Bangor Daily News: Maine towns' support sought for Falun Dafa

Wednesday, March 14, 2001

DOVER-FOXCROFT - Maine communities are being asked to support Falun Dafa, a Chinese-backed movement that emphasizes the principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance.

Letters have been sent to communities across the state asking that town officials proclaim a "Falun Dafa Day."

"The proclamation is just to have a more formal introduction in the community," Nancy Ortego of St. Albans, a practitioner in the ancient self-cultivation method, said Tuesday.

However, not all communities are embracing Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, an ancient method introduced in China to improve the mind, body and spirit through five simple exercises. ...

But Ortego believes the method is appropriate for Maine communities and cites support from Gov. Angus King and Lewiston Mayor Kaileigh Tara. In a letter dated Dec. 21, 2000, King congratulated Falun Dafa followers on their success of bringing the method to Maine.

"This practice, based on the universal principle of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance, has a following worldwide and is enlisting more followers from Maine all the time. The work that your group does to encourage a better understanding of Falun Dafa in Maine through workshops and demonstrations will only help to make the practice more widespread and popular with our citizens," the governor wrote in his letter.

Lewiston officials proclaimed a Falun Dafa Day in February when demonstrations were given on the exercises at the local library.

Ortego said there are about a dozen Falun Dafa practitioners in the state who show individuals how to do the simple exercises similar to tai chi, an exercise used in martial arts. She said the practice involves slow, gentle movements and meditation, which helps relieve stress.

Falun Gong is neither a religion nor a sect, according to information distributed by the followers. No temples, rituals, clergy, priests or ranks are involved with the method. Nor is there a political agenda or affiliation, according to the written material.

The practice is an individual choice and is centered on the improvement of one's self, according to Ortego.

In China, however, the group is perceived as a threat because it is not directly related to Communist ideology.

Since July 1999, tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained, and many of them have been beaten, forced from their jobs, homes and schools and sent to labor camps, according to news reports.

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