(Clearwisdom.net) Xu Zhichao smiles at people on Constitution Ave. in Washington D.C., passing out Falun Gong truth-clarification materials. He talks to people, walking along with them, sometimes even jogs with them. Many people slow down, listening to Xu and asking questions, attracted by the large-scale anti-persecution rally being held by Falun Gong practitioners in Upper Senate Park.

Practitioners at the rally hold signs calling for an end to the persecution

A scene at the rally

Torture re-enactment exposes the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution methods

Re-enacting the CCP's organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners

Clarifying the truth to people

A practitioner clarifying the truth

Traveling to the U.S. to clarify the truth

Twenty-four-year-old Xu Zhichao just got his MBA in Taiwan. This was his second time to come to the U.S. from Taiwan. Five years ago, he started practicing Falun Gong. At the time, he was in the U.S., preparing for an important exam. Right before the exam, he got very sick. His mother, a Falun Gong practitioner, played the Falun Gong music, Pudu, for him. He recovered and was amazed by the power of Falun Gong. Many practitioners have experienced such miracles. Miracles happened twice to Xu Zhichao. The second time, he cried. Xu attended a Falun Gong conference in Washington D.C., and was amazed by the selflessness of the practitioners he met. He started practicing Falun Gong.

Five years later, Xu came to Washington D.C. again. He wanted to clarify the truth of Falun Gong to people and help to stop the persecution.

Showing support

On July 17, the Falun Dafa Association, Freedom House and Friends of Falun Gong held an anti-persecution rally in Upper Senate Park. The theme of the rally was "End the Nine-Year-Long Persecution of Falun Gong."

Jason Miens, assistant to Congressman Jerry Moran from Kansas, learned about the rally, and said that he would come and show his support. Miens talked to Zhang Erping, Falun Gong spokesman, and learned about the recent assaults against Falun Gong practitioners in Flushing, New York. Concerned about Falun Gong practitioners' safety, he decided to come to the rally. He told practitioners that they should hold such rallies more often so that more people will learn about Falun Gong and the persecution in China.

More people are concerned about Falun Gong

Many local citizens, government officials, representatives from community organizations and tourists attended the rally. Some people were interviewed by NTDTV, expressing their support for Falun Gong. Diana Lee was one of them.

Diana Lee is a member of a human rights organization and a high school teacher who teaches social studies. She asked practitioners about their purpose in holding the rally. Practitioners told her that over the last 9 years, they have never changed their request, which is to end the persecution, release all jailed practitioners and give them freedom to practice in China.

Diana said that she recently led a discussion with her students about the upcoming Beijing Olympics. She wanted her students to know about the human rights violations in China, but her students seemed to not understand. Today, at the rally, she said, "I wanted to ask you how I can help. I know how now. I will tell my students about the persecution. I will help people better understand the situation of Falun Gong." She took many copies of informational materials before she left.

Nine years of anti-persecution efforts

The Chinese Communist Party launched the persecution against Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. Over the last nine years, Falun Gong practitioners in China and overseas have never given up their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. They keep clarifying the truth of Falun Gong and try to bring an end to the persecution. The nine-year-long persecution has not crushed Falun Gong. In fact, more and more people have come to learn the truth, more people are standing up to support Falun Gong, and more and more people like Xu Zhichao have started practicing Falun Gong. Since the persecution began, Falun Gong has spread to more than 80 countries throughout the world.

Sen Yang, representative of the Mid-U.S. Falun Dafa Association, said in an interview with New Century TV Station in Chicago that the Chinese Communist Party, with its atheistic beliefs, cannot tolerate people's belief in God. However, throughout history, persecution against righteous belief has never been successful; Falun Gong, as a truly righteous belief, will exist forever.