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The Budapest Sun: Peacefulness Under Pressure

June 7, 2007

(Clearwisdom.net) After years of suffering from back pain and sore hips, knees and ankles, Tibor Horvath says that he found the cure. Five simple exercises called Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) completely relieved him of his pains, he claims.

Having practiced Kung Fu since the age of seven, he enjoyed good health. But over the years excessive strain took its toll, causing significant damage to his muscles and tendons. By the time he was 19 years old simple tasks like walking, bending over or lying down would all cause him intense pain.

But things turned for the better after he attended Falun Dafa sessions in Budapest. "I saw an improvement within the first month of practicing. I used to feel very heavy and tired and this feeling completely disappeared after the first few months. As for my tendon pains they were gone within one and a half years - I no longer suffer from these symptoms," he said.

First made public in China during 1992, this previously secret form of qigong or "Chinese yoga" as some call it, consists of four slow, gentle and smooth standing movements and a sitting meditation.

Falun Dafa has since spread worldwide and is now practiced by 100 million people in 60 countries. It has received thousands of awards, proclamations and letters of appreciation from Governments as well, recognizing its health benefits and contribution to society.

The Chinese Government has also presented awards to Falun Dafa but banned it in 1999, arresting its followers. [...]

Amnesty International's Budapest office has expressed concern over the arbitrary detention of tens of thousands of Falun Dafa practitioners. Many of them held in China's labor camps and psychiatric hospitals have reportedly been tortured or ill-treated, for refusing to renounce their beliefs.

Statistics compiled by the global Falun Dafa community estimate that to date over 3,024 practitioners have died as a result of China's persecution. Human Rights Watch says that the actual number may be as high as 10,000.

An investigative report recently made public in Hungary by Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas, details transcribed phone calls to China's health and military institute staff. Many interviewees openly admitted to harvesting the organs of Falun Dafa practitioners, which are allegedly sold to foreign transplant patients. [...]

Sources told the Budapest Sun that the organ harvesting presentation organizers, in cooperation with the student-run Human Rights Student Initiative, attempted to book an auditorium at the Central European University. Within hours of the request the Chinese Embassy called and pressured the External Affairs office into stopping the event. [...]

The Falun Dafa community has recently celebrated a European Parliament resolution, which condemned China's human rights and expressed concern over the organ harvesting last September. The Chinese Government has responded to this, enacting new laws that prohibit organ sales.

Some Hungarian Parliament Members are calling for further action. They say that locals should be informed about the risks involved in accepting an illegally removed organ and the possible legal repercussions.