UK: Rally Held on Parliament Square to Commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Persecution

On July 20, 2009, UK Falun Gong practitioners rallied in the square adjacent to the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben to mark the 10th anniversary of the Chinese Communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong. Their activities attracted the attention of UK politicians and the general public.

On this special day, the activities organized by Falun Gong practitioners lasted from 9:00 a.m. to 11:10 p.m. With Big Ben's melodious chimes in the background, people in the square were moved by practitioners' explanations about the truth of the persecution and the fact that only with the disintegration of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will the persecution stop.

Many people passing through the square crossed over to see the truth-clarification exhibition and take pictures. The banners on display read, "Falun Dafa Is Good," "The World Needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," "The Persecution of Falun Gong Is Continuing," "The Persecution of Falun Gong Must Be Stopped," "10 years of Torture and Killing of Falun Gong Must Be Stopped," "Please Help Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong" and "Only with the Disintegration of the CCP Will the Persecution Stop."

While some practitioners in golden uniforms demonstrated the peaceful Falun Gong exercises, others re-enacted the cruel torture perpetrated by the Chinese regime against Chinese practitioners who believe in the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Photos of many of the 3200 Falun Gong practitioners who were persecuted to death, along with the truth-clarification information on display, caught the attention of passersby. Many of them made a point to cross the street to see the displays and get information. Practitioners distributed truth-clarification flyers and solicited signatures for a petition protesting the persecution.

Because the Parliament Square is a popular tourist attraction in the London area, there are many people there throughout the day. From strolling tourists to formally-dressed politicians from around the world, they expressed their support for Falun Gong and their opposition to the persecution. Some of them even asked practitioners to teach them the Falun Gong exercises on the spot.

At noon, a press conference was held in Parliament Square. After Falun Gong practitioner Annie Yang told about her personal experience of being persecuted by the Chinese regime, Mr. Gerard Batten, Member of the European Parliament; Mr. Tom Brake and David Burrowes, UK Members of Parliament; Dr. Xu Yi and Mr. Shao Jiang, representatives of non-governmental organizations and Chinese pro-democracy advocates in the UK, and Dr. Li Guihua, representative of the Global CCP-quitting Alliance, also gave remarks.

Other members of the European Parliament also sent letters to support the event. They unanimously expressed their understanding, support, and appreciation for Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful petition as well as their condemnation of the Chinese regime's atrocity of persecuting Falun Gong and abusing human rights.

Mr. Gerard Batten, Member of the European Parliament:"The Chinese Communist regime is the most atrocious tyranny in history, and it will not last long."

Because one of his constituents is a Falun Gong practitioner, Mr. Gerard Batten, Member of the European Parliament, has known about the persecution of Falun Gong since 2004, and he has read the Epoch Times' editorial series the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party

At the rally, he said, "Why are the Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted in China? The answer is very simple, it's because of what they stand for. Their three core values are Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance. These are the exact opposite of what the Chinese Communist Party stands for, which of course are lies, brutality, and intolerance."

"People are standing up against it and the more that speak out, by example, the more people will follow until you have in China what we've seen across other Communist states when so many people stand up and are opposed to it - that eventually it crumbles and will fall apart. That's what we will see in China."

Mr. David Burrowes, UK Member of Parliament: "The persecution should not exist for another single day."

Mr. David Burrowes, UK Member of Parliament, came to the rally as well. When interviewed, he said, "I come here today to express my support, as I understand that the Chinese regime abuses human rights and commits the crimes of organ-harvesting and persecuting Falun Gong practitioners."

"I stand here to appeal that the persecution must not be continued for another ten years, one month, or even only a single day. We should try our best to ensure that there is no need for Falun Gong practitioners to hold a rally here to oppose being persecuted."

Mr. Xu Yi, Chinese pro-democracy advocate in the UK: "The disintegration of the CCP is the only solution to the persecution of Falun Gong."

Mr. Xu Yi, a Chinese pro-democracy advocate and a member of the Global Quit the CCP Alliance in the UK, also spoke at the rally. When asked his views on the theme of "Only with the disintegration of the CCP can the persecution be stopped," he said, "I fully agree that the disintegration of the CCP is the only solution to the persecution of Falun Gong. As long as the CCP is in power, China will never be at peace, and existing atrocities, such as the persecution of Falun Gong, will continue, while new instances of persecution, like what happened in Tibet and Xinjiang, will be inevitable. The only thing that is unpredictable is that we don't know where new acts of persecution will take place. But we are sure that there will will be, as that is the essence of the CCP."

As dusk descended, practitioners participating in the rally marking the 10th anniversary of the persecution of Falun Gong lit candles to commemorate and pay tribute to over 3200 of their fellow practitioners persecuted to death by the Chinese regime in China. As Big Ben sounded the last chime on July 20, 2009, Falun Gong practitioners' determination to put an end to the persecution was once again reinforced.

David Matas: It's Everyone's Responsibility to Stop the Evil Crimes

On July 11, 2009, the Osaka branch of the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG) held a conference reporting the latest evidence of organ harvesting by the Chinese communist regime. David Matas, a renowned human rights lawyer who has won numerous Canadian and international awards, including the Governor-General's Confederation Medal, cited a large number of cases to call for attention to the "organ pillaging by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)." He pointed out that sufficient data has indicated that this crime is still going on today.

Matas explained in his speech that organ transplant is an important revenue source of the communist regime's medical institutions. In addition, the waiting period is extremely short in China: a matter of days. In other countries, it takes several months or even years. This has indicated that there exists a large population of organ suppliers, who can be killed whenever patients have a need for live organs.

Falun Gong is a Qigong practice that was made public in 1992. In the beginning, the Chinese communist regime actively promoted it. However, in 1999, the regime started to suppress Falun Gong because its principles of Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance contrasted sharply against the CCP's practice of spreading lies and resorting to cruelty and violence. Since then, Falun Gong practitioners that refuse to give up their belief have been arrested. Many have disappeared. Matas said that Falun Gong is not an organization, nor is it a grassroots movement. It has just a few sets of exercises plus spiritual guidelines. Anyone can start practicing the Falun Gong exercises without having to register with anyone or joining any organization. Anyone can quit practicing at will. All information related to practice sites is publicly listed over the Internet. Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, has published books and delivered public speeches. These books and speeches can be found in bookstores as well as over the Internet. He is simply a spiritual leader, not a head of any organization. Because Falun Gong has no organizational structure, the CCP has no way of controlling it. For this same reason, the regime has been especially cruel in its suppression of Falun Gong. The regime has been intimidated by millions upon millions of follower, who try to be honest. What a rogue, corrupt regime fears most is people trying to adhere decency and honesty. If no one takes bribes, how can a corrupt regime operate without being able to offer them? The CCP is not able to hold dialogues with Falun Gong practitioners. It can only resort to violence.

Because of the CCP's implication policy, many practitioners unlawfully arrested have refused to give out their names, addresses or work units so as not to implicate their families. As a result, they have become an easy target of victims of organ pillaging and have disappeared forever.

Matas made it clear in his speech that this act of organ harvesting has violated human moral standards as well as the basic norm of the international transplant community. It is the most serious violation of human rights. As a human rights lawyer, Matas said, "It is my responsibility to tell everyone about it [organ harvesting]. This terrible thing that is taking place in China is a challenge to the conscience of not only people in China but also all the people around the world. Anyone who has learned about it has to stand up to stop it."

During the conference, Ms. Jin Zirong recounted her personal experience of being persecuted by the CCP. She was arrested for giving out Falun Gong leaflets. She was held in a prison for 18 months. While in prison, she was tied to a bed supposed to be only used for restricting inmates on death row. She was force-fed. She also had gone through a blood test for no reason. She said that some Falun Gong practitioners have never returned after taking a blood test.

Ms. Ming Xia, editor-in-chief of the China Monthly magazine in Japan, said that she heard that organs were taken from those who were just executed when she was in China. Associating that practice with what is happening to Falun Gong practitioners today, she felt the CCP has made itself an enemy of all the Chinese people.

Mr. Yamaguchi, a brain-neurology expert, said at the conference that reports in the past few years indicated that Japan is the country with the largest number of organ recipients in the world. There is nothing wrong for us to aspire to have a healthy body. However, no one should be willing to achieve this by killing another person. The CCP's organ pillaging has weighed heavily on him. He believes that Japan shares responsibility on this issue.

Falun Dafa Practitioner Mr. Li Guangwei Has Been Missing for Four Years

Mr. Li Guangwei, who was born in August 1935, is a retired teacher from Songbaixiang Primary School in Jiangxi Province. He was famous for his Chinese calligraphy and painting. At about 9 a.m. on July 25, 2005, he disappeared, and as of today, nobody knows his whereabouts.

At the end of 1998, Mr. Li contracted a serious illness, and he went everywhere to find a cure, but in vain. When his wife heard that Falun Gong has miraculous effects in healing illnesses, she tried to talk him into practicing it. Because he was very sick and couldn't walk, his wife helped him to get to the exercise site. Soon after he started practicing, his physical condition improved, and he could go to the exercise site and join Fa-study in a group by himself.

Soon, on July 20, 1999, the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners began. After police officers found out that he was doing the exercises at home, they ransacked his home, and confiscated his Dafa books and exercise tapes, and also took him away. During the Cultural Revolution, he was badly wounded, and therefore, he was extremely petrified. As a result, he had a relapse of his old illness. After he came home, he was very sad. He bought some ink and paper, and then began to write his cultivation experience sharing report. Practitioners all follow closely the principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance", and try to be good and more noble people at different levels. He put his experience sharing report and truth-clarification materials regarding the lies fabricated by the Chinese media in the mail. He sent them to people who were not clear about the truth and also to his fellow painters. Because of that, he was monitored. He had mentioned to his family that some people were following him when he went out. Therefore, he stopped going out for a while.

On July 25, 2005, when he couldn't stand it anymore, he told his family members that he wanted to take a walk, and would come back shortly. However, four years have passed already, and he has never returned. His wife, daughter, and son went all over to look for him, and also reported his disappearance to their local police office. They have been to many police departments, and even the Mayor's office. However, everyone refused to help them for the simple reason that Mr. Li practices Falun Gong. Moreover, they even threatened his daughter by saying "be sure not to get yourself in trouble."

Now four years have passed and nobody knows whether Mr. Li is still alive or not, how much he has suffered, and his family members are even scared to think about that.

Hereby, we are calling on people with a conscience to safeguard justice, expose the truth to the world, and end this brutal persecution by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) as soon as possible!

Mr. Li Guangwei, had been granted the title of "World Famous Person for Calligraphy and Painting" by the International Artists' Association, World Calligraphy and Painting Association, Belgium World Culture Exchange Centre, China Famous People for the Arts of Calligraphy and Painting Research Institute, and other institutions, 16 in total. His works have been selected for the second part of Volume V in China Contemporary Famous Artists, and a few other grand directories.

Finland: Practitioners Support Quitting the CCP and Protest the Persecution

On July 10 and 11, 2009, Falun Gong practitioners in Finland held an anti-torture photo exhibition in a well-known church and park to expose the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of Falun Gong and to support the 57 million Chinese people that have already quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.

The practitioners put the photos of fellow practitioners who were tortured to death in China along one wall of the church. Tourists from around the world that paused to look were stunned. They could not believe that in today's world, such a brutal persecution is occurring in China.

An older lady paused for a while in front of the posters and looked at each photo and caption carefully. When a practitioner walked towards her, she raised her head and said with tears in her eyes, "It is too horrible!"

A tourist from Taiwan said that he had visited China a few months ago. He knew the true situation in China, that many people are treated unfairly and have no place to seek justice. A practitioner narrated his personal experience of being persecuted in China. The tourist was shocked. The practitioner then explained why it is important to support quitting the CCP: "Falun Gong practitioners have no interest in political power; what they do is just to expose CCP's persecution, stop it, and awaken the conscience of the Chinese people." The Taiwanese tourist was touched and said before leaving, "I have taken many photos. I'll keep them. I support you!"

Many tourists took pictures of the eye-catching banner. A Russian lady asked the meaning of the words "Disintegrate the CCP and Stop the Persecution" on the banner. After she understood it, she stood beside the banner and asked practitioners to take a photo of her with her camera.

Seeing the banner and posters, two ladies came forward to ask what happened. The practitioners explained to them about the persecution in China and told them that the photos were of practitioners who had been tortured to death. They were shocked that such a thing is still happening. The practitioners told them that the purpose of the event was for more people to know about the persecution in China. The two ladies said they supported the event and offered sincere wishes that the persecution would stop as soon as possible.