Connection: Falun Gong In Spokane
When the Chinese government condemned the spiritual practice of Falun Gong as a dangerous cult last summer, Heather Meng’s phone began ringing.
The Spokane woman has followed the teachings of Master Li Hongzhi for several years. Curious about what the Chinese government termed “a threat to society,” new members flocked to Meng’s tiny worship group. Every Saturday they met in area parks, where they discussed the principles of the teachings and went through a series of slow-motion martial arts exercises.
When the weather turned cold, Meng reserved a room at Gonzaga University, where she works as a library technician.
But the novelty has worn off for most of the newcomers. These days only two or three other people show up to the Saturday gatherings, where the teachings of Buddhism are combined with the health exercises of qigong.
This weekend Meng and the other die-hard adherents of the practice have traveled to Butte, Mont., to gather with a larger group of followers and usher in the Chinese New Year.
“I feel really firm about this way of life,” said Meng, 42. “There was a time when I questioned and doubted. But when you have a lot of difficulties, you can see what you really believe.”
So it doesn’t matter to Meng if there are two or 20 people to join her every weekend. And it doesn’t matter that her family back in China halfheartedly believes the rhetoric about Falun Gong being a cult.
“They don’t know what to think,” she said of her relatives still in China. “There is only one voice in China: the government.”
Although the government has campaigned against Falun Gong, arresting followers and destroying material, most of Meng’s relatives are confused about what to believe.
“They have seen the changes in my life. I used to be sick all the time, but I’m not anymore.”
Meng and her husband are considering a trip to China this summer with their two daughters. Meng says she will not hide her beliefs.
“I am an American citizen now,” she said. “The worst they can do is kick me out.”