On Oct. 31, 2000, during the critical period immediately preceding the presidential elections, Vice President Al Gore came to the Westwood of Los Angeles to deliver a speech. The main streets near the speech site were full of cars and crowds of people. It was a very special day, as people came very early and stood in a long line waiting to get in.

Five practitioners wearing bright yellow T-shirts held a big banner that read, "Please support Falun Gong." We were like a small parade, distributing materials about the Chinese government's brutal crackdown on Falun Gong to people on the roadside. We handed out almost a thousand copies in three hours. When voters asked us whether we came to support Gore, we said, " We want more people to know the truth about the Chinese government's brutal suppression of Falun Gong, and we hope Vice-President Gore will support us."

As we were distributing materials along the roadside, many people cried out, "Falun Gong, I saw you in today's Daily Bruin." This was because the reporter for the university newspaper had just interviewed several practitioners on campus and wrote an article called, "Students Hope to Gain Support for Falun Gong." It was published on the front page. A foreign student from Syria asked for directions to our practice site. Later, he showed up and learned the five sets of exercises in one hour.

Practitioners in Los Angeles

Nov. 1, 2000