In a few days, I will get on a plane and fly to China. I will appeal to the Chinese government to stop persecuting Falun Dafa, an ancient Chinese practice that teaches "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance." Why must I do this? If a Chinese practitioner tries to peacefully appeal to their government, they will surely be arrested, and then beaten or tortured to death. With no method of appeal left, they have gone to Tiananmen Square to unfurl banners that read "Falun Dafa is good!" or "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance". Afterwards, they are promptly beaten by plain-clothed policemen. Some have even been beaten to death on the spot.

So I will go with many others to appeal for justice. But you ask, why must I go? What is Falun Dafa? So, then, why don't we start at the beginning?

My name is Drew Parker. I am a 22 year-old UNCG (University of North Carolina at Greensboro) student with a passion for music and computers. I like to sing and play the guitar, I sometimes stay up until 4 in the morning chatting with my friends about life.

A year and a half ago, I was surfing the web and discovered a unique page, which right away presented me with the words, "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance". "What is this?" I wondered. I didn't know yet, but I was sure I agreed with those principles. I began browsing further, and eventually downloaded a free book and some short videos of a man teaching some slow moving exercises.

Later, I realized I had found a site on Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong), an ancient practice deeply rooted in Chinese culture. As I began practicing the exercises more and reading the book I had downloaded (Zhuan Falun - the main book on Falun Dafa), I noticed profound changes in my life. The early morning stomachache that used to plague me disappeared. I felt notably more relaxed and peaceful. During conflicts, I was able to control myself and not get upset, enabling me to act the way I had always wanted to in those situations - with kindness - instead of with short-lived anger. I was getting closer to the person I had always wanted to be, and it was all because of this great practice.

That's when I learned of the persecution of Falun Dafa in China. I was utterly shocked... people have died because they do this? Because they try and follow the teachings of truth, compassion, and tolerance just like I do? That's impossible. But as I began checking www.faluninfo.net each day to see if things were getting better, the murder toll kept increasing. Now there are 359 documented cases of Falun Dafa practitioners in China who have died in police custody, while inside sources say the true number is closer to 1,600. As I began reading their stories, I either felt sick to my stomach or wanted to cry. Naked women being thrown into all male jail cells and being gang raped, men being dragged by cars through the streets until mutilated and then set on fire, women being shocked with electric batons on their genitals until their skin turns blue, people being thrown to their deaths from their own apartment windows, and the elderly and the young both being tortured to death. Each case of murder is reported by Chinese officials to be death caused by "natural causes" or "suicide."

The notorious "610" office, set up by the Chinese President for the purpose of "eliminating Falun Gong at all costs", gives free rein to all those with no conscience. Tens of thousands of practitioners have been dragged to labor camps or jails without trial, lost their jobs and homes, have had their families broken apart, and even have been forced into mental institutions and given nerve-damaging drugs. The policemen are told, "Do not to worry if a practitioner dies while being beaten or tortured, you won't be held accountable." "Cremate immediately." "Families don't need to be notified." "Falun Dafa practitioners are lower then dogs."

While all of these gross human rights violations are occurring, the government-controlled media viciously slanders Falun Dafa and its founder, Li Hongzhi, as if even all of the outright lies against such an upright teaching could justify the horrible actions taking place. Sadly enough, being surrounded by lies, many Chinese citizens have been deceived. Having hatred being bred against an unwanted group by a totalitarian government is not a new tactic. Now, many turn in practitioners at their workplaces or are helping police to locate and capture practitioners, which in many cases leads to their deaths. One shudders to realize that just a few short decades ago in history, Hitler used this exact same tactic to murder six million people. So the importance of exposing the truth to those in China and elsewhere becomes extremely important.

Outside of China, U.S. Congress has passed resolutions condemning the persecution. Falun Dafa and the founder Li Hongzhi have received over 600 proclamations worldwide for the teachings of "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance", and Falun Dafa has spread to 100 million people in over 50 countries. In my own state of North Carolina, Reidsville, Carrboro, Drexel, New Bern, Mecklenburg and Wake County, Swansboro, and Durham have all given proclamations to Falun Dafa and Li Hongzhi for the teaching of "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance".

Even with all of this, it is very difficult to break through the propaganda machine of an entire nation. Perhaps you have seen a Falun Dafa practitioner on the street, kindly speaking with a Chinese person for a while. Perhaps you have seen a practitioner wearing a yellow t-shirt passing out fliers, or participating in a parade. In my view, it is to make the truth known. Imagine how wonderful it would be if every person in China knew the truth. They would refuse to "turn in" their kind neighbor - they would absolutely not aid the process of their co-worker being unjustly arrested, beaten, and then murdered.

Having the privilege to be a free thinker in our great country of the United States of America, I have done my own yearlong independent study. I learned Falun Dafa on my own and then practiced it alone for an entire year, simply because I had met no one else who did. Therefore, no one could influence me either way. What I have discovered is that Falun Dafa teaches to not get involved in politics whatsoever and to cultivate your heart instead. It teaches to always think of others first before doing anything, and consider whether your actions will hurt anyone or not. Just repeating the teachings and doing the exercises doesn't mean you are a Falun Dafa practitioner -- only if you genuinely focus on improving your xinxing (moral character or heart nature) can you be considered a practitioner. Falun Dafa is not a religion or an organization. There is no worship, no binding membership, and no exchange of money. Everything I have received from Falun Dafa has always been free, yet priceless.

To me, being a Falun Dafa practitioner means that with each day, I try to always tell the truth, no matter how much easier a "little white lie" could be. I try and show the same kindness to whomever I have contact with, be they friends or strangers. I try to be patient and understanding in all situations, no matter how difficult they might seem to me at the time.

As it has been proven by those people's remarkable deeds, not even immense torture can break their compassion, not even the most vicious slander can break their resolve to practice Falun Dafa and follow upright principles. They truly embody Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance in their every deed, every day. The founder Li Hongzhi said, "We are not against the government now, nor will we be in the future. Other people may treat us badly, but we do not treat others badly, nor do we treat people as enemies." Not a single practitioner has once resorted to violence, despite the brutality they have endured. Instead, they kindly tell those who beat them that what they are doing is wrong, that good is met with good and evil is met with evil.

I am a Falun Dafa practitioner, and I am going to China with practitioners from around the globe to appeal for those with no voice. Representing millions of practitioners worldwide, we will appeal to the government to stop the killing. I will use the compassion and serenity that Falun Dafa has brought me to reason with each policeman and official that gives me trouble for standing up for justice and the value of human life.

To all people reading this, and to all kind-hearted people in the world who value truth and justice, I humbly make this suggestion. When you hear someone say something negative or untrue about Falun Dafa, you could tell them it isn't so, because you know a Falun Dafa practitioner. You could say he told you about the great benefits Falun Dafa brought to him, and about how cruelly those people who uphold high moral values are treated in China.

I hope that one day, whether we are meeting for the thousandth time or for the first, I can smile and say that the right to practice "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance" exists everywhere in the world. Thank you all for your time and attention.