United States: Bring Detained Practitioner Home - Firefighters and Police Show Support

In a constant effort to raise awareness of Charles Li and others detained in China, two Florida practitioners visited the hometown of a U.S. resident, Mrs. Li Meizi who is in jail in Beijing for practising Falun Gong while she was in the U.S. We took our flyers and petition forms and travelled through the town and clarified the truth to people we met.

We stopped by a park and saw people were setting up barbeque grills to cook for a large crowd. We learnt that the park was hosting a picnic for the city's Police and Fire Departments and their families, a group of four hundred people. We realised what a great opportunity this was. These police and firemen had dedicated their lives to help this community, and now they were being given the chance to help their detained neighbour. They would be rewarded for their efforts.

We set up some posters by the picnic and started to explain the detention of Li Meizi and persecution of Falun Gong in China. We encouraged people to sign either a petition or a large yellow banner calling for the release of Li Meizi. Firemen and police of every rank came over to learn about the persecution and to show their support by signing their names. Their family members including children of the policemen signed too. One teenage boy who had signed earlier in the day came back to add something. He had developed the courage to write, "Come home soon". Practitioners looked at that phase and cried.

We made up flyers with the picture and the story of the detained practitioner. Many of the people who signed the banner asked for copies of the flyer to share with their friends. One older woman wanted a picture and story to share with her church group on Sunday. The local hardware store encouraged us to hang a flyer and picture on the front door. We could tell that in no time at all the whole town would know about our sister in the detention centre. We are already planning to go back to this city to let more of the residents and their neighbours in surrounding towns learn about Falun Gong and that with their help, our fellow practitioner, illegally detained in China, will return home soon.