(Clearwisdom.net) It has been a ten-year-long journey for Falun Dafa practitioners clarifying the truth to end the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong in China. On July 20, 2009, New Zealand practitioners rallied in Aotea Square Auckland, the largest city in the country, exposing the CCP's cruel tortures and calling for the disintegration of the CCP and an end to the persecution.

Practitioners rallied in Aotea Square on July 20, 2009

Passersby signed the petition calling for an end to the persecution.

Senior member of Parliament from the Green Party and Spokesperson of the Foreign Affairs Ministry Mr. Keith Locke spoke at the rally.

"We just heard a story of a Falun Gong practitioner's mother who was tortured in China." he said. "Cases like this are numerous in China--there are thousands of them. The origin is the persecution. Behind the persecution is the Chinese Communist Party, which is fearful and intolerant of any independent organizations or the existence of any grassroots organizations initiated by regular Chinese people."

Member of Parliament from Green Party Mr. Keith Locke speaks at the rally on July 20, 2009

"The Communist Party persecutes dissidents. They persecute Falun Gong. They also persecute the human rights lawyers who dare to defend the victims. We must step up together against the CCP's persecution.

"The Green Party is against the Chinese government's pressuring the New Zealand government, trying to suffocate the voices of protest from this country. The persecution of Falun Gong has lasted for ten years. We can't let it continue for another ten years. We must act now to end it."

At the rally, about ten practitioners, both Chinese and Westerners, shared their personal experiences of practicing Falun Dafa and how it has benefited them mentally and physically. Many had severe diseases,, but after practicing Falun Dafa, they regained their health. Through cultivation practice, not only their moral standard improved, but they also understood the true meaning of life.

Demonstration of the Falun Dafa exercises

The persecution started by the CCP on July 20, 1999 has destroyed many happy families. Practitioner Huang Guohua told his story of how his pregnant wife, Luo Zhixiang, was killed and how his daughter, Kaixin, cried for her mother. Mr. Lu from Liaoning Province told how the CCP tortured his 60-year-old wife, Shi Shengying, to death in a prison in Shenyang City. Mr. He Sanpu was a former government official in the Propaganda Department in Henan Province. His family was broken apart by the persecution, but nine years later, the family reunited in New Zealand.

Two young practitioners' appeals caught a lot of attention. Shi Jiayun, 17, and Lu Lu, 23, were holding display boards asking for help to rescue their mothers, Wang Yuqing and Wang Lige. When Jiayun was only seven years old, her mother Wang Yuqing was taken away to brainwashing sessions and held in a forced labor camp for five years. In 2008 before the Beijing Olympics, her mother was again sentenced to one year of forced labor. This year, the authorities didn't release her and also refused to tell the family where she was. A few months later, a story on the Minghui/Clearwisdom website related that Ms. Wang Yuqing was secretly moved to a brainwashing center in Wuhan City.

Mr. Fang Sanyue, representative of the Falun Dafa Association in New Zealand, stated that the persecution of Falun Gong has not only caused the deaths of thousands of good people who believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and destroyed many families, but has also been a moral and humanitarian disaster for Chinese society and the nation of China. In his opinion, the only way to end the disaster and to end the persecution of Falun Gong is to disintegrate the Chinese Communist Party.

Ms. Margaret Taylor from Amnesty International in Auckland

Ms. Margaret Taylor from Amnesty International Auckland New Zealand spoke at the rally. She said, "Today we are protesting the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of Falun Gong. The persecution has lasted ten years. The Chinese authority has persecuted Christians, Tibetans, and dissidents. One obvious example is the Beijing Olympics in 2008, where thousands of Falun Gong practitioners were arrested and sentenced to forced labor and tortured. One typical example is Singer Yu Zhou from Beijing University. In January 2008, he and his wife were arrested in Beijing. One month later, the authorities notified the family that Yu Zhou died in custody as the result of illness. The authorities refused to let the family see the body and sentenced his wife to three years in prison. "

The rally attracted many passersby, who learned the truth about the persecution. The New Zealand "Quit the Communist Party (CCP) Service Center" set up a table at the rally to accept registrations to quit the CCP. Six Chinese publicly announced their resignations from the CCP and/or its affiliated organizations at the rally.