Hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners held a candlelight vigil in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles on July 20 to mark the 25th year of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) brutal persecution of the spiritual group.
The persecution continues to this day.
As the sun set, attendees quietly sat in front of the consulate, holding candles and photos of those who have lost their lives for their belief in “truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance,” the main tenets of Falun Gong, which were featured on their yellow shirts.
More than a dozen practitioners stood on both sides of the gathering, holding banners that read “The World Needs Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” and “Organ Harvesting from Falun Gong Practitioners Must Stop.” Behind the main stage, large bilingual banners read, “Falun Dafa is Good” and “Stop Persecuting Falun Gong.”
Hundreds Sentenced in 2024
Since July 20, 1999, estimates based on various reports suggest that hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions, of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained, sentenced, and tortured under the CCP’s persecutory campaign, with many subjected to live organ harvesting. The exact number of victims remains unknown due to CCP censorship.Despite this, Falun Gong practitioners continue to uphold their beliefs steadfastly and peacefully, said Wu Yingnian, spokesperson for the Los Angeles Falun Dafa Association.
“Today, we stand in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles ... to urge the international community to address this severe human rights violation,” Mr. Wu, who’s also a professor at the University of California–Los Angeles, said during a speech at the event.
According to Minghui.org—a U.S.-based website documenting the persecution of Falun Gong—at least 69 practitioners in China were persecuted to death in the first half of this year.
Additionally, at least 447 practitioners were sentenced, with some receiving prison terms of more than 10 years. A total of 173 practitioners were fined 1.79 million yuan (nearly $250,000) combined.
According to Mr. Wu, of this year’s numbers, 62 were elderly practitioners over the age of 60, with the oldest being 94.
Victims Expose Organ Harvesting
Len Tao, a Falun Gong practitioner from Sichuan Province’s Aba Prefecture, located in southwest China, spoke at the event about his experience of enduring a 10-year sentence, during which he was subjected to torture, including burns, beatings, prolonged electric shocks, and being shackled with 40-pound chains in detention centers and Sichuan Deyang Prison.During his imprisonment, he was inexplicably transferred to the Sichuan Police General Hospital, where he was told he only had six months to live, he said.
After having escaped to the United States last year, Mr. Len recounted how the hospital conducted various blood tests and examinations on him.
“They also forced me to sign a surgical consent form for bone marrow extraction and thoracic examination, stating that I would bear all risks of the surgery, with the hospital assuming no responsibility,” Mr. Len said, noting that he refused to sign.
He narrowly escaped the ordeal, he said, learning later that the hospital served as a hub for the CCP’s organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in Sichuan.
Doctors Speak Up
Dr. Dana Churchill, the West Coast representative of Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting, said at the event that there are more than 100,000 organ transplants each year in China, yet volunteer donations are very limited.“There is overwhelming evidence that Falun Gong practitioners are the main source of the transplants in China,” he said.
Dr. Churchill said that while doctors traditionally save lives, under the CCP’s regime, they have become accomplices in genocide and crimes against humanity.
“The world will find out about these secret evil practices that [the] CCP is trying so hard to cover up from the world,” he said. “They will have to pay for all the crimes they have committed and [the] horrific suffering they have caused.”
In another speech, Li Youfu, president of the U.S. Southwest Falun Dafa Association, mentioned Zheng Zhi, a former internist at the Shenyang Army General Hospital who escaped China.
Last year, Mr. Zheng tearfully told the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times how he was ordered to harvest the eyeballs and kidneys from a nearly 18-year-old Chinese soldier, who died from the operation.
“It was a heart-wrenching scene, merely the tip of the iceberg of the daily persecution carried out by the CCP,” Mr. Li said, referring to Mr. Zheng’s experience.
U.S. Government’s Support
On the same day, the U.S. Department of State issued a statement calling on the Chinese Communist regime to end its persecution of Falun Gong and release practitioners detained for their beliefs.A bill passed last month by the U.S. House of Representatives also calls for an end to the persecution.
On June 25, the House unanimously passed the Falun Gong Protection Act, which mandates the United States to avoid any cooperation with China in the organ transplantation field and to implement targeted sanctions and visa restrictions on individuals involved in or facilitating organ harvesting within China.
Voices From the Community
Several civil rights leaders also attended the event in support of Falun Gong practitioners’ anti-persecution efforts.Zheng Cunzhu, a Los Angeles democracy activist and chairman of the Chinese Democratic Party, said that Falun Gong practitioners have maintained a calm demeanor and unwavering resolve throughout 25 years of persecution by the CCP, describing this steadfastness as “a virtue.”
“Falun Gong has spread worldwide and gained the support of people from various countries, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds due to its inclusiveness,” he said during the event. “We support Falun Gong. Freedom of belief is a fundamental human right.”
Lijian Jie, the executive director of the Youth Department of the Chinese Democracy Party, echoed Mr. Zheng’s sentiments. He also expressed appreciation for the Falun Gong practitioners’ efforts in revealing the truth about the CCP.
“Without their years of persistence, many people would still be deceived and harmed by the CCP, never realizing its true evil,” Mr. Jie said. “Supporting Falun Gong is our responsibility; it is a call of my conscience.”
