(Clearwisdom.net) Over a thousand Falun Gong practitioners from all over the world came to Chicago on October 19 and 20 and protested outside Chinese General Consulate in Chicago. It was said that they would arrange a large-scale peaceful appeal when China's leader arrives in Chicago, since he is the sole person responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong.
Chicago is already very cold this October, but the practitioners did their exercises, distributed flyers and talked with passersby about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong. The reporter interviewed several Falun Gong practitioners.
Ms. Dong came to Chicago from New York. She told the reporter that the purpose of her trip was to tell China's Communist Party head to "Stop Persecuting Falun Gong. Killing the honest people who cultivate 'Truthfulness Compassion Tolerance' is not allowed." The reported asked about a news report describing how the Chinese Consulate told the FBI and police that Falun Gong want to use violence and plan to assassinate the visiting leader. Ms. Dong discredited such charges, "The only purpose of spreading such rumors was to turn public sentiment against Falun Gong... to get people to hate Falun Gong. Actually, in the past three years, Falun Gong practitioners have demonstrated clearly that they always protest and appeal peacefully. This alone is enough to prove that the regime is lying to the world. I also want to ask a question. The regime illegally detained and tortured hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners to death. Who is indeed the terrorist?"
This is the first time to the United States for Practitioner Gao Di from Singapore. Why did she travel thousands miles to come here? She accepted a reporter's interview and said, "I have practiced Falun Gong for over seven years. I benefited so much for Falun Gong. But Falun Gong is being persecuted in China and the persecution is extending to other countries. Even in Singapore, we are not allowed to peacefully appeal and practice outside of Chinese Embassy. I wanted to go to China to appeal for Falun Gong but they refused to give me the visa. So I come to America to appeal to Jiang and ask him to stop the persecution when he visits USA."
The reporter asked her if she would be paid for protesting to Jiang since other sources have confirmed that Chinese Consulate provided uniforms, meals and money to those who join the visiting dictator's welcome group. The participants were required to sign a letter to give up their rights to protest and express different ideas and the violation will result in a fine of $5000. Ms. Gao said that Falun Gong was a free practice starting from the very beginning ten years ago. She said it was about people'e minds. "I felt this exercise is righteous and good. I also obtained good health from it. Now I want to use my money to do something for it. Today, I flew to the United States from Singapore. I just want to express my opinions. Nobody will pay me a penny. The Chinese Consulate is using money to buy a welcoming group. This is ridiculous. It also showed that nobody really welcomes Jiang."
The reporter noticed that the practitioners were from all over the world including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan. Mr. Wang had just arrived from China. He said that when he saw so many practitioners from different countries gather here, he was deeply moved. He said, "Our practitioners are one integrated body. The practitioners in China endure suffering and brutal persecution. The overseas practitioners use their freedom to clarify the truth and appeal to governments. In this opportunity, we gathered together to tell Jiang to stop the persecution. This is our common will."
Starting from October 21, more large-scale peaceful appeals will be launched.
Category: Rallies & Protests
