Friday, June 30, 2006

Falun Gong, a self-help tradition that originated in China, has seemingly brought out the best and the worst among those it touches.

Area practitioners of the discipline -- which combines meditation with simple, controlled movements -- have found it impossible to enjoy without also getting involved in a growing human rights campaign. While many Westerners are embracing this path to a "healthy body and a peaceful heart," the Chinese who practice Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) in their homeland are reported to be suffering persecution and death under the communist regime.

"It's not a religion," according to two-year practitioner Paul Puleo of Washington Township, but rather a way of using "meditation and exercise for personal growth and to become a better person." Falun Gong is most often referred to as a "Chinese self-cultivation practice," and is done individually, with no formal membership, dues or levels to achieve. But because it has a spiritual element, he says, it attracted the attention of the Communist Party.

"Any religious beliefs are really not allowed there," says Puleo, who learned about Falun Gong at the Kindred Spirits Fair, held annually at the Warren County Fair Grounds. "We are highly involved in trying to raise awareness of the persecution in China against practitioners by the Communist Party."

Puleo and other locals meet regularly to share their thoughts and experiences. Among that group of eight to 10 are Phillipsburg resident Chen-Guang Song and his family. He says that while this is neither a philosophy nor a religion, if you don't understand Falun Gong, you might characterize it that way. Some of the language used is similar, he says. That seems to have been enough to have the practice condemned by the Communists, although the Party did initially look upon it favorably.

Founder Li Hong Zhi, according to group member Ellen Lin of Bridgewater, gained popularity since first introducing the concept in 1992. Based upon the principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance, Falun Gong was similar to callisthenic-like practices already familiar to Chinese people. But it required only a few slow, easy movements; while other disciplines could take years to master, Lin says, Falun Gong took less time to gain the same results.

It took off like wildfire, and soon there were more practitioners than members of the Communist Party. Once viewed by officials as a non-threatening path to better health, says Lin, it was suddenly condemned as religion and its practitioners declared criminals.
"This is a totalitarian regime; they want to control your life," according to Chen-Guang, who was a doctor in China and came to the United States as a Falun Gong practitioner to escape persecution. His mother, Xiu Xiang, also of Phillipsburg, recalls being forced to watch propaganda in an attempt at brainwashing.

But her experiences pale in comparison to other reports.

"There are 36 concentration camps across China where Falun Gong practitioners are kept alive as organ donors," says Lin. The outside world became aware of this when a [doctor's wife] fled to Canada and exposed the fact that he had been forced to remove organs from living people, she says.

"Spiritual practices are a threat (to the Communist Party) because they replace belief in them," according to Chen-Guang. "Saddam Hussein represents one-tenth the evil of the Communist Party."

To help, local practitioners have joined a larger movement that frequently takes them to New York City for demonstrations and parades. The push is to raise awareness, they say, even among Chinese residents in the city who came here for a better life, but not necessarily to escape communism, and grew up with the mentality of the Communist Party.

"We're trying to make them aware that there are things going on that are not right," says Puleo.

The group also took part in a rally outside the state house last month, when Gov. Jon Corzine was preparing to leave for China. "Right now everyone wants to do businesses with China and to trade with China," Puleo says. "That's why Corzine was going there, because New Jersey has so many pharmaceuticals. But human rights are at the bottom of the list."

They didn't have an opportunity to meet with the governor before he left, but they intend to follow up now that he has returned.

"If we continue to expose it, eventually it will come to light," says Puleo, "and they're going to do something about it."

The Web site www.falundafa.org contains information about the practice, news and a location finder to learn where groups gather. For news about persecution, visit faluninfo.net. Other sites are fofg.org and unpholdjustice.org.