Wilkes-Barre -- The ancient Chinese practice of Falun Gong has had an enormous impact on the lives of Ying Chen and James Li.

Falun Gong stresses truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, but the Chinese government's disdain for it resulted in many hardships in which Chen and Li, along with their families and others, have had to endure.

Chen, Li, and several other practitioners traveled from the Philadelphia area to Public Square on Saturday afternoon to demonstrate how the practice works and the benefits of it.

"It helps us improve ourselves. Its exercise for your body and mind," said Chen of Marlton, N.J.

Dr. Shiyu Zhou, professor of computer science at the University of Pennsylvania described how the popularity of the practice, which involves "slow, gentle movements and a meditation," led to imprisonment and murder in his homeland of China.

Zhou said Falun Gong has no political agenda or affiliation, but because of its estimated 70 million practitioners in China, the government perceived it as a threat. The practice was banned in China in 1999, and "tens of thousands" of citizens involved in Falun Gong have been persecuted, he said.

"The communist government feared losing control," Zhou said.

Chen, who was born in Beijing, said her parents were incarcerated there because of their belief in the practice. She said her mother, Ning, spent 60 days in prison, and her father, Rutang, was jailed for a month. Her brother, Gang, was placed in a detention center, she said.

Li, of Lansdale said his brother Baifan was killed while in the custody of a police officer in China. He was arrested because he practiced Falun Gong, Li said.

Despite his brother's death, Li, a native of Shanghai, remains an advocate of the practice. "I was weak before I started it. Now I'm strong."

Zhou said Falun Gong is not a religion or cult. It has no temples, rituals, clergy or priests, he said. Its practitioners, who are present in every major city in the country, never collect money or accept donations, Zhou said.

"Everything is out of our own pocket," he said.

Plains Township resident Marie Robinson heads a small group of practitioners who meet at her home weekly. She said she learned about Falun Gong in October while attending an exercise expedition in Valley Forge.

Robinson said she hoped the demonstration on Public Square would generate more local interest. "If people get involved it will change society. It makes you healthy, physically and spiritually."