A continuous sea of yellow, blue, and white could be seen moving down the streets of downtown Toronto on July 20 as adherents of the spiritual discipline Falun Gong walked in a parade to mark twenty years of persecution against their practice in China, which continues to this day.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a meditation-based practice whose adherens follow the three tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. After its public introduction in 1992 in China, the practice attracted a huge following across the country, with adherents citing improvements in their physical and mental wellbeing. Government estimates in the 1990s showed an estimated 70 million to 100 million people had picked up the practice in China.