(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners in Belgium held an activity in front of the Chinese Consulate on July 18, 2023, protesting the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) 24-year persecution. Annick Ponthier, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Belgian Federal Parliament, sent a letter to Nico Bijnens, president of the Falun Dafa Association in Belgium, expressing support for Falun Gong and condemning the CCP’s 24-year persecution.

To commemorate the 24th anniversary of protesting the persecution, Falun Gong practitioners in Belgium held a rally in front of the Chinese Embassy.

Annick Ponthier, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Belgian Federal Parliament

The translation of the letter is as follows:

The following statement comes from Annick Ponthier, a member of the Belgian Federal Parliament and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee:

Twenty-four years ago today, the CCP began persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.

During this period, the campaign led to the imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of its followers, who became victims of the worst forms of torture.

The Chinese regime’s brutal persecution and brutality against its own citizens deserve the continued attention of our policymakers. We must remind the world that Falun Gong practitioners continue to be tortured and persecuted. We should stand up and speak out to stop these crimes.

Human rights and human dignity should be a priority in our policies.

The Chinese authorities are trying to cover up these crimes without speaking out, so we should condemn them all the more.

I would therefore like to express my deepest respect to all the innocent victims who have been indicted, tortured, imprisoned, or worse, and wish them great strength and hope for the freedom ahead.

Annick Ponthier

Member of the Belgian Parliament (Foreign Affairs Committee)

Nico Bijnens, President of the Falun Dafa Association in Belgium

Nico Bijnens, president of the Falun Dafa Association in Belgium, said, “Commemorating the 24th anniversary of protesting the persecution is a way for us to continue to expose the CCP’s crimes against humanity and stop the persecution.”

He also said that for years, the domestic and foreign media stopped reporting on the persecution, giving the impression that the persecution did not occur at all. But on Minghui.org, people still find daily reports and incidents of persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. It’s hard for people to find this information elsewhere.

“I was contacted yesterday by a journalist who called Minghui.org a ‘very valuable source of information,’” he said, “through these reports, it is understood that the persecution is not over at all, but simply ignored. The Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting Organization (DAFOH), in its 2023 report, called it not just a genocide, but a ‘cold genocide’.”

Finally, he said, “Falun Gong practitioners in China risk their lives to pass on the truth about the persecution to the Chinese! We hope to stop the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China by spreading the truth to everyone in Brussels.”