(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners held activities in Rapid City, South Dakota, and at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial during the long Independence Day weekend to raise awareness of the brutal persecution of Falun Gong in China, where exercising the basic freedom of belief can lead to one's imprisonment and torture.
The practitioners demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises and handed out information about the practice on the downtown square in Rapid City on the morning of July 3. They also set up a booth in front of the entrance of Mount Rushmore to collect signatures during the afternoon of July 3 and all of July 4. More than 1000 tourists signed the petition calling for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
Each year, about two million people visit Mount Rushmore. Tourism spiked during the July 4 long weekend.
Falun Gong practitioners pose for a group photo in front of Mount Rushmore.
Practitioners tell about Falun Gong and collect signatures calling for an end to the persecution in China.
Tourists from surrounding states and even other countries, including India and South Korea, paused to talk with the practitioners to learn more about the practice and the persecution.
A man in his 20s asked whether Falun Gong practitioners in China are really killed for their organs. After a practitioner explained the evidence from international investigations, the young man signed the petition and left. He soon came back and handed the practitioner a bottle of water.
There were also tourists from China. One said in surprise, “Falun Gong!” and called his family to take a look. They took photos and listened to the practitioners' explanation of Falun Gong and the persecution, which is tightly censored in China.
Another girl from China signed the petition and took a copy of Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party.
The practitioners also met a few young Chinese Americans born in the U.S. They took group photos at the Falun Gong booth. One said, “I'll post this photo on Facebook and help you spread the word.”
