(Minghui.org) May 13 is World Falun Dafa Day and the 30th anniversary of Falun Dafa’s introduction to the world. Several elected officials in the United States Congress issued proclamations or letters to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day. Senator Patrick J. Toomey issued a certificate of special recognition to Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Dafa.
From left to right: Senator Patrick J. Toomey, Representative Mike Doyle and Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester
Certificate from Senator Patrick J. Toomey
Letter from Representative Mike Doyle
Congressman Mike Doyle stated in his letter to the Greater Philadelphia Falun Dafa Association, “I want to join you in celebrating World Falun Dafa Day and to share with you my strong support for freedom of speech, freedom of belief, and freedom of assembly.
“Since 1999, the Chinese government has tried to eradicate the spiritual practice of Falun Gong in China through harassment, imprisonment, involuntary commitment to psychiatric facilities, and torture. Peaceful practitioners of Falun Gong and their families have suffered from harsh government oppression for practicing their belief system. The practice of a peaceful belief system should not come at the price of harassment, imprisonment, or physical harm. These human rights abuses by the Chinese Government are repulsive and unacceptable.”
Letter from Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester
Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester stated in her letter, “World Falun Dafa Day celebrates the traditional Chinese meditation practice of Falun Dafa which has three core principles: truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. By practicing these principles, individuals find calmness and optimism as well as an understanding of life and the universe around them.
“While World Falun Dafa Day is a time for the celebration of the practice, it is also a time to remember how Falun Dafa communities persevered through hardship to practice freely. Therefore, I want to express my hope that Falun Dafa can be practiced freely and openly by all who embrace it.”
Background: What Is Falun Dafa and Why Is the CCP Persecuting 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.
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.
Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 22 years, however, because of the difficulty in getting information out of China, the actual number is believed to be much higher. Many 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.
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