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Chinese government inhumane, UA club members say

Yan Liu, a UA research associate, came to the United States from China two years ago, but now said he is afraid to return because the meditation system he follows could lead to his imprisonment.

Liu, along with other followers of Falun Gong at the UA, said the Chinese government's recent anti-cult law violates the basic human rights of the country's citizens.

The law, which was passed Oct. 30, allows for long prison sentences and the death penalty for Chinese followers of Falun Gong, an organization the government considers a cult that endangers national security.

"The way the current government treats us is like we are criminals," said Liu, a UA plant molecular biology research associate. "More and more people are being tortured and beaten up by the police."

Liu said Falun Gong is not a cult, but a peaceful mediation system that draws on Buddhism and Taoism.

He lived in China until 1997, when Falun Gong practice was legal. But now, Liu said the Chinese government often arrests and detains Falun Gong followers.

"We hope the Chinese government can stop the persecution of the peaceful practice in China," he said.

Liu said he would like to return to his birthplace, but is afraid.

"Now I can't because I will be in trouble if I go back to China," Liu said. "As long as we are illegal... I can't go back."

He added that his parents have stopped following Falun Gong because of the Chinese government's persecution.

Liu meditated outside the United Nations building in New York City two weeks ago along with 100 to 300 other Falun Gong followers to raise awareness of their peaceful meditation organization. He also mediated outside the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. last week with 50 other Falun Gong followers.

"We don't expect too much... but we just let them know we are not an evil cult - we are peaceful practitioners," he said.

Chen-Chen Yeh, the UA Falun Gong Club president, said she doesn't understand why the Chinese government persecutes its followers, because the practitioners don't have a political agenda.

"I think it is basic human right," said Yeh, who is a physiology doctoral student.

Members of the UA Falun Gong Club, which is made up of three students and about seven Tucson residents, mediate each day and meet Sundays to practice at a park near campus.

Yeong-Huei Hsu, a UA East Asian studies doctoral student, said he has studied many religions and Falun Gong teaches something different than he has ever learned.

"To my personal feeling, I feel this is the deepest teaching I've ever learned," said Hsu, who has followed Falun Gong since the summer. "It is kind of a marvelous, strange feeling, but very happy."

Hsu said he thinks the Chinese government began to oppose the meditation organization after its founder, Master Li Hongzhi, became too powerful and popular.

"They don't want an organization to become too huge and too uncontrollable," Hsu said.

Liu said he thinks a reason why the Chinese government adamantly opposes Falun Gong is because the organization believes in a god while the government is atheistic.

He added that Falun Gong is not a cult because all related activities are free.

"If anyone would like to learn this, we have the responsibility to teach them and it is free," Liu said.

Hsu said the Chinese people need the U.S. government's help to stop the persecution of Falun Gong followers.

"What the Chinese government is doing is wrong," Hsu said. "We hope the U.S. government can say something for us."

So far, more than 20 members of Congress have signed a resolution stating, among other things, that the Chinese government should cease persecuting Falun Gong followers and that there are many credible reports of followers who have been tortured.

Yeh encourages people to research the organization before forming an opinion.

"I think people should read first, understand it, and then judge," Yeh said.

Hsu, from Taiwan, considers himself lucky to live in Tucson, to be able to follow Falun Gong and enjoy other American privileges.

"I'm lucky I'm not born in China, this is my feeling," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.