United States: Four Hundred High School Students in The Bronx, New York Learn Facts about Falun Gong

Cymone Bedford is a student at Preston High School of The Bronx School District, New York. After visiting the Anti-Torture Exhibition by Falun Gong practitioners on the streets of Manhattan, she contacted local Falun Gong practitioners listed on the flyer and invited them to introduce Falun Gong to the four hundred students in her school.

Cymone Bedford introduces Falun Gong to students

Ms. Bedford is the president of Amnesty International in her school. She was shocked to learn about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong and the serious violations of human rights in China. She was also surprised that very few people in her school knew about the persecution. She organised a lecture to tell all students in her school about the persecution and hoped to launch a campaign asking all students to write to more people and to call for the end of the persecution.

On Thursday, December 9th, 2004, some American Falun Gong practitioners went to Preston High by invitation. All students gathered in the gym during their lunch break, and Ms. Bedford introduced Falun Gong and the persecution in China. Three Falun Gong practitioners from different ethnic groups gave a demonstration of Falun Gong exercises for fifteen minutes. Following the demo, two practitioners gave a more detailed introduction to Falun Gong and told the students about the persecution in China. They mentioned American citizen, Dr. Charles Li, who has been jailed and forced into slave labour in China, and the children who have been forced to leave their homes because of the persecution. Practitioners encouraged the students to write to their congressmen to ask them to pay attention to the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

During a question and answer session, a student asked about the Anti-Torture Exhibition. Another one asked if he could write to the President to ask for help. Another asked about slave labour. A teacher suggested that all students write to the Chinese leader. "Imagine if the Chinese leader receives four hundred letters from a high school students in New York, asking him to release Charles Li!" The students smiled in agreement.

After the talk was over, some teachers and students stayed to talk with the Falun Gong practitioners. They expressed their sincere gratitude. Members of Amnesty International in the school distributed flyers to students about rescuing the orphaned children of murdered Falun Gong practitioners .