(Minghui.org) “I hope more people—whether you are Christians, Jews, or of any other persuasion—will speak out against this: people are being severely persecuted for their belief. This is a very serious issue,” said a sociology professor who witnessed the peaceful demonstration at Liberty Bell Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Dr. Adele Cummings is a professor of sociology from Colorado. Visiting the Liberty Bell historic site on July 19, 2014, she noticed practitioners doing the Falun Gong exercises. Next to them was a poster display that explained the 15-year-long brutal persecution in China.
It was on July 20, 1999, that Jiang Zemin and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started to ban Falun Gong in China. Massive arrests, detentions, torture, and mental abuse of its practitioners followed.
Through group exercises, a poster display, speeches, and a signature collection, practitioners sought to raise awareness and call for help to end the cruelty.
Practitioners hold activities on July 19, 2014, at the Liberty Bell historic site to raise awareness of the persecution.
Adele Cummings, Professor of Sociology, hopes more people will step forward to help end the brutality.
Tourists studying the posters to learn more
Stop the Persecution
Dr. Cummings had heard about Falun Gong in the past. After talking with practitioners and learning more about what was happening, she thanked them for their efforts: “What you are doing here today is very important. It is human nature to pursue a better life. Nobody should stop someone from becoming a better person.”
John Perkins, a software consultant from Chicago, was also impressed by what he saw. He spent a long time reading through the posters and said to a practitioner, “This [the persecution] is horrible; it boggles the imagination. It lets me know what communism is really like. This persecution exceeds mankind’s moral limit; it must stop.” He said everyone, including the U.S. government, needs to do something to end it.
Jenn Foreacre, also an IT professional, is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She agreed with Perkins: “Fifteen years is too long. People should have freedom of belief. It was terrible for this happen and even worse for it to continue for such a long time.” She said she had signed a petition pushing for H.Res.281, a resolution calling for an end to the brutality against Falun Gong, especially the harvesting of organs from living practitioners.
Ingrid Bermodez from New York applauded the resolution and hoped Congress would pass it. She said she was aware of communism’s brutality and had also seen Falun Gong activities numerous times in the past. Pointing to her two daughters next to her, she said, “They are too young to understand this. But we have to do our part to ensure that future generations will not be harmed. Although communism does not have an obvious presence in the US, it still exists in the world, and we have to do something about it.”
New York resident Ingrid Bermodez, a mother of two, hopes communism will end soon.
“Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Has Universal Value”
Elizabeth Prendergast, a graduate student from Virginia, is pursuing a degree in religious studies. She said the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are profound and have a “universal value.” She said to a Minghui correspondent, “Living in the U.S., we know people should have the basic right to choose what to believe. It is too bad that something like this could happen. We all have to do something to stop it.” She signed the petition for H.Res.281 and took materials to study further.
Elizabeth Prendergast, a graduate student from Virginia, signed the petition calling for an end to the persecution.
Lynn, a company manager, came with two friends to visit Liberty Bell Park. She read through the posters and talked with her friends about them. Noticing the practitioners who were meditating, she said, “They look very calm and peaceful. It must be something they really like.”
Tourists from China Learn the Facts
As one of the most visited tourist destinations in the U.S., Liberty Bell Park sees thousands of tourists every day, many of them from China.
Ms. Yang, a practitioner volunteer, often comes to the park to tell the Chinese tourists facts about Falun Gong. “They have heard and seen so much hate propaganda against Falun Gong through the years, which has turned them against innocent practitioners who follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” She said the Chinese people need to know the truth so that they will not go down with the CCP.
Surprised by the large scale group exercises and the peaceful scene, many Chinese tourists came up to read the posters or chatted among themselves. Quite a few of them took pictures or videos of practitioners and their posters.
Chinese tourists read the posters to learn more.
Chinese tourists asked about Falun Gong and the persecution.
Ms. Lang, a tourist from Guangdong Province, was among the 37 Chinese tourists on Saturday who announced their resignation from the CCP and its affiliated organizations for a better future. She said she knew of the persecution of Falun Gong. “Most of us know the CCP has done many bad deeds and that its officials are corrupt.”
As she left, Ms. Lang also requested some Falun Gong materials: “I did not have a chance to try this in the past. Now is the time.”
Category: July 20 Events
