I wish to express my appreciation and concern about the article from Oct. 2 entitled “Tiananmen Square Stormed by protesters.”

I practice Falun Gong here on campus at the grass north of the Campanile Monday through Friday from 5-6 p.m. We also have group exercise and discussion every Sunday night in room 233 of the Union. Falun Gong exercises and teachings improve my health and energy and help me to have a peaceful and compassionate mind. It is a good and effective system and it is getting more and more popular world-wide.

Because it was too popular in China and attracted millions of people, it was banned by the Communist government last July. Ever since the brutal crackdown began, as the photo in your report showed, people are not allowed to practice Falun Gong or voice their concern or they will be arrested and beaten up.

Fifty-five people have died of the persecution and tens of thousands are being tortured every single day.

We are really concerned about the current situation and are calling for public attention and help from kind-hearted people. Thank you for running that story and increasing public awareness. I hope to see more about this issue in the future.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need more information about Falun Gong and the crackdown in China, and do let us know if you have any suggestions about this.

Yongyi Julia Jiang

Research associate

Food science and human nutrition