San Francisco: Candlelight Vigil Calls to End 22 Years of Persecution

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in San Francisco held a candlelight vigil in front of the Chinese Consulate on the evening of July 18, 2021, to mourn fellow practitioners who have lost their lives in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s 22-year-long persecution of their faith. They called for an end to the persecution and for the dissolution of the communist regime.

Falun Dafa practitioners hold a solemn candlelight vigil outside the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco on July 18, 2021, to mourn fellow practitioners persecuted to death by the CCP for their faith.

Mr. George Su from Beijing said he wanted to say a fair word for Falun Dafa when the CCP launched the persecution 22 years ago. Though it was risky for himself, his wife, and his children, he thought he should step forward because he had benefited so much from practicing Falun Dafa. He and some other practitioners went to the National Appeals Office in Beijing.

“Thousands of people were there by the time we arrived. The police used many city buses to transport us to a stadium in Fengtai District. At least 70,000 to 80,000 practitioners were detained there. It started raining. Kind practitioners shared their umbrellas with the police,” George recounted.

George has been arrested several times by the CCP because he refused to give up his spiritual belief—Falun Dafa. However, he has never stopped telling people about the persecution. After coming to the U.S., he participated in many activities calling for an end to the persecution.

He said, “Many Falun Dafa practitioners in China are still imprisoned and tortured. Some are killed by the CCP for their organs. We have to expose the CCP’s persecution against people who follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. We’ll continue until the last day of the persecution.”

Mr. Zeng Yong, CEO of Sound of Hope Radio Network, said that some politicians in the U.S. felt that the Chinese Communist Party would eventually change after U.S-Sino trade deals and exchanges. Zeng disagreed. He said that most people in the world lack an understanding of the CCP’s evil nature but that Falun Gong practitioners have never given up in clarifying the truth. “We continue to tell people that the CCP would trample upon the freedom of the world if it is allowed to grow.”

Zeng said that after 22 years, people in the U.S. and the rest of the world have finally awakened to the CCP’s nature after witnessing its conduct in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, along with its cover-up of the pandemic. He said the persecution of Falun Gong is still going on and that practitioners in China need help more than ever. Helping them is helping the world, he said.

Donyeha, a local resident, said, “Truth, Compassion and Forbearance are great principles that everyone should follow. We should stop the forced organ harvesting. The word ‘horrible’ isn’t enough to describe the atrocity! It must stop!”

Lee, a Sacramento resident, said, “I have been following news about the CCP’s suppression of freedom of belief, speech, and media. I support your cause and will spread the information to my friends.”

Background: What is Falun Dafa?

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 have embraced the teachings—which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance as well as five gentle exercises—and 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.

Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 22 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. 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.

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.