(Clearwisdom.net) At noon on March 8, Student Peace Action Network (SPAN) at the University of Texas Arlington (UTA) held an event at the Central Library mall on campus to rescue Falun Gong practitioner Qu Yanlai and to let more kind-hearted people know about the plight of this excellent young scholar.

Practitioner Qu Yanlai

Several members of SPAN displayed posters and banners, and distributed informational material about Falun Dafa as well as information about the plight of Qu Yanlai. They also invited local Falun Gong practitioners to demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises.

SPAN's event to rescue Falun Gong practitioner Qu Yanlai

University Student Organization Works to Rescue Falun Gong Practitioners

SPAN is a popular student organization which has chapters in many universities across the U.S. Its goal is to bring an end to violence in the U.S. and overseas. Mr. Zack Salo, the president of SPAN's Arlington Chapter, said, "The purpose for us to hold this event is to help Falun Gong practitioners. Through the practitioners' exercise demonstration and distributing fliers, we want to let more students on campus know what Falun Gong is and expose the ongoing human rights violations against Falun Gong in China. We hope that more people will pay close attention to this issue."

UTA engineering Professor Bei Gou is a graduate of Shanghai University of Transportation (SUT), and is also a member of the World Organization to Rescue Falun Gong Practitioners Persecuted in China, SUT Chapter. Professor Gou has participated in efforts to rescue Mr. Qu Yanlai before.

Dr. Gou said: "Qu Yanlai is outstanding; he graduated from the Department of Energy Engineering of SUT in 2000. He was a participant in the National Olympics Chemistry and Mathematics Competitions. He is also, however, widely respected more for his noble character. Since he started practicing Falun Gong, he strictly follows the principles of 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,' giving priority to the needs of others and helping others unconditionally. He once donated his savings, clothes and bedding to classmates who were in great financial difficulty. Such an outstanding student, however, was secretly arrested and illegally sentenced to 5 years in prison for his unyielding belief in Falun Dafa."

Recently, minghui.ca [the Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net] reported that Mr. Qu has been holding a hunger strike continuously for 780 days to protest the brutal persecution, while the authorities have on four occasions turned down his attorney's request to meet with him. Dr. Gou feels the responsibility to let more people know about the genocidal campaign against Falun Gong and to help end this persecution. He said, "As a fellow practitioner and alumnus of SUT, I admire the courage of Qu Yanlai and support him wholeheartedly."

Practitioners' Compassion has Received Increasing Respect from around the World

While the persecution launched and maintained by Jiang Zemin's regime and the Chinese Communist Party has lasted for nearly 6 years, millions of practitioners have never stopped their efforts to expose the evil nature of the persecution, and to expose the lies of the Chinese communist regime. Practitioners risk the danger of arrest, beatings, incarceration and even death, for their brave actions.

In the past 6 years, the Chinese Communist Party has never applied the rule of law towards Falun Gong practitioners. Therefore, there is enormous pressure and difficulty facing legal professionals, such as attorney Guo Guanting, who step forward to defend the rights of Falun Gong practitioners including Qu Yanlai. Dr. Gou said: "From this case, I see the noble character and the best of humanity in Attorney Guo. The righteous actions of Guo Guanting deserve international attention, support and respect."

In an open letter published by Attorney Guo on the Internet, Mr. Guo expressed how he was moved by practitioners' compassion and integrity, and he referred to Mr. Qu Yanlai as "my honorable client." Attorney Guo also described how Mr. Qu's mother called him twice concerning his own security without mentioning her son, while in fact her son was in critical condition and great pain because of persecution. Mr. Guo said: "I was so touched and realized that compassion is so powerful.''

This is the first-ever event of this kind organized by SPAN UTA chapter. The communication between practitioners and the organization was surely a process of truth clarification. In the end, SPAN decided to hold this event and have its members distribute Falun Gong materials. This reporter heard SPAN members telling passers-by: "Falun Gong is not a religion and it has nothing to do with politics. They believe in the principles of 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance'... and why is he [Qu Yanlai] being persecuted? Because he holds on to his belief firmly and never gives up."

Dr. Gou said: "Through the five-years-plus effort of truth clarification by practitioners, we now see more and more kind-hearted people who have learned the truth. Practitioners' noble actions have touched people and won their respect. I am so pleased to see the help offered by SPAN UTA chapter."

Rescue Effort Helps People Understand the Truth

Though it was the spring break at UTA, there were still many students passing by the library. Local practitioners were invited to demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises in front of the library. They also displayed posters reading, "Urgent! Rescue Falun Gong Practitioners," as well as other information and photos along the walkway.

Distributing fliers

Telling students about the persecution

One student carefully studied all the posters, and she expressed her sympathy to Qu Yanlai who was tortured simply for his belief. She said that she wanted to sign her name to support him. When she learned that practitioners hadn't prepared petition forms for this event, she said that she would write to her congressman to urge him to pay closer attention to the persecution in China. Moreover, this student was very interested in the exercises and said that she would contact local practitioners later to learn Falun Gong.

Practitioners meditating

Practitioners meditating

A young practitioner meditating

When practitioners were demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises, many people who were relaxing and enjoying the sunshine nearby were attracted by the serene and peaceful scene. A young man told a practitioner that he had been planning to learn Falun Gong for a long time and yet had never found time to contact local practitioners. He was very happy to see practitioners on campus. The practitioner told him about an upcoming Falun Gong workshop on March 20. There were also many others who asked for information about the workshop.

A gentleman who has a strong interest in China talked with a practitioner for a long time. For several years, he has been tracking news about the persecution of Falun Gong and other groups by the Chinese Communist Party. He was very happy to meet practitioners and he told a practitioner that he could feel the positive energy emitted by practitioners. He also suggested that practitioners work more with other international organizations such as Amnesty International, to help stop the persecution.