(Minghui.org) New Year’s Eve is a joyous celebration—an opportunity for families to gather and welcome the new year. In China, however, a large number of Falun Dafa practitioners are still detained for their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and cannot reunite with their families.

Practitioners came to the Chinese embassy in Tokyo to peacefully protest on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2021. They demanded that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) immediately stop its persecution of Falun Dafa and release all detained practitioners.

On New Year's Eve, December 31, 2021, practitioners peacefully protested in front of the Chinese embassy, demanding an end to the persecution.

Despite the bitter winter wind practitioners stood quietly on the sidewalk opposite the Chinese embassy. They displayed banners with the words, “Falun Dafa is good,” “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” and “Heaven will eliminate the CCP” written on them. To avoid impacting pedestrian traffic some practitioners stood on the sidewalk, while the rest did the exercises in a nearby park. The two groups of practitioners alternated and supported each other.

People sign the petition to call for an end to the persecution

Every year on New Year’s Eve, local practitioners have come to the Chinese Embassy to call for an end to the persecution since the CCP began to persecute Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999.

Practitioners do the exercises in the park

Kindhearted Japanese people brought them hot drinks. Practitioners thanked them for their kindness and realized that more people now know the facts about the persecution.

Background: What Is Falun Dafa and Why Does the CCP Persecute It?

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and learned the five gentle exercises, have experienced uplifted health and well-being.

Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline's growing popularity as a threat to the CCP's atheistic ideology and on July 20, 1999, issued an order to ban the practice.

Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 22 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. More have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.

There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply the organ transplant industry.

Under Jiang's personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organization with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.