MEDIA ALERT: 500-mile walk from Boston to Washington DC Passing Through Philadelphia on July 11

-- Press Conference at Liberty Bell Pavilion --

Speakers Include Supporters, Practitioners, Victims, and Family Members

Philadelphia -- JULY 11, 2001 - A press conference is to be held by people who practice and support Falun Gong, on Wednesday, July 11, 11 AM, at Liberty Bell Pavilion, when the 500-mile "SOS! Urgent: Rescue the Falun Gong Practitioners Persecuted in China" walk to Washington, D.C passes through Philadelphia. The month-long trek seeks to rescue those persons imprisoned and persecuted in China following the Communist regime's July 20, 1999, crackdown on Falun Gong.

China's government has engaged in the brutal suppression of millions of people who practice Falun Gong, a traditional Chinese qigong practice similar in form to Tai-chi. Falun Gong is practiced peacefully worldwide, yet China's regime violently suppresses this freedom of expression. To date, at least 243 Falun Gong people have been killed in police custody, with 15 new deaths coming from one labor camp in Harbin, China in the last ten days.

Walkers leave from Boston, joined by those from New York City, and proceed through Newark, N.J., Philadelphia, and Baltimore, before reaching Washington, D.C. Thousands of supporters are expected to join en route. The walk will culminate in Washington on Thursday, July 19, in a mass march from the Washington Monument to the Capitol, where a large rally will be held. The journey symbolizes the courageous, determined efforts of thousands who have demonstrated in China, and is an appeal for the immediate release of all in China who are jailed and imperiled for their practice of Falun Gong.

The press conference will consist of speeches from Falun Gong supporters, practitioners, victims of the persecution, and family members of those murdered or jailed in China.

WHEN: Wednesday, July 11th, 2001, 11 AM

WHERE: Liberty Bell Pavilion, Market and 5^th Streets

WHO: Falun Gong supporters and practitioners, including victims who nhave been tortured and family members of those murdered or jailed

Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) is an ancient form of qigong, the practice of refining the body and mind through special exercises and meditation. In just eight years since its public introduction, Falun Dafa has grown to become the most popular form of qigong ever in Chinese history. Since being introduced to the general public in 1992, Falun Dafa has attracted tens of millions of people in more than 40 countries. Most major cities and universities in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe have English-speaking Falun Dafa practice groups.