(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners held a rally at Queen Elizabeth Square in Auckland’s city center on Saturday, July 17, 2021, to commemorate 22 years of persecution in China. Although it was a cold and wet day with strong winds, guest speakers, including elected officials, attended the event to express their support for practitioners’ efforts to raise awareness of the ongoing human rights atrocities. 

Member of Parliament: I Cannot Collude with the CCP

Louisa Wall, a member of the New Zealand Parliament, spoke at the rally.

Louisa Wall, a Member of the New Zealand parliament, was the first official to condemn the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) crimes of forced organ removal from detained Falun Gong practitioners during the rally. She said in her speech, “I’m here to use my voice here to support you, your freedom of expression, your freedom of religion.

“According to a joint statement by 12 independent experts on human rights in the United Nations, in addition to reliable evidence from various sources, detained groups including Falun Gong, the Uyghurs, Tibetans, Christians and so on are forced to go through physical examinations, ultrasound, and X-rays to examine their organs. From these results, a database is established and used in the CCP’s organ transplant market worth one billion globally.

“I think it’s time for our intelligence to be collated, case studies to be written up. We share those with the authorities and with our fellow New Zealanders because we are good people and we don’t think that what is happening [organ harvesting] is right. We can’t pretend it’s not happening anymore, we can’t be ignorant, the information is now available.”

She concluded by saying: “I find I must speak out because if I don’t and I’m silent, then I’m colluding with the perpetrators and its crimes against humanity.”

New Zealand Politician: Reject Communist Ideology

Chris Newman Secretary-General of the New Zealand Direct Democratic Party attended the rally to show his support.

Chris Newman, Secretary-General of the New Zealand Direct Democratic Party, spoke at the rally.

“Falun Gong practitioners have been through various torture and persecution under the dictatorship of the CCP since July 20, 1999, and the brutalities have been worsening since then. The CCP even removed their organs without consent and sells them for a profit. Their hands are covered in blood and they have committed the worst crimes in history,” he said.

“In recent years the Falun Dafa members, refugees from the tyranny of the CCP, arrived in New Zealand. They fled here to access the protection of our free society, so they can practice their religion and enjoy a peaceful life, away from Chinese communist persecution and interference. Unfortunately, the CCP is now penetrating our peaceful nation. I hope that more Kiwis (New Zealand people) will stop, listen, and learn from Falun Dafa practitioners who present the truth about the CCP. Don’t let our Government be influenced by the CCP’s power, money, and corrupt morals.”

He also said, “The experiences of Falun Gong practitioners who are persecuted tell us: we must resist dictators resolutely, protect our freedoms even with our lives. To ensure our country’s safety, we must protect our democracy and freedom. Let us be clear on the crimes perpetrated by the CCP and its satanic nature, reject communist ideology.”

Human Rights Lawyer: Hold the CCP Accountable for Its Crimes

Kerry Gore, a human rights lawyer spoke at the rally.

Kerry Gore, a respected human rights lawyer in New Zealand, spoke at the rally. He said in his speech: “In the CCP’s 22-year long suppression of Falun Gong, practitioners suffered illegal arrest, unlawful detention, brainwashing, psychological torture, physical torture, psychiatric torture and were forced to give up their practice. They faced forced labor, destitution, and homelessness in an effort to avoid further persecution, and involuntary live organ harvesting of one’s vital organs leading to the practitioners’ death.

“This persecution has been exhaustively documented over the last 22 years by independent and respected organizations, such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, the Office of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, the United States Committee for International Religious Freedom, the Congressional Executive Commission on China, and the United States Department of State, among others.

“The CCP has violated a number of international human rights law instruments, notably, the 1948 United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the United Nations Convention Against Torture, to name only a few. It is my hope that all present here will encourage their respective Members of Parliament to support the passing of urgent legislation that renders unlawful this egregious practice of transplant tourism.

“The time has come when the CCP and those responsible for, or implicated in, the persecution of Falun Gong will have to answer for what they have done. The world is beginning to awaken to the nature and magnitude of this persecution, and the demands of justice will not be denied.

“Inevitably, history will deliver its verdict concerning the CCP. A regime as murderous and as brutal as this does not deserve to exist. It is an affront to basic human morality, and to the natural law. Let us, therefore, welcome its demise and anticipate a better world.”

I Admire Falun Gong Practitioners for Their Peaceful Resistance

Michael Zhuang from China admires Falun Gong practitioners for their persistent efforts to resist the persecution.

Michael Zhuang is from China and is an advocate for democracy in China. “As someone from China, I understood what the regime was doing to people who disagreed with them,” he said. “I was impressed and encouraged by their [Falun Gong practitioners'] bravery to stand up and speak up against the CCP, but I also felt sorry for all the people that were tortured and killed for practicing their faith. 

“The CCP is evil and it’s the CCP that’s been terrorizing Falun Gong practitioners, ripping apart their families, torturing them in their black prisons, and eventually killing them for their organs.

“Just a while ago, I listened to a phone interview of a doctor in China admitting in his own words that they’re offering ‘healthy organs’ from Falun Gong practitioners. Anyone from China would know that people donating their organs after death is pretty much unheard of. Yet, China offers organs on demand.

“Unfortunately, most people in China don't know anything about Falun Gong or any of the CCP’s crimes due to China’s censorship and propaganda, especially in my generation, but I know what the CCP has done. I know that this is what the CCP is doing to my fellow citizens in my homeland, and I simply cannot, in good conscience, look the other way and pretend that everything is normal. Therefore, I choose to speak up and tell people about what the CCP is doing to Uyghurs, Tibetans, political dissidents, and Falun Gong practitioners.

“For 22 years, Falun Gong practitioners never stopped protesting peacefully against the authoritarian regime of the CCP. No matter where you go around the world, they peacefully stand or sit in public squares and parks. They continue to follow the Falun Dafa teachings of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, while the CCP carries out their cruel genocide. It [Falun Gong] is indeed admirable.”

New Zealand Resident: I Admire Falun Gong Practitioners for Their Courage 

Hinepawhero Afeaki, a manager for a law firm, identities with the values of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.”

Hinepawhero Afeaki is a manager for a law firm and is half Maori and half European. “The values of ‘Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance’ are extremely important,” she said. “It is what we should follow every day. It is the key to self-awakening.”

“The truth can awaken people’s conscience and give one power physically and mentally. More importantly, it brings substantive change. To me, ‘Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance’ is very powerful. We need this to improve our spirituality and wake up our true selves. All of us have been given the ability to seek the universal truth,” she said.

The CCP has persecuted Falun Gong for 22 years. “This is terrible and cannot go on,” Hinepawhero said. “We must not support the CCP. Falun Gong practitioners are very brave and have high enlightenment. They will bring positive changes to our society. I believe they will be the most powerful leaders in our future. They work hard, are not afraid to sacrifice and can see wider as well as further. Nothing can stop them. What they are doing today is not just for us, it is for our future generations.”