Falun Gong celebrate the month of May as their own, and what better place than Nathan Phillip Square, in front of city hall. Starting activities were yellow clad adherents sitting on yoga mats doing the abbreviated qi gong, the centrepoint of their belief.

The Falun Gong movement, started by Li Hongzhi, began in 1992 and grew fast. By 1999 1 of 7 Chinese had become an adherent. This frightened the People’s Republic of China party. By July 1999 the PRC banned the Falun Gong and by October 1999 the PRC declared them Heretic. After that the PRC began to persecute them. Outside of China the Falun Gong created the Epoch Times newspaper and the New Dynasty Television (NDTV). By now they have one hundred million members around the world. Over fifty million people have resigned from different levels of the Chinese Communist Party. The secret of the Falun Gong seems to be their non violent pose and their form of abreviated Tai Chi.

The speakers started with Junior Provincial Minister Glen Murray, MPP, former Winnipeg Mayor, and member from Toronto Centre. A letter was read from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Provincial Progressive Conservative Candidate Michael Mostyn, civil rights lawyer David Matas and others.

The web site for the exercises www.falundafa,com explains the history of the Falun Gong.

MPP Glen Murray who is of Ukrainian background drew a strong similarity between the suffering of his people and the Falun Gong. We all went home and looked at the manufacturers labels on our clothing.

Märkmed: