Previously, I had the good fortune to work as a newspaper reporter. I still treasure the experience. While reporting, I learned first-hand about the many challenges facing journalists: In this computer age, reporters are bombarded with information at an ever-increasing rate. Because of the Internet, traditional media outlets also face far more competition than just a generation ago. Moreover, costs for producing news media continue to rise, particularly for newspapers. These and other factors all constrain the amount of time journalists have to investigate the stories they are reporting on.

I am writing to you today because I practice Falun Gong, and I am deeply concerned about the practitioners who are being tortured in China. I am writing to you from within the insights I gained as a reporter.

I would never criticize any journalist for reporting both sides of a story; it is your duty to be neutral, fair and objective. Here, I want to focus on another tenet of journalism: discerning and illuminating truth.

When reporting on Falun Gong, if you are trying to decide who is telling you the truth, practitioners of Falun Gong or representatives of the regime that rules China, I ask you to do the following: go on the Internet and do a simple search, "human rights and China." This will lead you to documentation of an endless number of horrific human rights violations, including torture, murder, rape, brainwashing and slave labor. You do not have to take the word of just Falun Gong practitioners regarding human rights in China--the same methods have been used against many other groups, including Buddhist monks, Christians and pro-democracy advocates. You will find a plethora of information on the Web Sites of the world's most reputable human rights organizations.

Ironically, the primary slanderous claim made by the persecutors of Falun Gong is that Falun Gong practice causes people to harm themselves or others.

Next, through the Internet or any other relevant source you have access to, try to find articles that do not come from the regime and its state-controlled media outlets about Falun Gong practitioners doing harm. You will not find any. Please note--Falun Gong is practiced in more than 60 countries. Ask yourself, why are the stories about Falun Gong being dangerous only coming from one country if it is practiced in dozens of countries? Also, there is no detrimental chemistry between Chinese culture and Falun Gong practice: there are now an estimated 300,000 Falun Gong practitioners in Taiwan, and the practice is flourishing there without incident.

The foundational principles of Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, are Truth, Compassion and Tolerance. Falun Gong is a completely peaceful practice, and practitioners continually strive to improve their moral character. Goodness is a quality that tyrants have always feared--a quality that gives people the strength to make moral choices.

So, when reporting on Falun Gong, please consider the credibility of the parties involved. Who is more believable...peaceful people committed to kindness, or a regime with a well-documented history of murder and torture?

Another tactic the regime uses is to take information about Falun Gong out of context and distort it. For instance, risking torture and death, brave practitioners in China have overridden cable television signals and broadcast information about the persecution. The regime has portrayed them as dangerous hackers. Is reporting mass murder ever wrong or immoral? That is what the practitioners were doing. There have been close to 1,000 verified deaths by torture--that is the known count--we do not know the true death toll, which is certainly many times higher. Within the Mainland, all media outlets and the Internet are state controlled and censored. I consider people who risk their lives to report murder to be heroes. Tragically, some of the heroes are being tortured, and at least one has been tortured to death.

Additionally, what stance has the regime taken toward Western journalists who try to report fairly about the persecution from within China? On October 28, 1999 reporters from around the world attended a secret press conference practitioners organized in Beijing. This was just a little more than three months after the persecution of Falun Gong had begun. Later many of those reporters (including members of Reuters, the Associated Press and the New York Times) were questioned at great length, had their residency and work papers temporarily confiscated and were forced to sign "confessions of wrong doing." (Source: Amnesty International; "China crackdown on "heretical organizations;" Section 12. Harassment of Foreign Journalists, AI Index: ASA 17/11/000.) This stance continues today.

Finally, at times a journalist may wonder, "Why should I cover the Falun Gong in China?" Personally, I believe the health of the world's most populated country has rippling affects throughout the globe. More important, this is the largest scale and most pervasive persecution that exists today. The methods of oppression and propaganda are as intricate as they are varied. Approximately 100 million are directly targeted in China, and they have friends, relatives and colleagues.

Imagine how you would feel if Gestapo-like thugs arrived at your workplace and dragged away one of your coworkers, and you later discovered that the person had been tortured to death. What would that do to your heart and mind...possibly for the rest of your life? This persecution is an attack on the entire country of China and its culture.

In summary, reporters of the world, I ask you to research this persecution. Throughout modern history, journalists have helped to end mass brutality--what tyrants fear most is illumination of the truth.