(Minghui.org) When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) openly launched a nationwide campaign against Falun Gong in July 1999, its then-leader Jiang Zemin vowed to “eliminate Falun Gong in three months” and ordered the ruthless suppression of Falun Gong practitioners by all means. The persecution remains unabated after 22 years, but the CCP has failed to annihilate Falun Gong. The CCP then launched a “zero-out campaign” in 2020 in another attempt to force all Falun Gong practitioners on the government’s blacklist to renounce their faith.
However, the changes in Falun Gong practitioners, non-practitioners, and perpetrators show that the persecution is bound to fail. Not only have Falun Gong practitioners not given up their belief, but the CCP’s persecution enforcers, the public in China, and the international community have also become more supportive of Falun Gong.
Falun Gong practitioners display a banner reading “Stop Persecution of Falun Gong in China” in a parade in Washington, D.C. on July 18, 2019.
Practitioners’ Faith in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Unshaken
Since the persecution began, the CCP has started numerous campaigns against Falun Gong practitioners. They include Jiang’s order “to ruin [their] reputations, bankrupt [them] financially, and destroy [them] physically,” an “Education and Conversion Battle [to brainwash practitioners],” “Four Covering One” (four people jointly brainwashing one practitioner, with representation from the 610 Office, the practitioner’s work unit, neighborhood committee, and police station), a door-knocking campaign to check if practitioners are still upholding their faith, and the “zero-out campaign” to convert every known practitioner.
These top-down policies are pushed down from the central government to the village level. They include nationwide hate propaganda, around-the-clock monitoring, home ransacking, arrest, detention, prosecution, imprisonment, torture, and brainwashing of practitioners.
However, the very fact that the CCP had to launch one campaign after another proves that its persecution has failed to reach its goal of eliminating Falun Gong.
For example, a revealed document from the Political and Legal Affairs Committee (PLAC) of the Xingdong Street Neighborhood, Yuanbao District, Dandong City, Liaoning Province summarized the results of its latest “zero-out” campaign: “Many Falun Gong practitioners in our street neighborhood have not converted. We are facing huge pressure and need the PLAC to recognize the challenge.”
Li Shiyu, Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party’s Dandong City PLAC, hinted during a training class for CCP cadres on November 16, 2020, “The number of people on the watchlist [referring to Falun Gong practitioners] coming in or going out of our city has been continuously increasing.”
Minghui.org has published nearly 4,500 reports of Falun Gong practitioners announcing that they would resume practicing after having been forced to give up their faith under the CCP’s pressure or torture. Each report usually covers several dozen to hundreds of practitioners who were brave enough to use their real names to nullify the renunciations they had made under pressure.
This tells us that the CCP’s pressure and torture cannot really stop people from practicing Falun Gong.
Police and Judicial Workers Respect Falun Gong Practitioners
As Falun Gong practitioners keep talking to people about the illegality of the persecution, many law enforcement and judicial personnel have stopped participating.
A Minghui.org report stated that police officers in Dandong City, Liaoning Province have been calling Falun Gong practitioners to harass them in the past few months. However, after talking to the practitioners face to face, some of them changed their attitude.
A police officer went to practitioner Ms. Pan Jing’s home on May 26, 2021. After learning more about Falun Gong, the police officer said, “I understand what you mean. I respect your belief. Just do the exercises at home.” He then left.
Two police officers went to 85-year-old Ms. Li Fenglan’s home the next day. After hearing her story, they said to her, “You can read your book. We won’t interfere.” They also asked if they could help her with anything and then left.
A police officer in Shandong province went to a local practitioner’s home. He took a quick look at Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Gong’s teachings, and said, “Nothing in this book seems to be wrong.” “Falun Gong is good. You just do it at home.”
A practitioner shared his encounter with a police officer. He said after he talked to the officer, the officer asked, “Why is it that all you have in your eyes is compassion?”
More People Seeing Through the CCP’s Hate Propaganda
For 22 years, the CCP has used its state-controlled propaganda machine to spread lies against Falun Gong to incite public hatred. The falsehoods, such as the staged self-immolation at Tiananmen Square, have misled and poisoned the minds of many Chinese. However, thanks to the persistent efforts of Falun Gong practitioners around the world to debunk the lies, many people have come to understood the full story.
Minghui.org reported on Mr. Ding Haijiang, who once had a negative view of Falun Gong due to the CCP’s propaganda. After he moved to New Zealand and came into contact with Falun Gong practitioners, he completely changed his view.
He saw a practitioner distributing newspapers with Falun Gong information at a market every Sunday for over ten years. He also saw some practitioners sitting in front of the Chinese Consulate for many years to silently protest the persecution.
“It’s easy to do it one day or two days,” Mr. Ding exclaimed. “You might be able to do it for one month or two months. But to do it for ten years or twenty years? It is really not easy at all. It is so admirable!”
“When I really get in contact with the Falun Gong practitioners, they are compassionate, forgiving, and easy to talk to. If everyone in China practiced Falun Gong, the society for sure would be much better!”
Ms. Liu Jing in Texas was also very negative about Falun Gong when she was in China. After seeing practitioners peacefully meditating in the U.S., she started to find more about it and eventually started practicing herself. Not only has she felt the wonder of practicing Falun Gong, but her family members who do not practice have also seen miracles: her child's eczema was cured, the gray hair of her father (in his 70s) turned black, and her mother's heart disease was gone.
Minghui.org has published nearly 1,600 solemn statements, each with dozens or hundreds of people saying they no longer believe in the CCP’s lies and apologizing for harming Falun Gong practitioners when they were deceived by the CCP.
More International Voices Supporting Justice
Despite the CCP’s persecution, Falun Gong has gained support far and wide.
Over 900 lawmakers in 35 countries and regions signed a joint statement on World Human Rights Day, December 10, 2020, urging the CCP to stop persecuting Falun Gong. The lawmakers praised practitioners' peaceful efforts to resist the persecution that had been going on for 21 years.
More than 500 dignitaries around the world congratulated Falun Gong practitioners around the World Falun Dafa Day on May 13, 2021. They honored Falun Gong’s 29th anniversary and said they stood with Falun Gong practitioners to maintain the foundation of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance for society.
U.S. Senator Thom Tillis wrote in his congratulatory letter, “Last Congress, I was proud to be an original co-sponsor of a Senate resolution expressing America’s solidarity with the countless innocent Falun Gong practitioners who have lost their lives and freedoms at the hands of the Communist Chinese Party because they adhered to their beliefs and practices. As your Senator and the co-chair of the Human Rights Caucus, I will continue to pursue policies that promote and protect human rights across the globe.”
U.S. House Representative Scott Perry issued a letter of support for Falun Gong. He stated, “What the Beijing government has inflicted on Falun Gong practitioners is nothing short of genocide.” “Our Nation earnestly hopes and prays that, like the Soviet Union, the CCP will be relegated to the dustbin of history.”
Australian Senator Eric Abetz stated in a video, “Falun Dafa practitioners' determination and perseverance in pursuing freedom are touching and inspiring during the systematic and brutal oppression that has lasted for more than 20 years.”“For those of us who are fortunate enough to enjoy freedom, let us be grateful to them.” “Let us fight for freedom side by side with brave people like Falun Gong practitioners.”
Canadian MP Garnett Genuis, Co-chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, said in his video greeting, “Your commitment to Compassion, Truthfulness, and Forbearance in the midst of very challenging circumstances has been an inspiration to me and to many others.”
Canadian MP Peter Kent, Co-chair of Friends of Falun Gong in the Canadian Parliament, said in his video greeting, “This has been another difficult year for millions of Falun Gong adherents who practice the tenets of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance and their meditative exercises under the dark shadow of China’s communist regime.”
Canadian Shadow Minister for Jobs and Industry Pierre Poilievre stated in his letter, “I admire the courage of Falun Dafa practitioners in Canada and around the world. They have triumphed in celebration of the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance, and rejected the darkness and oppression of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Michael Gahler, Member of the European Parliament, said at a celebration event in Frankfurt, Germany, “May 13 is worth commemorating every year to draw people’s attention to the plight of Falun Dafa practitioners. Living in a free world, we must speak for them.” He condemned the CCP’s persecution and said it is unacceptable to imprison people in concentration camps, persecute and even kill them for their belief, conscience, and peaceful activities.
Honorable Raymond Hervey Jolliffe, 5th Baron Hylton, ARICS, DL, of the United Kingdom, said in his congratulatory letter, “I have supported the freedom from persecution of Falun Gong practitioners over many years, and send best wishes for the Special Day on 13 May.”
All articles, graphics, and content published on Minghui.org are copyrighted. Non-commercial reproduction is allowed but requires attribution with the article title and a link to the original article.
Category: Perspective
