Wellington, New Zealand: Parade and Rally in New Zealand’s Capital Calls for an End to the Persecution

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners in New Zealand held a parade through the busy streets in the center of Wellington on July 19, 2023. They held a rally in Midland Park and at New Zealand Parliament Buildings to commemorate the 24th anniversary of protesting the persecution. 

They called on the public to pay attention to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution, violation of human rights, and urged the New Zealand government and people to take action to resist the CCP’s ongoing crimes against humanity.

Falun Gong practitioners marched down the central commercial street in Wellington on July 19, 2023, to commemorate the 24th year of the persecution 

A passerby shows his respect to Falun Gong practitioners.

At around midday, the Tian Guo Marching Band, comprised of Falun Gong practitioners, took the lead in the parade. They walked from Cuba Street in the city center and made a stop to speak in Midland Park, the main commercial center, before arriving at New Zealand Parliament Buildings. Three Falun Gong practitioners gave a speech, recounting their personal experiences of being persecuted in China, hoping that people would recognize the evil nature of the CCP, oppose the persecution, and help to disintegrate the CCP.

The parade arrives at New Zealand Parliament Buildings

The Head of ETAC New Zealand: Let Us Work Together to Stop the CCP’s Atrocities

Margo MacVicar (right) speaks at a rally in front of New Zealand Parliament Buildings.

Margo MacVicar, head of New Zealand’s International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China (ETAC), spoke at the rally. “Thousands of Chinese citizens are murdered every week on hospital operating tables, and their organs are sold,” said MacVicar. She continued, “These innocent victims mainly include Falun Gong practitioners, as well as Uyghur Muslims, Christians, and Tibetans.

“Across the globe, human rights activists, parliamentarians, NGOs and other groups have been working tirelessly to stop this illegal and horrific crime.

“Some countries have enacted legislation to stop forced organ harvesting and protect their citizens from complicity,” she stressed. “Texas, for example, passed a law banning health insurance coverage for organs illegally transplanted in China. Also, elsewhere; U.S. Congressman Scott Perry introduced a bill called the Falun Gong Protection Act, which aims to sanction criminals involved in forced organ harvesting, and ban them from entering the United States.”

MacVicar urged the New Zealand government and people to act. “New Zealand needs to formally urge its citizens and residents not to travel to China for organ transplants; We propose to ban the entry of persons associated with organ transplant abuse – the establishment of an obligatory reporting system. Citizens are required to return to the country after their origin, where organ transplant tourism happened, and report the situation, and more.”

In closing, she appealed: “As a nation, New Zealand has a moral and ethical obligation to help end China’s illegal organ transplant industry and to resist a regime that kills its own citizens for profit. Let us work together to stop this atrocity committed by the CCP, and bring this human tragedy to an end as soon as possible.”

People sign the petition in support of Falun Gong’s effort calling for an end to the persecution.

Business Manager: Falun Gong Is So Peaceful and Good for the Body and Mind

Olina Popovic

Olina Popovic emigrated from Chile and is now an executive at a New Zealand company. She said, “Falun Gong is so peaceful and good for the body and mind. The concept of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is very good. When they practice, I feel very peaceful. Since I heard about them last year, I have started to pay attention to them.

“Because Chile used to be a communist country, I know how bad they can be,” Olina continued. “I believe that the CCP harvested organs from Falun Gong practitioners.

“When I talk to my friends about what is happening in China, a lot of them don’t know. I told them that I don’t buy things made in China now to protest the CCP, not the Chinese people.”

Resident: All We Have to Do Is Let People Know the Truth

Donald Rowberry

Donald Rowberry is retired. “Since I heard about Falun Gong many years ago, I have supported them,” he said. “They are very good, but the CCP persecutes them. For so many years, Falun Gong practitioners have been working hard to stop the CCP’s crime of organ harvesting, and I fully support them.”

He added, “I am completely against the CCP, and I once read a book about how the CCP infiltrated and controlled Australia and New Zealand. They use the Confucius Institute to infiltrate. In fact, the so-called Confucius Institute has nothing to do with Confucius’s theory, it is the CCP’s political propaganda and ideological indoctrination, in an attempt to make the world accept the CCP regime. But if you think about it, if the CCP is allowed to rule, Falun Gong practitioners and Christians in New Zealand will become victims of the CCP’s live organ harvesting, because they are the healthiest people.”

He concluded, “The CCP is really very evil, absolutely evil! So the first thing we need to do now is to let people know the truth.”

Writer: I Sympathize with Falun Gong Very Much

Jane is a writer and lived in Urumqi, China, for 10 years. She witnessed the brutality of the CCP’s persecution of Uyghurs. In Wellington, she often saw Falun Gong practitioners holding activities in commercial centers, so she learned a lot from them.

“Falun Gong practitioners do not have freedom of belief in China. This persecution is so bad that the CCP is afraid of losing its power,” Jane said. “I sympathize with them [Falun Gong practitioners] very much, and I feel scared and sad when I think of those who have been persecuted. Their families are destroyed, and I hope they will keep fighting!”

People Condemned the CCP’s Persecution of Falun Gong

Lisa Hill signs the petition supporting Falun Gong practitioners’ fight against the persecution.

Lisa Hill, who works in the commercial center, was very excited to see the parade by Falun Gong practitioners, and she said with tears in her eyes: “The CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong breaks my heart. They [Falun Gong practitioners] work very hard and are very good! Sometimes I pass by the embassy at work and see them protesting there, and I sound my horn to wish them good luck. It’s really bad that such a peaceful group is persecuted. So I’m more than willing to sign [the petition] in support of them. I really appreciate their peaceful way of fighting. I sincerely wish them all the best!”