Batam, Indonesia: Candlelight Vigil Calls for an End to 25 Years of Persecution in China

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners on Batam Island gathered at Engku Putri Park near the city government compound on July 20, 2024. They held activities calling for an end to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 25-year-long persecution of Falun Dafa in China. The date, July 20, marked the 25th year since the brutality began against practitioners. The onset of the persecution was launched in 1999.

Practitioners started their event at 4 p.m. with a group demonstration of the Falun Dafa exercises. During the event, several practitioners distributed fliers. They clarified the truth about the persecution and the purpose of the event to the people who passed by the event venue.

Practitioners do group practice of the Falun Dafa exercises.

A passerby accepts a brochure from a practitioner.

After doing the exercises for two hours, the practitioners began to light candles in memory of practitioners in China who have lost their lives because of the CCP’s persecution.

Candlelight vigil in memory of Falun Dafa practitioners in China who have lost their lives due to the CCP’s persecution. The event started on the evening of July 20, 2024.

Spokesperson Calls for an End of the Persecution

During the event, the Falun Gong spokesperson, Rudy, described why the practitioners were raising awareness on the date of July 20. He also detailed some of the CCP atrocities perpetrated against practitioners, including forced organ harvesting.

“July 20, 2024 marks 25 years since the CCP brutally persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners in China. It has been far too long and it has to be stopped immediately,” he said. “Forced organ harvesting from living Falun Dafa practitioners is a genocide that absolutely cannot be tolerated by international communities. We all need to act together to end these horrific crimes against humanity.”

Public Supports Practitioner Efforts to End the Persecution in China

Raja, a polytechnic student who received a scholarship in the United Kingdom, told a practitioner that he had already heard of Falun Dafa and the persecution while he was overseas. “While I was in the UK, I gave my signature on a practitioners’ petition. I support Falun Dafa practitioners in their efforts to stop the atrocities committed by the CCP, and I hope that these crimes will soon be stopped,” he said.

Raja supports practitioners’ efforts to end the persecution in China.

Two women who saw a banner that exposed forced organ harvesting in China, approached a practitioner and asked, “What’s happening here?” After the practitioner told them the facts about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa in China, one of them commented, “Oh my, the [Chinese] Communist Party is so cruel and this is so scary.”

“Oh my, the CCP is so cruel,” said one woman after listening to a practitioner tell people about the CCP atrocities.

Several school pupils who participated in the Falun Dafa exercises at their school during an introduction event at their school happened to walk around the Engku Putri Park and saw the practitioner activities. They stopped by to watch the event. After learning how Falun Dafa practitioners in China suffer from the brutal persecution, they felt shocked. One of them said, “I’ll pray to God that this persecution will end soon.”