November 9, 2001

A trio of Falun Dafa practitioners stopped in Swift Current on Monday to raise awareness of the persecution on Falun Dafa followers in China.

The SOS Global RescueWalk is designed to call for protection from persecution for the millions of Falun Dafa practitioners in China who are tortured and murdered because of their beliefs.

Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a widely misunderstood practice according to Bill Guan who is accompanying the three walkers on a Calgary to Regina portion of trek.

The practice is an advanced meditative exercise for improving body, mind and spirit. The beliefs of followers are non-religious, but centre on truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

Since being outlawed in 1999 more than 283 Falun Dafa members have been tortured to death, and others have been persecuted through imprisonment without trial and other tactics.

"The reputation of Falun Dafa has been poisoned by the Chinese government," Guan said. "If everyone followed these good practices nobody would ever do anything bad."

A letter of support on behalf of Swift Current City Council was presented to the walkers.

"We have received a lot of support from mayors, MPs, MLAs, media and the schools along the way," Guan admitted.

Three Falun Dafa practitioners from Calgary demonstrate one of the five sets of exercises during a break from their Calgary to Regina walk to raise awareness of the suffering of Falun Dafa followers in China.