(Minghui.org) Mr. Li Lankui's story spurred great response in many villages.

Mr. Li, a Falun Gong practitioner from Zhengding County, Hebei Province, was arrested by the 610 Office on June, 7, 2012, and incarcerated in Zhengding County Detention Center. He was then transferred to Shijiazhuang Brainwashing Center and tortured even more. So far, more than 700 people have signed a petition calling for for his release.

七百多位民众自发联名声援营救法轮功学员李兰奎 
More than 700 people have signed a petition for the release of Mr. Li Lankui

Mr. Li is a resident of Dong'anfeng Village in Xipingle Town, Zhengding County. He was bedridden for two years because of a lumbar disc hernia compressing the nerves in his back. He could not work in the paddies. Combined with his recurring epilepsy and the pressure to put food on the table, he grew increasingly temperamental and violent. He often beat his wife and yelled at his children.

Yet, just a month after Mr. Li started practicing Falun Gong in May 1999, he became completely healthy. He no longer has a bad temper. Both he and his wife have been very healthy ever since and no longer need any medical treatment. Their lives were happy until he was arrested.

Many started practicing Falun Gong after they heard his story. The number of villagers practicing Falun Gong reached 200 at one point. Mr. Li became optimistic. He always trades fairly, he enjoys helping people, and he is known to be honest and reliable. In fact, he became a local celebrity. That the 610 Office would arrest and torture a known good person has driven the local residents to petition for his release.

This is not the only place in China where people are currently petitioning for the release of a Falun Gong practitioner. Mr. Wang Xiaodong, a practitioner from Zhouguantun Village, Fu Town, Botou City, Hebei Province, was arrested on February 25, 2012. His home was also ransacked and many personal belongings confiscated. More than 300 households in the village signed a petition, urging the prosecutor to release him. It is alleged that China's Central Political Bureau was stunned by the petition.

河北省泊头市富镇周官屯村三百多户村民联名按手印、加盖公章要求释放法轮功学员王晓东,撼动中共中央政治局。 
More than 300 households in Botou City, Hebei Province petitioned on behalf of of Mr. Wang Xiaodong

In Tanghai County, Hebei Province, 562 villagers signed and provided their fingerprints to petition for the release of Mr. Zhen Xiangxing, a local practitioner who was jailed.

河北唐海县五百六十二位村民按手印,联名要求公安机关释放郑祥星 
562 villagers signed and provided their fingerprints to petition for the release of Mr. Zhen Xiangxing, a local practitioner from Tanghai County, Hebei Province

In Heilongjiang Province, more than 15,000 people signed a petition calling for justice for Mr. Qin Yueming, who had been tortured to death in prison because he refused to renounce Falun Gong. These 15,000 strangers signed and provided their fingerprints on a petition organized by Mr. Qin's daughter, Qin Rongqian.

黑龙江省有超过一万五千民众为素不相识的法轮功学员挺身而出,在为父鸣冤的秦荣倩的《喊冤昭雪书》上签名并按上大红手印 
More than 15,000 people petitioned for justice of a perfect stranger, Mr. Qin Yueming, who was tortured to death in prison for refusing to renounce Falun Gong

Jiang Zemin, former chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), gave orders that Falun Gong be banned in July 1999. This came after more Chinese people were found to be practicing Falun Gong (over 70 million) than were members of the CCP.

Such is Jiang's policy towards Falun Gong: "You may beat Falun Gong practitioners to death. They will be reported as suicides. Their bodies shall be cremated without autopsy." According to the Minghui website's incomplete statistics, at least 3,500 Falun Gong practitioners have been confirmed dead as a result of the CCP's persecution—the actual number is likely many times more. Also, untold numbers of Falun Gong practitioners have suffered from a long litany of tortures, including psychiatric abuse.

Because of the CCP's hate propaganda against Falun Gong and people's fear of the Chinese communist regime, most people chose to watch silently as the cruel persecution unfolded before them. Falun Gong practitioners worldwide have been persistently clarifying the truth about Falun Gong over the past 13 years. Many people have come to realize the truth about Falun Gong and the CCP's suppression and have begun to protest the persecution.

People in many different areas of China have been petitioning for the release of Falun Gong practitioners. In another instance in Changli County, Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province, about 2,300 people signed a petition for the release of Mr. Zhou Xiangyang, now in prison for clarifying the truth about Falun Gong. After the authorities arrested his wife, Ms. Li Shanshan, another 500 or so petitioned for her release as well.

More and more people have seen the true, evil nature of the Chinese communist regime. More than 120 million people have declared via The Epoch Times that they quit the CCP and/or its affiliated student leagues they are or were a member of. The more people that join in protesting the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, the end quicker it will end.