The eight Falun Gong practitioners in the West Coast "Van Tour to
Support the Lawsuit against Jiang" set off on May 11 from San Francisco,
then passed through Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska,
and arrived in Iowa on May 20, 2004. The practitioners demonstrated
some of the torture methods used against practitioners in China, and
exposed the ongoing persecution there. (For more detail of torture methods,
go to http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/11/24/16156.html).
The van tour caught the attention of local media and people along the
way, and won their support.
Police in Arizona Could Not Understand the Persecution in China
On May 15, the van tour arrived in Flagstaff, Arizona. The
practitioners from the van tour, along with local practitioners,
introduced Falun Gong to the local people and exposed Jiang's crimes of
genocide, torture, and crimes against humanity.
Demonstration of torture methods
Both local and van tour practitioners practiced the Falun Gong
exercises in Flagstaff's Tempe Beach Park, and displayed posters about
Falun Gong and the persecution. By chance, several other groups were
holding activities in the park. This gave practitioners the opportunity to
hand out truth-clarification literature and to demonstrate the exercises
to more people.
On the square in front of the Flagstaff City Hall, practitioners from
the van tour held an exercise demonstration, and they also demonstrated
the torture methods used in China against practitioners. When the
practitioners arrived there, two police officers walked over and watched
them making preparations. The practitioners stepped forward and explained
the facts of Falun Gong and the persecution to the police. The police
initially listened without paying much attention, but after watching the
demonstration of torture methods and hearing practitioners' explanations
of the persecution of Falun Gong in China, their attitude changed and they
began asking questions about the persecution. The officers shook their
heads while listening, and said that the persecution was inconceivable.
The police became friendly and took many photos of the exercise and
torture demonstrations.
New Mexico Citizens Believe That People Have Freedom of Belief
On Sunday, May 16, the van tour arrived in New Mexico. Local and van
tour practitioners demonstrated the exercises and the torture methods on
the square in front of City Hall in Albuquerque, the largest city in New
Mexico. The event was covered by NBC and CBS. Passers-by learned the
exercises and asked for information about local practice sites.
A Christian person said, "People should have the right of belief. But
the Chinese government persecutes people who have belief, for fear of
losing control." One woman said, after accepting a postcard to help rescue
Charles Li, "I know that Charles Li is imprisoned in China. I am following
the case." Another woman admired the contributions of Falun Gong
practitioners after accepting the truth-clarification literature and said,
"I wish to be like you. What can I do for you?" The practitioners told her
to write or call the President and human rights organizations and ask for
their support for the practitioners in China. She said she would do
so.
Reporter Thought It Was Important to Have More People Know About the
Persecution of Falun Gong
The van tour arrived in Des Moines, the capitol city of Iowa. Reporters
from the local FOX media affiliate arrived before the scheduled event and
talked with the practitioners from the van tour. The reporter asked the
photographer to take photos from different angles, and explained the
torture demonstration in his report.
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Reporter from FOX explains the torture
methods
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Reporter from the Quad City Times learns the Falun
Gong exercises after the interview
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Media in Colorado interview the
practitioners
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Practitioners interviewed by media in
Nebraska
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After the interview, the reporter said, while shaking a practitioner's
hand, that it was important to have more people know about the persecution
occurring in China. He thanked the practitioners and said he hoped that
the persecution would be ended as soon as possible.
After the conclusion of the activity in Des Moines, the van tour
traveled to Davenport, 167 miles east of Des Moines.
When the van tour arrived at the activity venue in Davenport, a
reporter from the Quad City Times, the largest local newspaper, was
waiting for them. The reporter had interviewed a practitioner, Steven,
over the phone the day before and published a newspaper report. Some of
the audience members said that they came to see the demonstration of
torture after reading the report.
The reporter from the Quad City Times continued talking with
practitioners for nearly an hour, and learned the Falun Gong exercises
after finishing the interview. After learning Exercise One, he said he
felt relaxed and knew that it was a great practice. He shook hands with
each practitioner before departing to write his report.
Many passers-by asked for more information, and audience members were
shocked after watching the torture demonstration. They expressed support
for the van tour and for Falun Gong.
Practitioner Steven said that the van tour would go to Wisconsin and
then arrive at its final destination, Chicago, on May 21.
