Recently it was reported in the news that Mainland China seeks a reduction of US$500 million worth of trade surplus (with the U.S.) in exchange for my extradition back to China. With regard to this issue, I would like to make some comments. I only teach people to be compassionate. At the same time, I unconditionally help people eliminate their illnesses, and I enable them to reach higher realms of mind. I do not accept any monetary or material reward. All of these have had a positive impact on society and mankind, bringing goodness to people’s hearts and dignity to human morality. Are those the reasons for which they seek my extradition? Do they intend to have me return to China to let more people obtain the Fa and cultivate their hearts? If that is the case, please do not let the country lose US$500 million to strike a deal. I can go back myself.

I have heard, however, that normally the people who are extradited are all war criminals, public enemies, or criminal offenders. If so, I do not know into which of the above categories I would be placed.

As a matter of fact, I keep teaching people to conduct themselves according to the guiding principles of Zhen-Shan-Ren. So naturally I have also been setting an example. During the times when Falun Gong disciples and I, myself were being discredited for no reason and being treated unfairly, we always exhibited hearts of great compassion and tolerance so as to give the government sufficient time to understand us, and we endured all of it silently. Nevertheless, such endurance absolutely is not because Falun Gong practitioners and I fear anything. It should be known that once a person learns the truth and the genuine meaning of life’s existence, he will not regret giving up his life for that. Do not take our hearts of compassion and great tolerance as fear, so as to double the efforts [against us] recklessly. In fact, those are enlightened practitioners, and they are cultivators who have learned the genuine meaning of life. Also, do not label Falun Gong practitioners as people who engage in alleged "superstition." There are so many things that mankind and science have not yet come to understand. As far as religions are concerned, don’t they also exist as a result of faith in God(s)? In reality, it is only the true religions and ancient beliefs in God(s) that have enabled the morality of human society to be maintained for several thousand years, making the existence of today’s mankind—which includes you, me, him, etc.—possible. If this were not the case, mankind would have committed sins long ago that led to disasters. Human ancestors probably would have become extinct long ago, and today’s events would never have occurred. Human morality is, in fact, extremely important. If people do not value virtue, they can commit all kinds of wrongdoing that are extremely dangerous to mankind. This is what I can tell people. Actually, I have no intention of doing anything for society, nor do I wish to get involved in issues of everyday people at all, let alone take power away from anybody. Not everyone considers power to be so important. Isn’t there a saying among mankind that "everyone has his own will"? I only wish to let those who can practice cultivation obtain the Fa, as well as teach them how to genuinely improve xinxing; that is, to elevate their moral standards. Furthermore, not everyone will come to learn Falun Gong. Also, what I am doing is bound to have no relationship with politics. Yet, for any country or nationality it is a good thing to have cultivators whose hearts have embraced benevolence and whose moral levels have been upgraded. How can it be labeled an evil religion for helping people to heal their sicknesses and keep fit, while raising human moral standards? Every Falun Gong practitioner is a member of society, and each has his own job and career. They simply go to the parks to practice Falun Gong exercises for half an hour or an hour every morning, then going off to work. There are no required religious regulations of any kind to observe, nor are there any temples, churches, or religious rituals. People can come to learn it or leave as they please—there is no binding membership. In what way does it have anything to do with religion? As to the label "evil," how can it fall into the category of "evil" for teaching people to be benevolent, healing people’s sicknesses, and keeping them fit without accepting any money [from them]? Or should something be considered evil if it is outside the category of communist theories? Besides, I know, evil religion is just evil religion, and it is not up to a government to decide. Should an evil religion be called "upright" if it conforms to the views of some people in government? On the other hand, should an upright one be defined as evil if it does not conform to their views?

Actually, I know exactly why some people insist on opposing Falun Gong. Just as reported by the media, there are too many people practicing Falun Gong. A hundred million people is indeed no small number. Yet why should having too many good people be feared? Isn’t it true that the more good people there are, the better, while the fewer bad people there are, the better? I, Li Hongzhi, unconditionally help practitioners improve their moral quality and keep people healthy, and this in turn stabilizes society. Additionally, with their healthy bodies, people can better serve society. Isn’t this bringing good fortune to the people in power? In reality, this has indeed been achieved. Why, instead of recognizing this and showing me appreciation, do they want to estrange more than 100 million people from the government? What kind of government would be so inconceivable? Furthermore, among these 100 million people, who doesn’t have a family and children, relatives and friends? Is it merely an issue of 100 million people? So the number of the people they are going against could be even more. What has actually happened to "the leadership of my beloved country"? If I, with the life of Li Hongzhi, can dispel the fears towards these good people, I will go back at once and leave everything to their disposal. Why bother with "going against the will of the law under heaven," wasting manpower and capital, and using politics and money to seek a deal that violates human rights? The United States, however, has been a leader in respecting human rights. Given this, how could the U.S. government be willing to betray human rights for such a deal? In addition, I am a U.S. permanent resident that lives under the jurisdiction of U.S. law.

I do not intend to condemn any particular person. It is just that I do not understand the way things are being handled. Why miss a good opportunity to appeal to the hearts of the people, instead placing more than 100 million people on the opposing side?

It was reported that many people went to Zhongnanhai and that some people were outraged by this. In fact, the number of people who went there was not large at all. Think about it, everyone: There are over 100 million people practicing Falun Gong, and only over ten thousand people showed up. How can that be considered a large number? There was no need to mobilize practitioners. Among 100 million practitioners, since you wanted to go and he wanted to go, in a short while, over ten thousand people would be there. They did not have any slogans or any signs, nor was there any improper conduct. Furthermore, they were not against the government. They merely wished to present the facts to the government. What was wrong with that? Please allow me to ask: Have there ever been such well-behaved demonstrators? Shouldn’t one be moved by such a sight? Why do some people keep trying to find fault with Falun Gong? Besides, the approach of resorting to any and all means in order to eliminate Falun Gong is really outdated. Falun Gong is not terrible, as some people might have imagined it to be. Instead, it is a great thing. Any society has everything to gain from it and nothing to lose. On the contrary, losing the hearts of people is the most formidable thing. To be frank, the practitioners of Falun Gong are also human beings who are in the process of practicing cultivation; so they still have human minds. As they are being treated unjustly, I am not sure how much longer they will be able to endure it. This is the issue about which I am most concerned.