(Minghui.org) Practitioners in San Francisco Bay Area held a large scale march and rally on July 21, 2012 to mark the start of the 13 years of brutal persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). They exposed the CCP's atrocities, and called on people to learn the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution, disintegrate the CCP and work together to stop the persecution.
Practitioners holding banners with messages such as “Peaceful Call for Conscience, Stop the 13-Year Persecution” in the march
“Falun Dafa Is Great” and “The World Needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” in English and in Chinese
“Disintegrate the CCP Stop the Inhumane Persecution” and the Divine Land Marching Band in the march
Divine Land Marching Band in the march
Women practitioners carrying flower-wreathed pictures of practitioners who were killed during the CCP's brutal persecution
Reenactment of torture methods and organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners
Practitioners carrying banners reading “Stop the 13-Year Inhumane Persecution”
Spectators viewing the march
The Divine Land Marching Band took the lead of the procession. The band performed music, including “Falun Dafa Is Good,” “The Fa Rectifies Heaven and Earth” and other pieces. Following the band was the exercise demonstration team, and a truck on which a reenactment of torture methods that the CCP has employed to physically abuse Falun Gong practitioners. Following that was a series of banners calling for conscience and justice and supporting the movement to quit the CCP.
The parade procession set off at the Civic Center Plaza in front of City Hall, marched through a busy commercial district, circled the main streets in Chinatown and ended in Garden Corner where they held a rally.
While Enduring Persecution, Practitioners Compassionately Call for Conscience
Ms. Wang Feng, representative for Falun Gong practitioners
Ms. Wang Feng, representative for Falun Gong practitioners said that during the CCP's 13 years of brutal persecution, one of the most heinous atrocities it has committed is harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners to sell for lucrative profit. The U.S. State Department's 2011 annual report on human rights released on May 24, 2012, for the first time explicitly mentioned the CCP's organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners. In the section on China, it mentioned China's organ transplants, and that the media and human rights groups have continuously reported on cases regarding Falun Gong practitioners having their organs harvested. The CCP's atrocity of harvesting organs from living people have aroused more and more concern.
As a senior manager of a Fortune 500 Company in Silicon Valley, Ms. Wang said, “When I was walking on the streets in Chinatown, I often sighed with emotion: Only Falun Gong practitioners' master, Mr. Li Hongzhi, is truly merciful to the Chinese people here. Many practitioners have good living and working conditions in the Bay Area, so why do they all volunteer their time to come here? They come to help precious Chinese people in Chinatown to learn the truth, and also because Falun Gong practitioners' master doesn't want to abandon you—precious Chinese people.” She hopes that those who refuse to listen to the truth will awaken and become aware of the true situation.
Witnessing Falun Gong's Benefits and the CCP's Senseless Persecution
Mr. Liu comes to Chinatown every day to ask for help to stop the CCP's persecution of Chinese people
Mr. Liu came to the U.S. several months ago. He suffered from severe gastric ulcer when he was a young man, and had surgery when he was in his late 30s to have two-thirds of his stomach removed. After the surgery, he could only eat very little each meal, and he couldn't eat cold or hard food. In less than one month after he began practicing Falun Gong, he said, “I could eat anything without any problems, and I became energetic. I conducted myself according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and I gave up smoking, drinking and gambling. My family and friends witnessed my positive changes.”
He continued, “The same as millions of practitioners in China, I've benefited physically and mentally from practicing Falun Gong. Today when Falun Gong and its founder are persecuted and slandered, as a beneficiary, I stand up to share my true story. Am I breaking law by doing so? Shouldn't I do so? But I was illegally detained many times, I was physically abused and tortured to the point that I almost lost my life.”
Mr. Liu said that Falun Gong practitioners in China are suffering the same treatment as he did every day. “In order to stop the inhumane persecution, I'll continue to stand here every day to call on compatriots to help stop the CCP's persecution of Chinese people and to have the courage to stand up for justice,” said Mr. Liu.
With Inhuman Persecution, Silence Is Same as Supporting the Evildoers
Jenny from Changchun shares her story
Jenny from Changchun City began practicing Falun Gong in 1994. She witnessed the brutality of the persecution in a detention center where she was once held for appealing for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square. “In order to force practitioners to give up practicing Falun Gong, several guards or a group of thugs often ruthlessly beat one practitioner, shocked the practitioner with electric batons, poured cold water on their heads and froze them with cold wind from electric fans in the cold winter. They sexually abused women practitioners,” said Jenny.
She continued, “Today, I can stand on this free land to go on with my belief. But in China, many practitioners are still persecuted. However, with the widespread of the truth, more and more insightful people have realized that the persecution of people who believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is actually the persecution of humanity. In front of good and evil, there is no onlooker, everybody has to make their own choice.” Jenny finally called on everybody at the scene to support justice and stop the inhuman persecution.
Representative for the Service Center for Quitting the CCP: Call for Righteous Strength to Disintegrate the CCP and Stop the Persecution
Mr. Zhen Wenbiao, representative for the Service Center for Quitting the CCP in Northern California
Mr. Zhen Wenbiao, representative for the Service Center for Quitting the CCP in Northern California said, “As of today, the number of people who have quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations has exceeded 120 million.” He said that more and more people have been awakening, and many CCP officials have known that the time for the CCP to collapse is upon us. More and more of them are standing up to appeal for Falun Gong practitioners, both inside and outside of China. “It's time that Chinese people take a stance. We are calling for the righteous strength to disintegrate the CCP. Let's work together to stop the CCP's persecution of Chinese people and greet a new China without the Communist Party,” said Mr. Zhen.
Several Western practitioners speak at the rally
Chinese and Westerners in San Francisco Show Support for Falun Gong
Some Chinese saw the announcement about the event, and came out early to greet the Falun Gong procession and wait for the rally to be held. Mr. Yu, a former teacher in China was one of them. He said that practitioners' efforts to raise awareness about the persecution worldwide has helped many people who don't know about Falun Gong and even have misconceptions about Falun Gong become aware of what Falun Gong is and also learn about the CCP's evil deeds.
San Francisco resident Frank and his friend
San Francisco resident Frank and his friend came to watch the rally. Frank said he had been to China twice, and saw Falun Gong practitioners peacefully protest and that the police beat them. He wanted the practitioners to tell his friend more about Falun Gong. After that they expressed their support for the practitioners' efforts to end the persecution. “The persecution must stop!” they said once again.
