(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners across the world held rallies, marches, candlelight vigils, and other activities to mark the 23^rd anniversary of protesting the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 23-year-long persecution. They also called for it to end and that the CCP be disintegrated. Practitioners in Thailand and Canada held candlelight vigils and other events to tell people about the persecution.

Candlelight Vigil in Thailand

Practitioners in Thailand held a candlelight vigil in a park in Nakhon Pathom on July 17 to commemorate fellow practitioners who died as a result of being persecuted by the CCP. They also called for an end to the persecution.　

Practitioners held a candlelight vigil in Nakhon Pathom on July 17.

The practitioners gathered in a park in Nakhon Pathom in the afternoon. They did group exercises and sent forth righteous thoughts. The peaceful music and graceful exercise movements attracted people’s attention. At 6 p.m. they lit candles and held photos of practitioners who died from the CCP’s persecution and silently mourned them.

Practitioners who participated in the event said that since the CCP began to persecute Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999, hundreds of thousands of practitioners in China have been persecuted and even lost their lives, resulting in broken families and many children are now orphans.

The persecution is ongoing. Every day there are practitioners who are harassed, arrested, or even subjected to the CCP’s live organ harvesting.

Practitioners said that this persecution not only impacts Falun Dafa, but it affects the entire population of China and all of mankind. They called on the world’s governments and people of all countries to stand up and jointly end the CCP’s persecution.

Protesting the Persecution in Waterloo-Kitchener, Canada

Waterloo-Kitchener, Ontario, Canada is also known as the Twin Cities. Falun Dafa practitioners have been practicing the exercises and telling people about the spiritual practice in Victoria Park since 1998.

They held an event in Victoria Park on July 20 to protest the persecution. After setting up display boards and petition forms, they also placed candles on tables to commemorate those fellow practitioners who died from the persecution. The practitioners also called on kind-hearted people to learn about Falun Dafa and help end the persecution as soon as possible. Many people signed the petition calling to stop the CCP’s brutality.

Practitioners held an event in Victoria Park on July 20 to mourn practitioners killed during the persecution in China.

A practitioner showed a passerby, Helmi, the Falun Dafa website in Persian (Farsi). Helmi explained that he did not speak much English, but he wanted to learn to meditate. The practitioner told him that Falun Dafa books and teaching videos in Farsi can be downloaded from the website for free. He thanked practitioners and said that he would browse the website.

A practitioner shows Helmi how to access the Persian language Falun Dafa website.

Reading a poem composed by a practitioner

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 have learned the five exercises, have experienced improved 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, he issued an order to eradicate 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 23 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. Countless practitioners 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 China’s organ transplant industry.

Relevant article in Chinese: Activity Protesting the Persecution in Waterloo-Kitchener, Canada