September 11, 2001

It has only been five days, but they look like weathered travelers.

Their shoes are dusty, their faces tanned and many of the men have days worth of stubble on their faces.

They said their legs are often so stiff after a day of walking, they can barely lift them the next morning.

But they do, the thoughts of the imprisonment of their fellow Falun Gong practitioners in China inspiring them to continue what will likely be a six-month journey across the United States.

On Monday, the group of six practitioners of the Chinese spiritual discipline trekked through Prince William County on their cross-country walk from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles, hoping to raise Americans' awareness of what they say is the torture of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

"We want to tell the world, 'Open up your mind, open up your heart ... rescue the Falun Gong [persecuted],' " said Guorui Wu, 24, an Arlington resident who emigrated from China after being imprisoned for his beliefs.

Clad in matching T-shirts and carrying a blue banner proclaiming their goal, the group steadily marched along Route 28.

The group claims that more than 270 practitioners have been killed and about 100,000 imprisoned since the July 1999 crackdown on their group, which maintains that, through meditation and exercises, they attain improved health, inner peace and strengthened morale based on the central tenets of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. The Chinese government outlawed the discipline in 1999.

In July, the U.S. State Department issued a statement saying it is "deeply disturbed" by the reports of violence and torture against Falun Gong practitioners and urged China to allow unrestricted access to the reported labor camps.

[...]

The six walkers, only two of whom plan to make the entire journey, are hoping to incite the U.S. government to pressure the Chinese officials to halt the persecution of fellow practitioners of the discipline they refer to as "self-cultivation," not a religion.

For many, the plight of the prisoners is personal: Ningfang Chen, 60, was arrested in June 2000 with her husband, Rutang, 63, and son, Gang, 29, who remains imprisoned.

"They dragged us from our beds, took us away. Our home was completely ransacked," she said. "They took everything."

Ningfang and Rutang were released after 30 days, but their son remains detained in a forced labor camp.

She has heard rumors, sometimes second- and third-hand from others who have been released, that he has been tortured. One report relayed that he was forced to go 10 days without sleep, another that his body was bound so that his head touched his legs and that he was left under a bed.

His torture is not only physical: In the camp, Geng Chen is forbidden from practicing the meditative movements central to Falun Gong.

"They forced him to give [up] his beliefs," she said, and the government is working to "[change] his mind."

Along with her husband, Rutang, 63, Ningfang is determined to walk 10 days. She credits Falun Gong with the health and strength to walk, though she said thoughts of the many practitioners who have been persecuted is her true inspiration.

"I think because I know that my son is one of thousands of sons and daughters that were tortured ... [we] just want to call for help," she said.

Washington state native David Jerke organized the walk after seeing a similar group walk from Boston to the District for a meeting there in July.

He credits Falun Gong with his change from an ailing alcoholic with numerous health problems to a sober 33-year-old, healthy and eager enough to embark on a walk across the country.

"I feel like I'm getting younger all the time," he said smiling as he walked Monday.

Public response has been mostly positive when passers-by take the time to ask what the group is doing, he said.

"[People in the U.S.] don't exactly relate to sitting in the lotus position for a half-hour, but they can relate to a walk," Jerke said.

Jerke and Steven Reani, of Arlington, are the only two who have set out to make the entire journey to California. Jerke said he then hopes to fly to Beijing and peacefully practice the exercises there.

"A practice that has benefited millions of people across the world, guides them to be better people, is being persecuted," he said Monday. "It's actually being attacked."

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