Dearest Friends and Family,

We're writing because many of you have begun asking what we'd like for wedding gifts. Instead of something for ourselves, we'd like to ask you to give a gift to people who are in much greater need than we -- a gift that will only cost you 33 cents. The gift we ask is that you write a letter to your one (or all) of your Congresspersons about the brutal suppression of a practice that we have both benefited from tremendously, called Falun Gong.

On July 22nd 1999, the Chinese Communist Party launched a ruthless, systematic campaign to suppress a wide cross section of its own citizens for their practice of Falun Gong. These citizens -- people from all walks of life--made up about 8% of China's population of 1.3 billion. The popularity of Falun Gong has led a troubled, fearful, authoritarian communist regime to attack the practice and all of its affiliates. Since July of 1999, it has been reported that at least 80 people have died in police custody due to maltreatment, at least 50,000 people have been illegally detained, over 10,000 have been sentenced to labor camps without trial (including the brother of one of our best friends), and thousands have been forced into mental hospitals where they are "treated" with harsh sedatives and toxic drugs. These people range in age from teenagers to people in their eighties, and range in social status from peasants to high-ranking government officials. Amidst all of this, there hasn't been a single case of any Falun Gong practitioner fighting back with violence or doing harm. But thousands, maybe millions, continuously appeal peacefully to the government to end the persecution, risking everything.

This is something we care about deeply. Why? Not just because these good, nonviolent people are suffering so much, but because we practice Falun Gong ourselves, and it has changed our lives. Falun Gong is a spiritual practice rooted in ancient China. It consists of 5 gentle exercises, including a meditation, and at the heart of it is what's known as self-cultivation. In Falun Gong, we cultivate our hearts and minds based on the universal principles of Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance. Through practicing Falun Gong, Emily overcame years of disabling back pain that nothing had relieved, despite her seeing numerous specialists and trying all sorts of treatments. Matt overcame severe gastrointestinal problems and allergies that had been plaguing him for years. The most important thing, though, is that Falun Gong has enabled us to become better people. It has been one of the greatest blessings of our lives.

The fact that we've benefited so greatly from Falun Gong is the main reason why we're so concerned about what's being done to practitioners in China, and the reason we're happy to forgo many other gifts to just ask you for this one. You wouldn't be alone in supporting them. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, the US State Department, many US Congresspersons and others have already spoken out in support of these practitioners. We would be truly grateful if you would join them in helping. If you want more information about this, please visit the website http://faluninfo.net to see international news reports about the situation, or you can contact us directly: Emily at 610-690-3701, and Matt at 610-541-0520, or you can call 1-877-FALUN99.

Your letter will help raise government officials' awareness of the situation by expressing your concern and asking for support in ending this crisis. We're not offering you a form letter here, because we hope the letter can come from your own heart, but we do encourage you to:

  1. Cite the statistics we've provided above so that your Congressperson(s) can see on paper the gravity of the situation.

  2. Express your deep concern about what's happening.

  3. Ask your Congressperson(s) to speak out and take action in support of the restoration of Falun Gong practitioners' human rights.

  4. Explain that one of your loved ones has benefited greatly from the practice.

Any or all of these points would be good to include.

To obtain your Senators' and Representative's addresses, you can:

  1. call your county's Board of Elections

  2. visit http://www.house.gov/writerep/ for your Representative

  3. visit http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index_by_state.cfm for your Senators

  4. visit http://www.congress.org for all addresses

Again, we feel this is the greatest gift you can give.

Thanks for your kindness,

Matt and Emily

Category: Journeys of Cultivation