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Falun Gong Practitioners Spotlight 25 Years of Persecution by CCP in New York Parade

July 20 marks the 25th anniversary of the Chinese regime’s launch of a brutal repression campaign against Falun Gong.

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Falun Gong Practitioners Spotlight 25 Years of Persecution by CCP in New York Parade — Falun Gong practitioners march during a parade calling for the end of the Chinese Communist Party’s 25 years of ongoing persecution against the spiritual practice, in New York City on July 20, 2024. Larry Dye/The Epoch Times

7/20/2024Updated: 11/27/2024

NEW YORK CITY—Hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners joined in a march through the Chinatown neighborhood in Manhattan on July 20, calling for an end to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) 25-year-long persecution campaign against the spiritual practice.

Shortly after midnight on July 20, 1999, the CCP began a nationwide initiative to raid the homes of Falun Gong practitioners and make extra-legal arrests. At the time, an estimated one in 13 people in China were practicing Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline that teaches the three principles of truth, compassion, and forbearance, as well as five meditative exercises.

The regime’s sweeping persecution campaign, which continues to this day, has led to an untold number of practitioners being detained, tortured, harassed, and subjected to forced organ harvesting.

Since 1999, Falun Gong practitioners’ efforts to raise awareness of the CCP’s persecution internationally have shed light on the regime’s human rights abuses and its attempts to manipulate information far beyond its borders, revealing the nature of the communist regime.

‘Every Year for 25 Years’

Li Li, a Falun Gong practitioner, has participated in demonstrations to raise awareness about the persecution every July 20 since it began.

That day in 1999, Ms. Li was on a plane from China to the United States for a business trip. After landing in New York City, she learned from her husband, Annan Ma, aboutt what had happened.

She immediately called her 5-year-old daughter’s caretaker, who said police had come to raid Ms. Li’s home three times, confiscating any literature related to Falun Gong. Unbeknownst to her, at 3 p.m. in China, state-run media had begun broadcasting propaganda slandering Falun Gong across the nation.

Ms. Li and her husband went to Washington to petition at the Chinese Embassy, she said. The first demonstration lasted for three days, the next for 15 days.

“Without fail, every year on July 20, my husband and I will join demonstrations to raise awareness about this persecution. We go to D.C. every year to protest this persecution, and implore all the kindhearted people of this world to stand against this persecution,” Ms. Li said.

The couple, now both Americans, haven’t returned to China since 1999 and were later reunited with their daughter in the United States.

Mr. Ma had been a TV journalist in China when someone recommended that he tell Ms. Li about practicing Falun Gong for her health. The practice gained popularity in part because many reported benefits to their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. At the time, Ms. Li suffered from a variety of incurable conditions.

Estimates placed the number of people practicing at 70 million to 100 million in the late 1990s, and as a journalist, Mr. Ma was well aware of this popularity. When his wife began to practice Falun Gong, he also saw the health benefits firsthand, as she eventually recovered from all her illnesses.

Falun Gong practitioners exercising in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, before the persecution began in 1999. (minghui.org) — Falun Gong practitioners exercising in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, before the persecution began in 1999. minghui.org

Falun Gong teaches people to live by truth, compassion, and forbearance—in effect, teaching them to be good people, he said. Then suddenly, the communist regime began calling it “evil,” in broadcasts across the nation.

“Nearly 100 million people in China are practicing this; are you saying all of them are evil?” Mr. Ma said. “Nobody believed that.”

The Chinese people had previously experienced the CCP’s mass persecution campaigns, most notably during the Cultural Revolution, Mr. Ma said. As a result, he and many others could see through the regime’s propaganda, he said.

The couple said that the United States stands with Falun Gong against the CCP’s persecution, including via the Falun Gong Protection Act, a measure recently approved in the House that would criminalize the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

“I hope this is something people who witness the parade will understand,” Mr. Ma said.

On July 20, the State Department also issued a statement calling for the end of the persecution.

“We solemnly mark 25 years today since the People’s Republic of China (PRC) began a campaign of repression against practitioners of Falun Gong,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement, using the official name for the Chinese regime.

“We call upon the PRC to cease its repressive campaign and release all who have been imprisoned for their beliefs.”

Falun Gong practitioners during a march calling for the end of the Chinese Communist Party’s 25 years of ongoing persecution against the spiritual practice, in New York City on July 20, 2024. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) — Falun Gong practitioners during a march calling for the end of the Chinese Communist Party’s 25 years of ongoing persecution against the spiritual practice, in New York City on July 20, 2024. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Global Support

Families from Germany, France, and Spain who were watching the parade voiced their support for Falun Gong and appreciation of practitioners’ efforts to raise awareness.

“People have to know what happened, and we support that,” said Carlos Gutierrez from Spain. “Everybody has to know that. It’s a very good action to show people what’s happening.”

“It is the right thing to do,” said Marissa Cruz from Germany. She had learned about Falun Gong several years ago when practitioners in Germany held a parade and she stopped to sign a petition to end the persecution on July 20. “We cannot just close our eyes and pretend it’s not our problem.”

‘Performed From the Heart’

Hundreds of practitioners participated in the parade, which spanned almost two hours from start to end. A dragon dance team led the way, followed by the Tian Guo (Celestial) marching band, comprised of Falun Gong practitioners who come together in their spare time to compose and rehearse original music.

(Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) — Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

People react as Falun Gong practitioners march during a parade calling for the end of the Chinese Communist Party’s 25 years of ongoing persecution against the spiritual practice, in New York City on July 20, 2024. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) — People react as Falun Gong practitioners march during a parade calling for the end of the Chinese Communist Party’s 25 years of ongoing persecution against the spiritual practice, in New York City on July 20, 2024. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

“You can see that there’s a lot of beauty and effort that goes into the practice,” said Steve Gigliotti, a Falun Gong practitioner who has been part of the marching band since it was formed in 2006. Falun Gong practitioners in many places around the world have also started their own Tian Guo bands. “They’re all original pieces that are really written from the heart and performed from the heart.”

Lidia Li, a Falun Gong practitioner of 27 years, joined the parade as a part of a waist-drum group, another musical ensemble. The group has been around since 2001, and Ms. Li joined in 2017.

“This waist-drum ensemble shows people the true traditional Chinese culture, and this is also something that shows what Falun Dafa is actually about,” Ms. Li said. “With every beat of the drum, we want to convey to listeners the spirit of truth, compassion, and forbearance.”

“Falun Dafa is good, and truth, compassion, and forbearance are all good things; to live as an honest, kind, and tolerant person is good for everybody, for any society or nation. Religious freedom is a fundamental right, and we have to stand for this.”