Falun Gong Adherents Stand Up for Human Rights Outside UN General Assembly

Protesters call on heads of state to condemn the Chinese Communist Party over its human rights abuses outside the United Nations headquarters, as the U.N. held its 78th General Assembly, in New York, on Sept. 19, 2023. Lin Dan/The Epoch Times

The United Nations General Assembly convened on Sept. 19 in New York, where protesters at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza called on heads of state to condemn the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) over its human rights abuses.

China had been elected to sit on the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2020 despite its record of human rights abuses against ethnic minorities and religious believers.

A crowd of Falun Gong adherents held up banners condemning the CCP’s practice of live organ harvesting—killing prisoners of conscience to forcibly harvest their organs and sell them for profit—as well as signs noting the global “quit the party” or “tuidang” movement that has seen more than 419 million people withdraw their membership from the CCP, and passing out brochures that clarify the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution.

Introduced to the public in the early 1990s, Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, spread quickly through word of mouth. The spiritual practice teaches its adherents to follow the principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance, as well as five meditative exercises. Official estimates put the number of adherents between 70 million and 100 million before the CCP, led by then-party head Jiang Zemin, launched a persecution campaign to “eradicate” Falun Gong in 1999. The CCP had initially supported the practice but eventually deemed its popularity intolerable, viewing it as a threat to the regime’s control over society.

The persecution that began in 1999 continues to this day.

‘Stand on the Side of Justice’

One such practitioner, You Ling, told The Epoch Times that her husband was sentenced to eight years in prison after being illegally arrested on April 23, 2021.

“I came to the United Nations to expose the persecution of my husband to the world,” said Ms. You, who has been protesting outside the Chinese Consulate. “My husband practices Falun Gong and believes in truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Nothing is wrong with it, but he was sentenced to eight years in prison.

“I will always keep fighting. I hope that people attending the United Nations meeting will see the truth and stand on the side of justice and conscience, support Falun Gong, and support Falun Gong practitioners in their fight against the persecution,” she said. “This is not only for my husband but also for justice.”

According to Minghui, a U.S.-based website tracking the persecution of Falun Gong, citizens as young as 14 and as old as 88 have been illegally detained. The prisoners of conscience are then regularly subject to forced labor, torture, and forced medical testing to determine if they are a match for organ transplant patients, according to reports by human rights organizations.

Entire Family Persecuted

Qi Meiying, a Falun Gong practitioner from China, said she hadn’t understood what freedom meant until she recently came to the United States.

“Before 1999, 11 members of my family practiced Falun Dafa. We learned what it meant to be a good person. Our physical and mental health improved, and we were happy. But after the persecution began in 1999, our entire family was targeted. One relative would be arrested today, another tomorrow—they’ve all been illegally detained. In 2000, my mother, my grandmother, and my husband were all jailed for three years,” said Ms. Qi, who was detained for three years, starting from when her daughter was only 2 years old.

“I was in solitary confinement with no light for seven days straight,” she told The Epoch Times.

After enduring the stress of the living situation in China for many years, Ms. Qi’s grandmother passed away, she said. Her older sister, after being detained, also passed away.

“We want the international governments to be aware of what the CCP is doing to Falun Gong practitioners,” she said.

“To be able to come to America and stand here today, I implore the governments of the world to understand what the Chinese Communist Party is doing to people who follow Falun Gong, the persecution they continue, and what the citizens of China endure, all those who are still being detained, persecuted, and separated from their families,” she said. “We’ve done nothing wrong.”

Zhang Mingyu said he hasn’t seen his father since he was detained by Chinese authorities four years ago.

“I hope the heads of state convening for the U.N. General Assembly can pay more attention to the human rights issues in China and the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners,” he said.

“I hope they will implore the CCP to release all the illegally detained practitioners, like my father, so they can go home.”

24 Years of Persecution

Ren Soroush, a New York resident, said he started practicing Falun Gong in 2010, and it “completely changed my mind, changed my life,” and he became healthy and happy.

But years into his practice, Mr. Soroush, originally from Iran, learned that the Iranian government had caved to CCP demands by banning Falun Gong and arresting adherents for not giving up their faith.

“We are here to tell people all around the world how cruel this persecution is,” he said. “Innocent people who believe truthfulness, compassion, tolerance are under this severe persecution for many years, since 1999 until now—24 years.”

In China and Iran, he said people cannot speak openly about this persecution, so people outside, in free societies, have to speak up.

“We have to ... tell the people [so they] can understand the persecution, they can understand Falun Gong, they can sign a petition, share all around the world with family members, with friends.”

NTD contributed to this report.