Falun Gong's Courage

China's authoritarian leaders face their biggest opposition yet, and for them, it's like punching a cloud.

Over the past week, thousands of followers of a religious practice called Falun Gong have slipped into Beijing, just walking around, trying to talk to officials in protest against a crackdown on their beliefs and leaders.

A loosely organized movement of millions of Chinese, Falun Gong has no political agenda other than to protect itself. Yet, the more it is suppressed, the stronger its faithful express their beliefs through peaceful, public witness.

The world can only watch as this giant nation plays out a drama between a government that is spiritually bankrupt and masses of people searching for greater meaning in life. Killing and jailing the brave followers of Falun Gong will solve nothing.

(c) Copyright 1999. The Christian Science Publishing Society