(Clearwisdom.net) On July 19, several hundred Falun Gong practitioners from Central Taiwan rallied at a memorial park in Nantou County to mark the 9^th anniversary of the beginning of the persecution of Falun Gong in China and to urge the public to take action to help end it.

Though a hurricane had just passed the county on the same day and it was still raining on and off, the practitioners were determined and held the rally as scheduled.

Nantou County Commissioner Lai Yanxue came to the rally to voice her support, and she was touched by the practitioners' brave acts and perseverance.

The commissioner said that the Beijing government should honor the Olympic principle of peace and end the persecution of Falun Gong as well as other human rights abuses. She also hoped that the Human Rights Torch Relay would finish its tour of more than 130 cities around the world as scheduled before the Olympics starts in August in order to raise awareness of human rights atrocities in China.

The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong has collected more than 1,000,000 signatures (nearly 600,000 in Taiwan) around the world. At the rally, a Falun Gong representative presented a symbolic box of the signatures to the commissioner, hoping elected officials will speak out for Falun Gong and help end the persecution.

At the rally, many celebrated artists expressed their support for Falun Gong in the form of artistic performances.

Vocalists Chen Zhiping (left) and Huang Jieshan (right) performed at the rally

"We want to share our heartfelt voice in the most civilized form to express our support for Falun Gong and our sympathy to the perished practitioners," said vocalist Chen Zhiping, director of the Puli Chorus.

Mr. Huang Canshan, assistant director of the chorus, also shared his reflections on the persecution. He said, "It is hard to believe that such a barbaric persecution is happening in the 21^st century, and we felt that we should protest in this rational and peaceful manner."

The two musicians were also impressed by the fact that the rally was held on schedule despite the bad weather. Huang said, "I was worried that the unpredictable weather would affect attendance of this rally. However, I am surprised that so many people came."

Chen said, "Heavy storms cannot stop our pursuit of universal values. It was raining heavily before the performance. However, as the performance went on, the rain died down and later rainbows appeared. It seems that Heaven is in favor of us."

Practitioner Hong Guoqin has been performing on the Chinese flute for more than 10 years, and he hoped that his flute would help spread the message of Falun Gong's principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Six young members of Caiyue Performing Arts from Taipei also performed at the rally. They are all Falun Gong practitioners and their performance received warm applause from the audience. Their group director, Cuiting, also performed two dances, dedicated to persecuted practitioners and their children.

Practitioners Mr. and Mrs. Wei from Taoyuan brought their two daughters to the rally. Mrs. Wei showed the audience samples of "Falun Dafa is Good" bookmarks made by their daughters. She said that the bookmarks are taken to other countries when practitioners go abroad to promote Dafa. Mr. Wei and their younger daughter had asthma, which disappeared after they started to practice Falun Gong.

"As direct beneficiaries, we must step forward to let people know the truth when such a great practice is under suppression in China," Mrs. Wei said.

Ms. Lu is from Changhua and she came to the rally site right after work. Lu said that she had to come to commemorate fellow practitioners who perished during the persecution and appeal for an end to the persecution.

"Before I started to practice Falun Gong, I was tormented by an unknown disease, and I had a bad fever for several months. The doctors were helpless. It was my darkest time. Fortunately, a relative recommended Falun Dafa to me. Since then, I have never been sick again. So, I must be here today."

After sunset, the practitioners lit candles and formed three Chinese characters: Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance--the principles of Falun Dafa.