(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in the Kansai region of Japan peacefully protested outside the Chinese consulate in Osaka on July 20 to tell people about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 23-year-long persecution of the peaceful practice.

On July 23 and 24 they held an event near Osaka Castle Park, a popular tourist attraction. They told people about the CCP’s brutality and collected signatures on a petition calling to support a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin, former head of the CCP who initiated the persecution.

Practitioners peacefully protest in front of the Chinese Consulate in Osaka on July 20

During their event outside the Chinese consulate, a practitioner read aloud a letter describing the persecution and advising the Chinese Consulate staff to recognize the CCP’s true nature and quit their memberships in the Party and its affiliated organizations so they would not be implicated for the Party’s crimes.

A practitioner reads a letter.

Many people noticed the practitioners’ protest. Two Chinese people refused to listen to the practitioners’ explanation and attempted to drive them away.

The practitioners were not moved but kept clarifying the truth. In the end, both people understood the truth about the persecution and quit their memberships in the Party. The practitioners also asked them to remember: “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” They both thanked practitioners and said they appreciated their efforts.

Signature Collection

Practitioners in Kansai also held a two-day event at the Osaka Castle Park Station on July 23 and 24. They handed out information about Falun Dafa and collected signatures on a petition calling to support a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin. They called on the Japanese people to learn about the 23-year-long persecution of Falun Dafa and work together to end the brutality.

Ms. Catchy said she hopes more people will speak out against the persecution.

“I met practitioners near another station and it was my first time to learn about the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China,” said Ms. Catchy. “Because China is a country controlled by a one-party dictatorship, it brutally persecutes kind people. It even conducts organ harvesting from Falun Dafa practitioners while they are alive for profit. This is completely forbidden by God!

“I’ve thought about it before. Is it really impossible to stop this? I personally know many Chinese people—they are all very good people. But why is something like this happening in China? It is really shocking. I hope more people can stand up and speak out, and work together to stop the persecution.”

She signed the petition and encouraged the practitioners to keep up their efforts.

People Sign the Petition

Since Falun Dafa Day on May 13 this year, Vietnamese practitioners and some Chinese practitioners in Kansai have continued to collect signatures and tell people about the persecution. At the end of March, Japan began to lift restrictions on overseas tourists. Practitioners prepared fliers in Chinese, English, Vietnamese, and Korean, hoping that more people could learn about the persecution.

Five practitioners from Vietnam participated in the signature collection on July 24. Most people were appalled when they heard about the persecution that has gone on for 23 years, especially the organ harvesting from live practitioners.

People sign the petition calling for an end to the persecution.

Students from Myanmar read the display boards and learned about the persecution in China. They were shocked at the CCP’s organ harvesting. They immediately signed the petition to support the prosecution of Jiang Zemin.

A Japanese man said he knew about the persecution and signed the petition. After signing he carefully read the display boards and took photos of the information.

Two female middle school students accepted fliers and listened to a practitioner’s explanation. They said that they were stunned to learn the extent of the persecution and about the organ harvesting in China. Both signed the petition and said they hoped the persecution would end soon.

A man said he heard about the persecution of Falun Dafa more than ten years ago and thought that it already ended. When he read the display boards and banners, he knew that the persecution was still going on. He signed the petition and said he would tell his friends about it and ask them to sign.

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.