Rally in Philadelphia Commemorates 24th Anniversary of Falun Dafa Practitioners Peacefully Exposing the Persecution

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in the greater Philadelphia area held a rally in Chinatown on July 15, 2023, to commemorate the 24th anniversary of peacefully protesting against the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 24-year long persecution, and to call for it to end. Dignitaries participated in the event to support the practitioners’ efforts.

Practitioners in the greater Philadelphia area held a rally on July 15, 2023 to commemorate the 24th anniversary of peacefully protesting the persecution.

Practitioners distributed information about Falun Dafa and collected signatures on a petition to end the persecution.

At the event, there were music and singing performances, as well as exercise demonstrations. Practitioners held up banners calling for the disintegration of the CCP and for the persecution to end. They also distributed information about Falun Dafa and collected signatures on a petition to end the persecution. The event attracted the attention of many passers-by. Many people listened to the speeches, talked to practitioners, took materials, and expressed their support. Many Chinese quit the CCP and its youth organizations during the event.

Philadelphia Comptroller General Candidate: Calling on Good People to Speak out and Support Falun Gong

Philadelphia Comptroller General Candidate Aaron Bashir speaks at the rally.

Aaron Bashir will represent the Republican Party in the special election for the auditor general of Philadelphia on November 7. During his speech he said that the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa is an unacceptable evil. People are persecuted, killed, and their organs are stolen because of their beliefs. These evils must be stopped. Because of the CCP’s cover-up of its evil actions, the media rarely reports on the persecution of Falun Dafa. He called for the international community to pay attention.

“I encourage the international community to speak out against the CCP’s evil behavior, because this crime against humanity cannot be tolerated,” he said, “When persecution happens anywhere, I feel like it’s happening to my family because we are one human family. We cannot remain silent.”

Mr. Bashir also said, “This gathering is very important. Because what happens there [in China] today may happen tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, in your country, in your backyard. If you don’t stop what’s happening, sooner or later it will happen to you and your family. So, it must be stopped immediately.

“I believe that when people wake up and speak out and tell the truth, evil will eventually be defeated. From human history, even if evil is crazy, when good people stand up to stop it, it stops. I believe there is a God who is on the side of truth and good people.”

Mr. Bashir called on people of good will to speak up, “I urge everyone to speak out and pay attention, stand by the Falun Dafa community, and support the Falun Gong Protection Act. If we pass it, we will be able to hold those butchers who persecuted Falun Gong accountable.”

University Department Chair: We Have to Fight for Them

Mark Thomas, chair of the Department of Political Science at La Salle University, addressed the rally.

Mark Thomas is chair of the Department of Political Science and assistant professor of Political Science at La Salle University in Philadelphia. In his speech he said, “The CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong is a threat to world peace, and Falun Gong is the vanguard of the world’s opposition to the CCP’s threat. We must stand with them, eliminate our fear of difficulties, and we must stand up against the CCP’s persecution. We have to fight for them, we have to fight for us.”

He praised such gatherings as important, “Because it can change a person’s mind, and one person can change the world, just like Martin Luther King Jr. We must recognize that one person can change the world. One person can inspire others.”

Professor Thomas said, “The international community should pay more attention to the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong, because the persecution that occurs there is an insult to humanity and a crime to the whole world. The persecution of anyone is the persecution of us all, an affront to our human dignity and an affront to Chinese. I am convinced that Chinese people want to live in freedom.”

Chinese Man: The Chinese People Will Be Saved!

Mr. Liu from China was traveling around the U.S. and happened to be in Chinatown during the rally. He was pleased to see it and said, “I think the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are very good. Falun Dafa’s mental and physical fitness benefits are obvious. The CCP’s organ harvesting is an evil that has never been seen in history.”

Mr. Liu said that at the beginning of the persecution, because he did not understand what Falun Dafa was, he only had doubts about the CCP’s propaganda, “After I interacted with Falun Dafa practitioners, I found that they are all good people, and their protests are peaceful and to uphold their faith.” He said, “I began to pay attention. The more I paid attention the more I discovered the CCP’s lies, and that persecuting Falun Dafa violates the most universal human values and human rights. Its evil is beyond imagination.”

When he later heard that the CCP harvests organs from practitioners, Mr. Liu did not have the slightest doubt. “I believe it’s true,” he said, “Because first, I believe that the CCP is evil, and can do anything; Second, it’s all facts. If it is not a fact, the CCP should have presented evidence and quickly refute it. But no.”

Mr. Liu said, “In the 24 years since the CCP persecuted Falun Dafa, the moral level of Chinese society has plummeted. Live organ harvesting is now not only being done by the CCP, but also by ordinary people colluding with government officials. The Chinese public knows this. All of this started with live organ harvesting of Falun Dafa practitioners. This evil is spreading more and more in China.”

Regarding China’s future, Mr. Liu believes that the CCP cannot turn back, and it is impossible to count on the CCP’s reforms. “China must return to a normal society for a healthy development,” he said. “Now the CCP is advocating the rise of an evil that has developed and posed a threat to the whole world. It will persecute the people internally and threaten the world externally.”

“In the future, China must change, the CCP must perish, and Chinese people can be saved!” Mr. Liu finally said.

Writer Hopes to Know More about the Live Organ Harvesting

Writer Kevin Young wants to know more about organ harvesting.

Kevin D. Young is a writer who passed through Chinatown, stopped to listen to the rally and learned about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa and live organ harvesting. He said he had no idea that organ harvesting was so common in China. He wants to know more about it, because his book was on the topic of illegal organ transplantation.

“For illegal organ transplants, I think it’s morally corrupt,” he said. “It’s important for people to know the truth, and I think events like this are going to get more people’s attention, and we really need to care about what’s happening in the world.”

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 24 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.