movement, which began in 1992. [...]

A candlelight vigil was planned for Saturday night in front of the Chinese consulate in downtown Chicago to remember people persecuted and imprisoned in China for defying the ban, some whom died in custody.

On Sunday, Chicago-area practitioners--a loosely knit group whose estimated numbers range from hundreds to several thousand and are composed mostly of Chinese immigrants--are expected to gather in the Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier to discuss the positive effects of Falun Gong on their lives.

"My staff tells me I don't yell at them as often anymore," said Warren H. Tai, 54, a Chicago bank executive who incorporated Falun Gong into his life in 1997. "It has improved my quality of sleep. I don't get as jumpy or fight with my wife as much."

Saturday's events included a march through Chinatown. Practitioners carried yellow banners emblazoned with group [principle], and teenage girls in pastel dresses sang in Chinese about peace and tolerance.

[...]Conference-goers Saturday said their message was celebratory and the march ended without incident.

Hubert Zhou, 36, an engineer from Buffalo Grove, said he came to Saturday's events after he and seven other Falun Gong practitioners from the Chicago area were denied an Icelandair flight Wednesday from Minneapolis to Reykjavik, Iceland, where Chinese President Jiang Zemin is visiting.

"[We] had intended to do there what is illegal in China--sit peacefully in public and meditate as a silent protest against Jiang Zemin's brutal persecution of Falun Gong," Zhou said.

"I feel that if I can do something for Chinese people, it is worth being here," Zhou said. The world, he said, "needs the three creeds of Falun Gong: [truthfulness], compassion and tolerance."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0206160383jun16.story