(Clearwisdom.net) On the morning of January 17, 2005, the 76th birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., a series of grand annual memorial services was held in Atlanta, King's hometown, to commemorate the spirit and ideals that this civil rights leader advocated and dedicated his life to: nonviolent social change, freedom, human rights, equality and peace. Falun Gong practitioners were invited to join this commemorative service. They called on people to pay attention to the brutal persecution of Falun Gong currently going on in China.
Falun Gong practitioners from Atlanta take part in the human rights parade for
the third year.
Bechy Yao and Mr. Erping Zhang, a scholar from Harvard University, were invited to attend the commemorative service held in Ebenezer Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached before his death. Mr. Zhang expressed, "It is truly meaningful that we, as the only representatives from Asia and representatives of Falun Dafa practitioners are invited to take part in this commemorative service, because Falun Gong also encounters unreasonable persecution in China. The civil disobedience that Dr. King advocated is also what we are currently doing everyday. Unfortunately, there is still some resistance not only for the American civil rights movement but also for China's human rights movement. Especially in China, Falun Gong practitioners do not have the rights that they deserve to cultivate themselves. I remember that when I was young, I read Martin Luther King's speech 'I have a dream'. We wish that we will obtain the equality and freedom in the dream as soon as possible in China, especially for those innocent people who are suffering the persecution."
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In the Afternoon, a grand march with theme "Let dream become true" was held in Downtown Atlanta. Bechy Yao said, "This is the third time that we, Falun Gong practitioners in Atlanta take part in this human rights parade. In China, Falun Gong has been persecuted for more than five years. Dr. King's memorial day promotes the spirit and idea of civil disobedience which is in line with our peaceful resistance. We wish that people over the world will pay attention to the persecution and support us to end the persecution in China as early as possible."
Sam, the coordinator of the march said, "We thank Falun Gong for joining this commemorative activity for the third time. They brought us compassion and the spirit of peacefulness. They let us know about the cruel human rights violation and persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. The persecution of people is a bomb for the entire world. We must stand together to awake the justice and conscience of people throughout the world so as to stop the human rights violation and allow the peace of the world last forever."
The second human rights convention held in Ebenezer Baptist Church on January 13 opened the series of Martin Luther King annual commemorative services in Atlanta. Representatives from a number of famous civil rights organizations across the U.S. attended the meeting and delivered speeches. Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Chen Gang was also invited to attend and addressed the meeting. He recounted his plague of being imprisoned and tortured by the Jiang's faction for his practice of Falun Gong when he was in China. He had been incarcerated for 18 months in Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp, Beijing, where he was almost tortured to death. Through the U.S. government and Falun Gong practitioners' effort, he was rescued and came to the States. He expressed his gratitude toward Mrs. King for her persistent effort in rescuing Falun Gong practitioners who are being persecuted in China.
On the afternoon of January 16, Atlanta Falun Gong practitioners participated in Mrs. King's book signing event. They personally thanked Mrs. King for her support of Falun Gong and effort in stopping the persecution in various occasions over the past few years. Mrs. King said that they were acts of justice for beautiful ideas.
