(Minghui.org) “The courage of Falun Gong practitioners gives me hope,” “What they [Falun Gong practitioners] do will make our world a better place.” These are some of the many comments heard from people who have attended events held by practitioners of Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa).
July 20 this year marked the 22nd anniversary of Falun Gong practitioners’ peaceful resistance to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of their faith. As practitioners in many countries hold events to raise awareness of the persecution that their counterparts in China are suffering for their belief, people of different walks of life throughout the world have given speeches, made comments, or written articles to show their support. They invariably commend practitioners’ steadfastness in uphoding Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and call for the CCP’s genocide against the group to end.
Among these supporters are many people originally from China. Some were initially misled by the CCP’s defamatory propaganda against Falun Gong, but after leaving China and living in the free world, they now see Falun Gong, and the CCP, in an entirely different light.
Brooklyn, New York: Over 400 Chinese Quit the CCP at One Event
March in Brooklyn, New York, on July 18, 2021
Nearly 1,000 Falun Gong practitioners participated in a march in Brooklyn, New York, on July 18, 2021. After talking with practitioners and learning about the brutal suppression, 417 Chinese people agreed to separate themselves from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. They included 28 Party members, 127 Communist Youth League members, and 262 members of the Young Pioneers.
One man said he had just come from mainland China and this was the first time he had seen a march of Falun Gong practitioners. “The Party has done all kinds of bad things,” he commented as he agreed to quit the CCP’s Young Pioneers.
Truth and Hope
Charles Yao, who immigrated to the U.S. from Hong Kong 38 years ago, came over to check out the march upon hearing the drum beats. He was glad to see the grand march and how everyone was so well coordinated. “The courage of Falun Gong practitioners gives me hope,” he remarked. “Truth will prevail.”
As a Chinese, Yao said he wants China to be prosperous. “What I mean is the thousands-year-long great culture, not the brutality and lies of the CCP,” he added.
Zheng Ligui from Fujian Province remarked that the practitioners’ march was amazing and the drumming was inspiring. “I really want to be part of it,” he said. As a high school student back in China, he’d watched videos online that illustrated how the CCP had made up hate propaganda to slander Falun Gong. “I like the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,” he explained, “because they give me a feeling of peace and safety.”
A Better Future
Several other Chinese people also participated in the march although they were not practitioners. Yang Shisong from the Christian Alliance for Righteousness said he joined the march because he wanted to voice his support for Falun Gong. He explained that Falun Gong practitioners follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and he believes that they will make this world a better place. Yet the CCP attacks Falun Gong and its principles, indicating that the regime represents darkness and viciousness. “I am proud of being part of the march and supporting the innocent,” he said.
Ricky Zhu, also from the Christian Alliance for Righteousness, said that everyone, regardless of religious background, should stand up to denounce the CCP. He was happy to join the march and support Falun Gong practitioners.
Bai Jiemin, President of the Chinese Democracy & Human Rights Alliance Eastern U.S. Branch, said that the values of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance cherished by Falun Gong practitioners are very positive and good for society. “That is why we absolutely support Falun Gong,” he said, “as people who suffered from the CCP back in China, we want to tell everyone that the CCP does not represent China and it is not qualified to do so, either. We need to sweep the regime into its tomb so that Chinese people can once again enjoy freedom and happiness.”
Columnist: What Harms China the Most Is the CCP
Scholar and columnist Ge Bidong spoke at a rally in New York in support of Falun Gong.
Independent columnist Ge Bidong said that by persecuting 100 million Falun Gong practitioners, the CCP has created the largest human rights disaster in history. Because of the suppression, many practitioners were forced to leave China and their families to pursue freedom of belief. In the meantime, a large number of practitioners in China have been arrested, detained, and tortured, with many becoming victims of the regime’s forced organ harvesting.
“All of these tragedies have pointed out that the CCP is the biggest enemy of China,” he said. “What treats Chinese people the worst is the CCP and what harms China the most is the CCP.”
Los Angeles Commentator: Falun Gong Improves the Image of Chinese
Zheng Cunzhu, Vice Chairman of the Democracy Party of China, spoke at a rally in Los Angeles.
Zheng Cunzhu, Vice Chairman of the Democracy Party of China, said that Falun Gong practitioners have high moral values and are respectful. Having attended Falun Gong practitioners’ events previously, he considered such gatherings very positive and righteous.
As a commentator who immigrated to the U.S. 40 years ago, Zheng said that Chinese people often seem agitated, tired, and do not follow the social order. He has not observed this in Falun Gong practitioners. “Falun Gong has improved the image of Chinese people,” he remarked.
Zheng considers the suppression of Falun Gong, and the CCP’s atrocities, beyond imagination. “The persecution of Falun Gong by the CCP has no bottom line. Take organ harvesting as an example; it is not something any normal human being would do.”
Award-Winning Writer: Light in the Darkness
Award-winning Canadian writer Sheng Xue
“In today’s world, the CCP is the biggest dark force, while Falun Gong practitioners represent the light and hope that opposes the regime,” said Sheng Xue, Vice-President of the Federation for a Democratic China, at a recent event in Toronto. “In the future, when we look back, people will see you and remember that you are the light in the darkness,” she remarked.
Sheng thanked practitioners for their consistent efforts through the years to expose and end the persecution. As a renowned columnist, Sheng once received the Award of Journalism and Media from the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, for her “outstanding achievements, contributions and community service.”
An immigrant from Shanghai agreed. Back in China, he initially had negative feelings about Falun Gong due to the CCP’s hate propaganda. Upon moving to Canada and encountering Falun Gong practitioners on multiple occasions, he changed his attitude. “They are innocent people who have been targeted for their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. And this has lasted over 20 years,” he added. “That is why I really respect them.”
Ms. Wang, who now lives in Montreal, Canada, was excited to see the large event staged by Falun Gong practitioners. “In my workplace back in China, there were also Falun Gong practitioners and almost all of them were arrested after the persecution started in 1999,” she explained. “I am very happy they can freely exercise their belief here.”
Australian Scholar: The CCP Regime Is Doomed
The CCP’s suppression of Falun Gong has not only brought enormous pain to practitioners, but has also alarmed society, explained Feng Chongyi, Associate Professor of China Studies from the University of Technology in Sydney.
In a letter to the Australian Falun Dafa Association, Feng said that the persistent efforts of practitioners to counter the CCP’s brutality have earned the trust and broad support of the international community. He said that such perseverance will succeed, and the vicious CCP regime is doomed.
Chinese Dissident in New Zealand: CCP Does Not Tolerate Different Opinions
Michael Zhuang from the New Zealand Values Alliance
Michael Zhuang, a member of the New Zealand Values Alliance, said that based on his own experience, he knows that the CCP does not tolerate different opinions. “That is why I admire Falun Gong practitioners’ courage to stand up to the regime for their principles,” he said.
He shared that he felt bad for those practitioners who have been tortured and who have died for their faith. “The CCP is vicious and it has been threatening practitioners, tearing apart their families, physically abusing them in the black jails, or even killing them for their organs,” he continued.
But he noted that the Red Terror perpetrated over the past 22 years has failed to intimidate practitioners. “No matter where you go, you can see peaceful Falun Gong practitioners,” Zhuang said. “When facing the most vicious genocide, they are still following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. That is why they deserve our respect.”
German Writer: The Importance of Conscience
Professor Zhu Zhenhe at a Falun Gong rally in Berlin
Zhu Zhenhe, professor and council member of the Federation for a Democratic China, called for an immediate stop to the persecution and for the release of all detained practitioners. “We will firmly stand with Falun Gong practitioners and expose the brutal crimes of the CCP, until the vicious regime is gone,” he said.
Liao Tianqi, Vice Chairman of the PEN International Peace Committee and president of the Voice of Europe Council, wrote in a letter, “I am sure Falun Gong will be trusted and respected by those people with conscience and wisdom,” he wrote. “By gathering the hearts and minds of people, it will form a strong force of uprightness that lights up the dark corners of the world.”
Netherlands Chinese: The Power of Faith
Mr. Lin, who moved to the Netherlands two years ago, said he was tired of the information blockade in China. When he was a college student back in China, he often overcame the internet blockade through special software to access overseas information. “That is how I learned the truth and I also quit the CCP organizations that way,” he said. “I also learned lots of the things that the CCP claimed are lies such as the staged self-immolation incident that defames Falun Gong. The forced organ harvesting also shows how cruel the regime is.”
Because of the CCP’s rule, Chinese people lack faith. “Without that, people have no moral values and they can do all kinds of bad things,” he said.
Finnish Couple: Practitioners Are Good People
When a Chinese couple in Finland received materials about Falun Gong from a practitioner, they thanked her and said they had seen similar materials when they’d visited Germany earlier. They said that it is good to see practitioners in different places.
The husband said he knows that Falun Gong practitioners are innocent, good people. “After the persecution started, so many practitioners went to Beijing to peacefully appeal and some of them never came back,” he said. Upon leaving, he agreed to quit the CCP’s Young Pioneers organization.
Conversation in front of Chinese Consulate in Japan: Many Chinese People Know What’s Going on
When Japanese practitioners held a peaceful rally in front of the Chinese Consulate at Nagoya, a Chinese man about 40 years old stopped and talked with practitioners. “Many Chinese people know what’s happening, but they are just afraid of the CCP and dare not speak up,” he said. He has also seen online videos that debunk the slanderous propaganda from the CCP, such as the staged self-immolation incident.
When a practitioner asked if he would like to quit the CCP organizations, he agreed without hesitation. He also thanked the practitioner and wished all practitioners well.
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