Local Falun Gong call attention to China persecution

Stacy J. Willis

Thursday, Aug. 9, 2001 | 10:20 a.m.

Members of the spiritual group Falun Gong met in downtown Las Vegas Wednesday to call attention to continuing persecution in China.

Falun Gong, a spiritual practice that includes meditation and simple physical exercises, was banned by the Communist government in 1999. More than 12,000 followers have been arrested, tortured or killed for continuing to practice in China.

About 20 local practitioners gathered Wednesday on the steps of the Lloyd George Federal Courthouse under a banner that read, "truthfulness, compassion, forbearance."

"The (Chinese President) Jiang Zemin regime has been intensifying the persecution to the point of now legalizing killing practitioners," Gina Sanchez, a Falun Gong spokesperson from Los Angeles, said while members performed their spiritual exercises on red, circular mats.

"Since legalizing murdering Falun Gong practitioners, there have been 40 confirmed deaths since June 10," said Sanchez, who has been touring the U.S. holding news conferences to draw attention to the persecution.

In Las Vegas about 250 people practice Falun Gong freely in public parks and libraries. Falun Gong was created in 1992 by a former government clerk, Li Hongzhi, who is now living in the U.S.

Kaijin Liang, a local Falun Gong practitioner -- the group prefers to be called "practitioners" instead of "members" -- said the Chinese government fears that the group might someday be mobilized politically in opposition to Communism.

"But we are not a political group," he said.

Liang said there are more than 70 million Falun Gong practitioners in China, compared to about 60 million Communists.