Governor John Kitzhaber

Office of the Governor

State Capitol

Salem, OR 97310

10 December 2002

Dear Governor Kitzhaber,

Thank you for proclaiming today to be Human Rights Day in Oregon. I commend you for your speech, "Proclamation of Human Rights Day, and apology for Oregon's forced sterilization of institutionalized patients." I too am concerned about human rights and especially upholding those rights in mental institutions. Like you, I am interested in medicine and I plan to be a doctor of Chinese medicine.

I became interested in Chinese medicine after my experience with qigong, another ancient Chinese healing practice. Through my practice of a kind of qigong called Falun Gong, I recovered from serious problems in both body and mind. In body, I was healed from what doctors believed to be degenerative arthritis in my neck. In mind, I recovered from what doctors told me would be a permanent condition of manic-depression.

I know firsthand about the tribulations that those in mental hospitals face, because I lived through it for years and I probably would be in a mental hospital now if I hadn't discovered Falun Gong. I do not resent any of what I suffered then, in large part, because my experience has given me empathy for those who are in that situation.

Empathy is a natural part of the practice of Falun Gong, since we follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Since I have found Falun Gong to be so beneficial to me, I of course happily share the practice with others by leading a practice site here in Portland.

At the same time, I am painfully aware of the plight of Falun Gong practitioners in China who face terrible persecution. It is sad that China, a country that has such a rich history in both medicine and good values is now harming its own people. According to human rights groups, one of the torture methods employed is forcing perfectly healthy Falun Gong practitioners into psychiatric institutions and forcing them to take medications. I can empathize with what these kindhearted people are going through, so I feel compelled to write to you and others to ask for help.

I believe that if you issued a proclamation in support of Falun Gong and its universal principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, as other Governors in the United States have (examples attached), you would be helping to uphold human rights in the world. From the bottom of my heart, I ask you to do this noble act while you are still our Governor. I would very much like to meet with you to discuss these issues in more detail. Thank you very much for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Simon Thomas

1515 SW 11th Ave #402

Portland, OR 97201-3376

Phone: (503) 784-4236