Falun Gong righteous sect
Since 1992, when Falun Gong was introduced to the public in China, hundreds of world leaders and government representatives have recognized and celebrated the benefits it has brought to their countries and communities. For details, please visit http://faluninfo.net. It is not a religion, but a spiritual practice that has brought better health and inner peace to millions around the world.
It was a great shame that Jesus came to save people but ended up being killed by the Roman Empire. Who do you think is righteous? Jesus or the Roman Empire? Do you think the Roman Empire was doing the right thing? The letter last week said to "go back to China as Jesus did." That is not the historical fact. Jesus did not go some other place to submit himself to evil. The righteous world has the responsibility to stand against evil and to protect the righteous. Suppose Jesus was living in the United States today and had to go back to Roman Empire to be crucified, it would be a great embarrassment to the United States, to the conscience of the world! It is the Chinese leaders who give order to brutally persecute and kill its innocent citizens who should be punished, not Falun Gong.
The so-called suicide attempt on Tiananmen Square has nothing to do with Falun Gong practitioners because the teachings of Falun Gong prohibit any form of killing, including suicide. Li Hongzhi, the founder of the practice, has explicitly stated that suicide is a sin. Ever since the crackdown in China, the Falun Gong Web site was hacked many times and radio broadcasting was jammed. All the media in China were tightly controlled by Chinese government. There is no way for Falun Gong practitioners in China to know what is going on in United States. The suicide attempt in China is yet another attempt by the PRC regime to defame the practice of Falun Gong.
The people who practice Falun Gong come from every imaginable walk of life, as Falun Gong transcend social, economic and national boundaries. It is a righteous way of cultivation practice, which will make this world a better place to live.
Yan Liu
plant sciences researcher
"Thanks" for non-lethal weapons article
Thank you for your front page article on April 19 detailing the numerous weapons the Tucson Police Force has available to maintain the rule of law, as described by one Swat Sgt. David Azuelo. As a witness to local business owners nursing injuries after being shot at thoughtlessly with rubber bullets by the Tucson Police during the Fourth Avenue riots, I felt better to read that "(Rubber balls) are intended to cause pain; an unintended consequence is injury."
Furthermore, although I have heard the TPD is under criticism for its excessive use of force at the riots, including gouging out the eye of a student with a rubber bullet who was reportedly in the process of leaving the scene, I felt better after reading that "(Law enforcement officials) are proficient once they finish the training."
Finally, although I momentarily hesitated when Azuelo mentioned that these weapons are used only on people who put themselves in dangerous, often unlawful positions, I quickly realized that anyone who happens to be passing through Fourth Avenue or works there and doesn't cower instantly at police command is probably guilty of something anyway.
Surely the macho, frequently violent approach to problems police are often gloried for by Hollywood, and reflected in this article, in no way contributed to the beating of an innocent African engineering student here at UA a year ago or the deadly use of force by police seen recently in Cincinnati against an unarmed black man. Based on Sgt. Azuelo's constructive and thoughtful comments regarding what happened on Fourth Avenue, there is no doubt our confidence will remain unshaken in the internally commissioned audit by the TPD regarding police actions at the riot, rumored to be released sometime next century, or in the decision, in general, to turn to the excessive use of force against innocent civilians.
Arne Ekstrom
neuroscience graduate student
Fast Fact incorrect
I found it a bit disconcerting when I looked in the paper today and saw that your fast facts checkers apparently know how to violate the laws of physics. According to Einstein's special relativity theory, a moving object cannot go faster than the speed of light. If you could do this, you would move backwards in time, and, unless you are Michael J. Fox or Superman, this is a very remote possibility. Please, stop looking up science facts from the "Star Trek" books you find lying around your bathroom.
Joseph P. Marotta
physics and astronomy junior
Falun Gong founder hypocritical
J. Yang made a very good point in the letter regarding the hypocrisy of Falun Gong founder Li Hongzhi. The evil of Falun Gong lies not in its religious pretenses (and yes, it has incorporated enough spiritual practices to qualify as a religion), it lies in the fact that its believers are not prevented, in fact encouraged, to do harm to themselves in response to the communist "regime" as Ayse Guner had so eloquently put it in the article "Group Honors Falun Gong Victims." Spiritual beliefs and meditation exercises in their purest forms are beneficial. In the case of Falun Gong, however, such good and pure things are combined with false promises, if not actual brain-washing.
Qi Cui
MCB and psychology junior
