SANTA MONICA, Calif.—Over a hundred Falun Gong adherents gathered in front of the beautiful coastal view in Palisades Park July 17 to commemorate the 23-year anniversary of the persecution of the spiritual practice in China.
Several speakers denounced the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) unethical persecution of the practice, also known as Falun Dafa.
The rally started at noon with hundreds of people dressed in yellow shirts that read “Falun Dafa, Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” lining up to meditate in unison with peaceful music.
USC Professor: ‘The Persecution of Falun Gong is an Anti-Humanity Crime’
One of the speakers, Michael Ye, a professor of public policy at the University of Southern California, expressed mixed feelings at the event.“On the one hand, we are talking about the most severe human rights violation in the world today. On the other hand, we also witness a heroic and epic anti-persecution effort at the same time.”
Former CCP Chairman Jiang Zemin launched a nationwide persecution against Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. When the persecution first began, there were around 70 to 100 million people practicing Falun Gong in China, Ye said.
“Since then, millions of people who practice Falun Gong in China have been harassed, illegally detained, imprisoned, tortured, or killed, and the tragedy is still continuing,” Ye said.
He also said Falun Gong has been the largest and most severely persecuted group by the CCP over the past two decades.
Ye said the persecution also extended to other groups, like Uyghurs and Hongkongers. The flame has also spread overseas to countries like the United States, he said.
“They are not just fighting for their own rights, they are also fighting for us, fighting to defend our core values, and fighting for a better future for our world. They are worthy of our respect and support,” he said.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” he said, quoting Martin Luther King Jr. to urge people in the United States to pay attention to what is happening in China.
Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting
Dana Churchill, of the Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting, said the “egregious crime” of illegal forced organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners in China has been occurring for over 20 years “with no end in sight.”Churchill, alongside Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) and other human rights activists, sponsored House Resolution 6319, which allows the president to impose asset blocking and visa prohibitions on Chinese persons that have engaged in the involuntary harvesting of organs.
The bill also urges the United Nations Human Rights Council to issue a formal condemnation of the CCP for its persecution of Falun Gong.
“The Chinese Communist Party has no respect for life or rule of law. This is an abhorrent brutal crime against humanity and must be stopped as soon as possible,” Churchill said.
He said the CCP’s forced organ harvesting is not just about killing innocent lives, but it also led to serious problems in the U.S. medical field.
“Many of our transplant hospitals in the U.S. are still working with transplant hospitals in China who we have direct evidence for this illegal forced organ harvesting,” he said.
Human rights personnel from countries across the world had expressed their concern about forced organ harvesting.
Churchill said that “now is the time to stand up the CCP once and for all, to sign this Legislation into a law that has teeth and is binding.”
Political Commentator: ‘Falun Gong Adherents are Truly Admirable’
Shuren Guo, a Southern California political commentator, expressed admiration of the Falun Gong adherents.“They are always humble and polite, after knowing them for so many years, I think all of these owe to their belief in truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance,” Guo said at the rally.
Following these principles allow Falun Gong practitioners to become more sincere, diligent, and compassionate, he said, and also allows them to not be moved by the CCP’s influence.
“The CCP bribed many organizations, they even bribed many countries and governments, but they are never able to bribe Falun Gong. This is what is extraordinary about them,” he said.
He reminded people that outside of the free land of the United States, horrifying things are happening in China.
“How Falun Gong adherents are able to bear the pressure and torture that the CCP puts on them is almost unimaginable for us who live in a free world overseas,” Guo said.
Experience in Forced Labor Camp: ‘My weight was only a few dozen pounds.’
Hui Li, practicing Falun Gong since 1997, shared her experience of how she started practicing and how she was severely persecuted by the CCP.Li said practicing Falun Gong transformed her “from a selfish person to a considerate person.”
However, because of her spiritual belief, Li also became one of the many targets of the CCP’s persecution.
She was imprisoned by the police three times in 2000 for practicing Falun Gong.
Li was tortured by police while detained at the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp for three and a half years.
“I was subjected to inhuman persecution. I was not allowed to sleep for nine days and nine nights. As soon as I closed my eyes, I was beaten violently on the head with a wooden board,” she said.
“I went on hunger strike to protest the persecution ... I got weaker and weaker. I threw up all the food,” Li said.
In poor health, Li was released from prison to her family.
“At that time, I had not eaten for nearly two months. My weight was only a few dozen pounds,” she said.
Li immigrated to the United States, but said she is still concerned about other Falun Gong adherents in China.
“Now that I have come to a free country, there are still so many Falun Gong practitioners in China who are facing the danger of being kidnapped and persecuted at any time and at any place,” she said.
Musical Performances
Tony Chen, an award-winning musician and composer, performed Courage to Believe, the theme song from Free China, a film exposing the persecution of Falun Gong. He said he hopes his music can bring hope and courage in chaotic times.Many tourists stopped to watch the traditional Chinese Tang drum performers played a song entitled Thousands of Horses Running. A waist drum team performed “Falun Dafa is Good.”
Ms. Qi, the coordinator of the drum team, said that they want to use music as a bridge between Eastern and Western cultures and let people from all walks of life enjoy the beauty of Dafa and traditional Chinese culture.
After the performance, Falun Dafa practitioners lined up along Ocean Avenue holding Chinese and English banners that read “Reject CCP,“ “23rd Anniversary of Falun Gong Against Persecution,” “CCP Lied, People Died.”
