Accused Jackson mother's religious claims don't jibe, says Falun Gong expert
Sunday, Posted at 11:00am
In 2009, Mingming Chen, a Chinese national living in Jackson Township, applied for political asylum based on a claim that she was a member of the Falun Gong, a persecuted religious group.
Falun Gong is a relatively new faith that combines ancient Chinese folk religion and medicine and Buddhist tenets with Qigong, a series of exercises designed to heal and harness energy.
But Tianlun Jiang, a Falun Gong practitioner who lives in Cleveland, has serious doubts about Chen's claim amid allegations Chen killed her young daughter last week and falsely claimed the child had disappeared from their Jackson Township restaurant, Ang's Asian Cuisine on Portage Street NW.
"Falun Gong teaches people to be truthful, compassionate and tolerant," Jiang said. "It teaches people to be good, not lie. It teaches you to be kind to everyone, and of course, that would include your daughter."
Jiang said the Falun Gong community in Northeast Ohio is such that if Chen was a practitioner, someone would recognize her.
~snip
"I don't know her," Jiang said. "She didn't approach any of us. We didn't know she applied (for asylum); nobody knows her. Also, we generally practice together regularly. Nobody knows her in the greater Cleveland area, or even in Ohio. I've talked to many people in Ohio. Nobody knows her."
~snip
http://www.cantonrep.com/news/20170...gious-claims-dont-jibe-says-falun-gong-expert