Round Rock Leader (Texas): Eastern protesters come to City Hall

Monday, March 03, 2003

Jason Li, Zeng Ming and Chung Liao came to Round Rock Thursday morning with their signs, their pamphlets and their stories. [...]

Li and Zeng are from China, Liao is from Taiwan and all three currently live in Houston. They were in Round Rock -- and Killeen, Temple, San Marcos and Seguin -- last week to bring attention to the plight of their family members in China where the communist government in China is persecuting and jailing practitioners of a meditation practice known as Falun Gong.

Their expectations are not high: a brief visit with local press, a conversation with city staff or office holders, and on to the next town. They also distribute pamphlets to passers-by, of which were few during their Round Rock stop.

That's not important, according to Li, who said his mother was held in a mental hospital and treated with mind-altering drugs because she would not renounce the practice of Falun Gong, the breathing, postures and principles -- "Truth, Compassion and Forbearance" -- which form the basis of the practice. The point is to raise awareness among Americans of the actions of China's government towards its own people, practitioners visiting from other countries including America. Most recently Charles Li a U.S. citizen from Menlo Park, California arrested by Chinese police in January [under false charges].

"He is detained because he practices Falun Gong and right now a nationwide campaign is going on to rescue Dr. Charles Li out of China. We are just a part of the effort to rescue him," Li said. "We want to raise awareness among American people to know their fellow citizen is detained in China just because he practices this peaceful body-mind meditation."

Zeng also has family members imprisoned for practicing Falun Gong, she said. When she talked about her mother Xiao Yan and sister Zen Qing, tears welled up in Zeng's eyes. She said they have been in forced labor camps and subjected to brainwashing by the government over the past several years.

The literature the trio hands out details the stories of family members and graphic images of torture victims. They want this information to reach Texas residents and claim that through the work of many others like them more than 1,000 proclamations or denouncements of the Chinese government treatment of Falun Gong practitioners have been passed by local, state and national governments throughout the world.

Last summer the United States [...] Congress passed a resolution calling for an end to persecution of members of Falun Gong, calling for the release of Falun Gong followers held in jail or re-education camps. The Chinese government outlawed Falun Gong in 1999.

Chung Liao, now a citizen of the U.S., grew up in Taiwan, which currently takes a tolerant stance towards the practice. He said that, like many, he took up the practice of Falun Gong for health reasons and the benefit was clear after some practicing made chronic lower back pain and the trouble he had sleeping vanish. Chung said the success accounts for the growing numbers of practitioners in China which he said outnumbers the 60 million members of the ruling communist party.

[...]

In a swirl of stories of torture, broken families and abuse, the press conference wrapped up. [...] After a brief visit with officials in City Hall they were traveling to their next appointment -- San Marcos.

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