By Gary Govelitz, Staff Writer

METUCHEN - There is a Chinese saying: a journey of 10,000 miles begins with the first step. A journey of hope took its first steps in Metuchen when practitioners of Falun Gong began a 250-mile march to Washington with the hope that they will help end the persecution of fellow practitioners in China.

Falun Gong is a lifestyle built around the principles of truthfulness, benevolence and forbearance. Its series of meditations and exercises are developed to relieve stress, improve health, build inner peace and create a harmony between body and mind which will lead to wisdom and enlightenment. It is also despised by the [party name omitted] government of China which has outlawed its practice.

Following a demonstration of their exercises by practitioners of Falun Gong in front of Borough Hall, a series of speakers denounced the Chinese Government for its treatment of the Falun Gong followers.

"We are walking to Washington to sound an alert to the urgency of escalating violence against Falun Gong," said Frank Lee, a practitioner of the system who served as master of ceremonies.

First to speak were members of local Falun Gong who had personal testimony to give on how people are being treated since July 22, 1999 when, overnight, hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong Practitioners became hunted criminals. One woman told of how she was beaten by the police and of being force fed at a hospital even though she was not on a hunger strike: of "reeducation" camps and 16 hours of forced labor a day. According to Lee, hundreds of people have died at the hands of the police and that every death has been ruled a suicide by the Chinese authorities.

After the first speaker related how they were oppressed in China, representatives of local communities took turns offering their support.

"What a wonderful country we live in where people can come from a distant land and speak their mind. In China we would be arrested for gathering together like this," said Mayor Kennedy O'Brien of Sayrevill. "Any help we can give you from the Borough of Sayreville we will."

Councilman William "Bill" Stephens of Edison noted that in Edison, with its large Asian population, news of human right violation in China are well known and felt deeply.

"I happen to be an elected official for a community with a large Asian community. We cannot tolerate what is happening there," Stephens said as he announced his plans to put some action behind his words. "Edison has a sister city in China, Shijiazhuang, which has many Falun Gong practitioners in their city who are suffering. We are not proud of this. At the next meeting of the township council I will ask the mayor of Edison (Geoge Spadoro) to break all relationships with that city until they treat all of their citizens in a human manner."

Shijiazhuang is a major industrial center in China and leads that country in the production of antibiotics, textiles and electronics components. It became one of Edison's sister cities two years ago. With the fanfare equal to the exchange of ambassadors, Mayor Spadoro met with the mayor of Shijiazhuang. There was a private dinner then a public exchange of gifts followed by a press conference. It is about 180 miles from Beijing and as a major economic powerhouse in Asia. Shijiazhuang sends representatives all over the world. Whenever city officials from there are in the East Coast they always stop in for a courtesy visit to Edison where they tour local factories and meet with Edison Officials.

"Sometimes when you live in a country such as ours where you have such widespread freedoms, you lose sight of what is happening to people in other countries," Stephens said.

Mayor Spadoro offered no comment on Councilman Stephens' efforts to sever ties with Edison's Chinese sister city.