January 13, 2002

It takes courage to stand up for controversial beliefs in the face of adversity. But, to Seacoast Falun Gong practitioners, it takes more than courage to keep standing after years of persecution. It takes compassion.

"I think they have great compassion to go out," says Kittery resident Mary Byrom of the millions of Chinese Falun Gong practitioners facing persecution by their government. "It affected my heart quality."

Every day Byrom and at least five other Seacoast residents practice the slow exercise techniques of Falun Gong either outside together or in their own homes.

They are not threatened.

They face no persecution.

And yet they not only get up at the break of dawn to practice, they spend untold amounts of time and money traveling locally and abroad to educate people on the truths of Falun Gong and the lies they say the Chinese government is spreading.

"I would see it as good versus evil," says Byrom's husband, Marcus Gale. "What is worth living for? Do we want to give into evil? Unfortunately, (Chinese practitioners) have to suffer for it. Westerners can understand that good has to stand up against evil. Otherwise, what is worth living for?"

Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, is a cultivation system for improving the mind, body and spirit. It was first introduced in China in 1992 by Master Li Hongzhi, eventually spreading to over 40 countries with more than 100 million practitioners.

It's core principles are summed up in three words: "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance."

To Martin Fox of Kittery, Falun Gong has two aspects. "One deals with cultivating Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance in daily life and the other aspect involves the slow motion exercises/meditation movement."

There are no religious rituals or worship to Falun Gong. No donations or membership obligations. No racial or cultural boundaries. No political agenda. All of the techniques and principles of Falun Gong are free and available over the internet.

However, millions of Falun Gong practitioners have been threatened, jailed, raped and tortured since President Jiang Zemin of China ordered a crackdown on the practice of Falun Gong in July of 1999. According to the website faluninfo.net, 334 practitioners have been beaten to death in police custody to date.

"More people are practicing Falun Gong than are involved in the [party's name omitted]," Fox says, explaining why the Chinese government views Falun Gong as a [term omitted] and threat.

"It's a system of cultivation that's directly opposite to that of the Chinese government," he adds. "The reason (Falun Gong practitioners) continue is they want the world to know the government controls everything."

"It is state sponsored terrorism," says Gale. "When people look at us they think we're involved in politics or a social cause. We're really just upholding principles. We're not interested in politics."

The close-knit local Falun Gong group was founded by David Li and Ming Liu of Portsmouth, both Beijing natives who moved to this country in 1994.

While studying under a research fellowship in industrial engineering at the University of Michigan, Li heard about Falun Gong and found it consistent with his own beliefs. He started a seminar on it in Michigan and brought the practices to this area when he and Liu moved to Portsmouth in 1997.

"I thought it was the best gift to share with the community," Li says.

"I've always been searching for a higher meaning to life, ever since I was in college 30 years ago," says Gale, who experimented with tai chi and Eastern meditation before finding what he searched for in Falun Gong.

"I was a little skeptical that it was free, but once I learned the movements it was very essential and basic."

As a children's entertainer, Gale says the Falun Gong principles are "very much a part" of his work in the stories and songs he performs.

"It's been a challenge to bring the principles to people in an entertaining way."

His commitment to Falun Gong impressed his wife enough to research it herself.

"He had a radical change in a very short time," Byrom says. "This is the guy who never got out of bed at 6 a.m. I wasn't searching for something, but when I saw this I saw something pure."

Yvonne Marcotte of New Durham was the next domino in line.

"Mary (Byrom) had a class, a self-improvement kind of class," Marcotte says. "She said 'Marcus found something' and it sounded like the real thing."

She went to a nine day lecture and just kept going when she realized the principles were something important to her.

What differentiates Falun Gong from practices like yoga or tai chi are the principles.

"In Falun Gong we have high principles and we use that to guide us in daily life," Li says. "Yoga and tai chi are mostly focused on the physical body."

The more truthful and compassionate you are, the more energy you get, Fox says.

"On the surface it looks like it's a belief system, but it's a transforming process."

He was attracted to Falun Gong by its message to "return to your true self."

"I saw a brochure in Tapei Tokyo restaurant," he says. "I called and ended up speaking to David (Li)."

Fox began reading a book called "Falun Gong" shortly after the government crackdown in 1999.

"It was a little hard to believe that anybody would be against something truthful, compassionate and tolerant."

Fox says the worst problem is how the Chinese Americans have "very effectively been subjected to lies. A lot of us try to validate the truth."

This is done through SOS! Global RescueWalks both here (from Kittery to Portsmouth last summer) and abroad, everywhere from Australia to Turkey.

In November, Marcotte spent two weeks in the Czech and Slovak Republics "to tell people about the truth."

Many people have already formed their opinions about the Falun Gong from their own government or are too intimidated to speak out.

Li also went on a tour of European countries including Iceland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Portugal and Spain to walk on foot as an "ambassador" for the local efforts.

"We met many media and government officials," Li says. "(The people of Europe) don't have as much courage to speak out as Americans. People are confused."

Liu recently returned from a three-city photo exhibition in Russia, detailing visually 130 photos about the Falun Gong persecution.

"Russia is very influenced and under the thumb of China," Liu says.

Even in Chinatowns in this country, some Chinese Americans view Falun Gong from the eyes of their home government and distrust the practice.

Locally, the group have received letters from Maine Governor Angus King, Congressman John Baldacci and Senator Olympia Snowe, all supporting the Falun Gong, the SOS walks and/or House Congressional Resolution 188 "expressing the sense of Congress that the Government of the People's Republic of China should cease its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners."

To enlighten others, Li recently included CD-ROMs about Falun Gong in the New Year's cards he sent out. And Marcotte is working with a group in Boston to create CDs to send to Chinese Americans.

Byrom says the Falun Gong crackdown "is about saving face." If President Zemin were to leave office, she believes the next president coming in would want to make changes to save face, and this would involve ceasing the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

"When enough people know the truth, the inevitable will happen," Fox says. "Change will happen of its own accord. People through their own compassion will tell others."

"As Marcus said, we cannot let evil take over the world," Marcotte says. "It's a very idealistic thing, but it's something I believe in."

http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/1_13living_a.htm