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Kelowna  

Message of persecution

A group of Falun Gong practitioners is touring the B.C. Interior, spreading awareness of followers' persecution in China.

The group, comprised mostly of Metro Vancouver residents but joined by Joy Wong of Penticton, was in Kelowna Friday and will have a booth set up at City Park on Sunday and Monday of the long weekend.

Their message is that Falun Gong, or Falun Dafa as it is sometimes called, is a peaceful spiritual discipline in the tradition of Buddha. Its key values are truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.

Despite this, followers are persecuted in their native China, made to be prisoners of conscience, and, the group alleges, are victims of state-led mass killings.

The Chinese government denies any wrongdoing, but openly opposes the movement.

The group's big concern for Canadians is the growing practice of "transplant tourism." It alleges incarcerated Falun Gong practitioners are "murdered" to harvest the organs for the growing medical tourism industry.

The Falun Gong have been "under attack" in China since 1999, and it is estimated that since then 1.5 million followers have been killed.

The United Nations and several western governments have condemned the abuses.

The Falun Gong are taking their tour through the Okanagan and into the Kootenays. They also are urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau bring up the issue during a state visit to China this fall.

The group is also handing out postcards you can sign, addressed to the Prime Minister's Office, which call for action on the subject and an end to the violence.



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