2000 Falun Gong Practitioners Arrive In Houston to Peacefully Appeal

News from Houston at midnight on October 23, 2002: It is estimated that over 2,000 Falun Gong practitioners from all over the world have arrived in Houston, Texas to participate in a peaceful appeal.

Around 6:00 a.m. on October 23, over 500 Falun Gong practitioners began gathering at the Inter-Continental Hotel in downtown Houston to unfurl Falun Gong banners. At 6:00 p.m., another 100 practitioners from Taiwan arrived. By midnight, over 2,000 Falun Gong practitioners had assembled in Houston to join the peaceful appeal.

About 5:30 p.m., Jiang entered the hotel, but has not appeared since then. According to plans, Jiang was to leave the hotel the next morning (October 24) to attend an activity beginning at 9:00a.m. in the George Bush Library at Texas A&M University. It is estimated that about 500 Falun Gong practitioners would gather at nearby Texas A&M University to peacefully appeal during Jiang's visit there.

When asked why so many Falun Gong practitioners were coming to join the peaceful appeal, Mrs. Wang from the west coast said, "Jiang is a murderer who is killing innocent people. Under his orders, many Falun Dafa practitioners have been tortured to death. We want to let Jiang know that his atrocious crimes cannot escape the attention of the international community."

At 2:00 a.m. on October 24, as this report was being written, over 200 Falun Gong practitioners were sitting quietly opposite the front door of the hotel to peacefully appeal. The "welcoming group" members had left at least two hours earlier.

According to Clearwisdom Net news from Chicago on October 23, while staying in Chicago, Jiang was served with a lawsuit in the United States District Court of Northern Illinois for his campaign of torture and genocide against Falun Gong practitioners. Attorney Terri E. Marsh pointed out, "Business opportunities are indeed important, but great importance should also be attached to human rights. This lawsuit filed by Falun Gong practitioners is not against the Chinese people, nor is it against the Chinese government or the Party. It is targeted at Jiang, who has exploited his official position to commit atrocious crimes in persecuting innocent Falun Gong practitioners."