Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2005 Beginning Feb 6, 2005, dozens of homes and individuals in the Washington, D.C., area have been bombarded by phone calls with recorded messages that apparently come from China's Communist regime.

The messages contain propaganda demonizing the practice of Falun Gong and claiming that the Chinese government is defending "human rights" by "saving" people from the Chinese spiritual practice.

The curious and remarkably benign target of the phone campaign, Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice that consists of gentle exercises and postures, combined with a meditation component.

Three values - truthfulness, compassion and forbearance - form the core of Falun Gong's philosophy. Many liken its technique to tai chi or yoga. The discipline went public in May of 1992, introduced by its founder, Li Hongzhi, and today is practiced in over 50 countries.

When Chinese leader Jiang Zemin banned Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, up to 100 million people in China were suddenly outcast. Evidence suggests that Jiang feared the growing number of practitioners and was envious of the practice's popularity.

Reportedly, over time, Jiang intensified the regime's propaganda against Falun Gong, while persecuting those who practice it.

At a press conference at Washington's National Press Club Wednesday, various people who received the calls shared the experience, playing recordings from their phone answering machines and declaring their chagrin that such propaganda could reach them in America.

Individuals described receiving the calls as "shocking," "disturbing," "outrageous" and "frightening."

According to sponsors of the press conference, the "phone assault was not limited to the D.C. area but targeted hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia - at about the same time.

The message, both in Chinese and English, centered on reports by the Beijing regime attempting to link Falun Gong with an alleged self-immolation incident in 2001.

By midnight Feb. 7, at least 23 individuals and families in the metropolitan D.C. area had received phone calls with the message. Some received as many as 18 messages. Most recipients were Falun Gong practitioners.