(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners held an anti-persecution rally on the west lawn of Capitol Hill on July 16, 2015, calling for an end to the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has continued since July 1999. Several Congressmen and representatives from international human rights organizations spoke at the rally in support of Falun Gong. Americans at the rally also expressed their support.

“People of China Can Overcome This and They Can Get Out of the Suppression”

Ryan Mason and a young Falun Gong practitioner from “Ride 2 Freedom”

“Keep hanging on. Hold on to faith and hope, because no matter the persecution you face, humanity will always shine through. I truly believe that the people of China can overcome this and they can get out of the suppression because it is not OK,” Ryan Mason told a young Falun Gong practitioner from the “Ride 2 Freedom” team. Ryan was in D.C. for the Washington Journalism and Media Conference, and happened to see the rally on her way to her Congressman's office. She said, “I really love what all of the protesters are doing here today. It’s really awesome to see all of these people rallying around to help China, to expose it. I really love seeing all this. Keep doing peaceful protests like this, and you will overcome!”

Learning Falun Gong on the Spot

Jonathan Weighter learns a Falun Gong exercise.

Jonathan Weighter from Oregon started talking to Falun Gong practitioners before the rally started. He had received a Falun Gong flyer at the Las Vegas Airport during this trip, and found some information on the Internet. Today he was attracted to the activity by the exercise music. It turned out to be an exercise shown in the flyer.

Jonathan said, “When I heard about the persecution of millions, it made me very interested. So I would like to learn more. The persecution is terrible.” He thought rallies like this would be very powerful to help stop it. On the practitioners being persecuted in China, Jonathan said, “Keep faith. Things will change. I support them entirely in what they are doing.”

Jonathan spent more than two hours obtaining information at the rally and learning the first Falun Gong exercise. He felt relaxed and peaceful afterwards, and said he would like to continue learning Falun Gong.

Attracted by Yellow T-Shirts

Christina Gill

Christina Gill was heading to the Smithsonian when she was attracted to Capitol Hill by Falun Gong practitioners' yellow T-shirts. When she found out about the CCP's organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners in China, she said, “I feel for them. I definitely wouldn’t want my organs to be harvested against my will, especially I’m still alive and want to keep all of them. Definitely, if it’s something nonconsensual, it shouldn’t be done. They shouldn’t do it.” She signed a petition calling an end to the persecution and expressed hope that it would end soon.

Empires Collapse if People Not Treated Well

James Lewis

James Lewis from Buffalo, New York, drove to D.C. because his Falun Gong practitioner wife and mother-in-law wanted to attend this rally. Even though he only slept for a few hours the night before, he still came to the rally to show support.

James' wife and mother-in-law went to Niagara Falls almost every day to tell Chinese tourists about the persecution. They devoted their time to truth clarification. James said, “And I do the same thing. I tell everybody what I know. There’s nothing wrong about freedom of speech. To be persecuted just because you have a different opinion is wrong. What they are doing in China is wrong.”

James added, “China will have to accept Falun Gong because they are not going to have a choice. There’s so much pressure from around the world… You cannot keep doing the wrong thing. Eventually the karma is going to come around, and you are going to fall apart. Every empire that has been this way in the world, every great empire, if they don’t treat the people well, they all collapse.”