On June 5, 2003, to support bringing Jiang to justice, to support Charles Li and Dafa practitioners being persecuted in China, and to expose the brutal persecution of Falun Gong in China, Houston Dafa practitioners continued sitting-in and sending forth righteous thoughts in front of the Chinese Consulate, and Dafa practitioner Qiaoyu continued to hunger strike for the second day.
Every day several banners were prominently displayed in front of the Chinese Consulate. People came to ask for more information and request truth-clarifying literature one after another, including those who came to the consulate for business. They could clearly see the banners, "Sue Jiang for Genocide," "Release Charles Li Immediately," and "China, Stop Persecuting Falun Gong." In contrast, the Chinese Consulate is frightened at the peaceful appeal of Dafa practitioners. At noon, a staff member walked out of the consulate, unreasonably demanded the Dafa practitioners to move to the other side of the street and were refused. He then called police. Police officers refused consulate's request as they were familiar with the peaceful nature of the practitioners.
During this time, a thunderstorm came to the area. The Dafa practitioners continued sending forth righteous thoughts in front of the consulate. Several media such as ABC TV station and Houston 40.1 radio station came to cover the event. They were touched after learning the reason of the hunger strike. They were informed of the crimes of Jiang in persecuting Falun Gong, including practitioners in the United States and worldwide.
At 7 pm on June 5th 2003, Atlanta Falun Gong practitioners rallied in Olympic Park, calling upon people from all walks of life to work together to stop the persecution of Falun Gong, end the Chinese government's illegal imprisonment of American citizen Charles Li, and to bring Jiang to justice.
Supporting the Lawsuit: "Can I Do Something More to Help?"
An American couple and their children were visiting the park. After they heard that American citizen Charles Li was illegally detained in China, thousands of practitioners in China were being persecuted, and Jiang was sued in an American Court, the gentleman asked the practitioner who was collecting signatures, "Do you only collect signatures?" The practitioner told him that he could call and write to the U.S. government. The gentleman asked again, "Anything else? Can I do something more to help?" In the end he said, "I want to donate some money to support you." The practitioner thanked for his kindness and told him that Falun Gong doesn't accept donations.
From the Heart of a Deaf-Mute Woman: "Stop Suppressing Human Rights, Release Charles Li Immediately"
Many passersby came to ask for details, request truth-clarifying materials and sign their names on an appeal letter asking the U.S. government to pressure China to release Charles Li immediately. A practitioner gave a flyer to a woman and told her that Charles Li was force-fed and beaten while on hunger strike. The woman turned to her daughter, who was communicating with her via sign language. The lady carefully looked at her daughter's gestures and nodded head from time to time. In the end, she took out a pen and wrote down her name "Sharon" on the petition letter.
The Desire of the Entire Family, "Rescue Zhou Xuefei and All of the Practitioners Being Persecuted"
A family walked by and stopped to listen to the story of Atlanta resident Lu Chaohui's family. They were shocked by the cruel torture and persecution carried out against Mr. Lu's wife, Zhou Xuefei. The whole family signed their names on the appeal letter to express their desire, "Rescue Zhou Xuefei and All of the Practitioners Being Persecuted."
A practitioner gave a flyer to a man waiting for the traffic light and asked him for his support. He shook his head and said that he was from Germany. The practitioner told him that this was not just a matter between the United States and China. Many countries have Falun Gong practitioners who have experienced persecution in many different ways. The signature was to support justice, something that transcends national boundaries. He seemed to suddenly understand and said, "Yes, yes". He then signed his name.
Another man listened to the introduction and asked some pointed questions to a practitioner. He couldn't understand that Charles Li would go back to China when he knew he would be arrested. The practitioner told him that millions of practitioners had benefited from practising Falun Gong in both mind and body, but China cruelly persecuted Falun Gong after July 1999. Thousands of them just want to tell the people the facts, to help them because they have been deceived by the government propaganda. After listening intently, the person gladly signed his name.
NTD TV and the Epoch Times Newspaper conducted interviews and gave reports from the activity site. The CBS TV station used the NTD TV Station footage in their report.
On June 7, 2003, nearly 200 Falun Gong practitioners from the Bay Area held a rally and parade in San Francisco to support the lawsuit against Jiang, and to urgently rescue American citizen and Falun Gong practitioner Charles Li, who is being imprisoned and abused in China. The practitioners also raised awareness about the persecution going on in China.
At 9:00 a.m., the practitioners came to the square in front of San Francisco City Hall to join the global sending righteous thoughts, and then held group practise on the lawn. After the exercises, the practitioners held a rally at the nearby Union Square. Western practitioner Brad and Charles Li's fianc騦e Ms. Yeong-ching Foo listed all kinds of severe persecution directed by Jiang during the past four years. They also presented information about Charles Li, who was arrested upon arriving at the airport on his trip back to China to visit his parents in January, and then illegally sentenced to three years of imprisonment and force-fed while on a recent hunger strike. They called upon people to extend a helping hand to put an end to this persecution.
At 1:00 p.m., the parade started from Union Square, passing through downtown and finally reaching "Garden Corner" in Chinatown. The Chinese people, especially those residing in Chinatown, have been deeply influenced by the Chinese government's slanderous propaganda, and it is urgent to let them learn about the truth.
San Francisco Falun Gong Spokesperson Zeng Yong said to the overseas Chinese at the Garden Corner Square in Chinatown, "It's been almost four years since the Chinese government began the persecution of Falun Gong. The practitioners have been persistently coming here in the past few years to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to people in San Francisco and everywhere else in a peaceful, compassionate and rational manner. Because a handful of people in the Chinese government manipulated China's state media and organisations stationed abroad to concoct lies and spread slanderous propaganda, many overseas Chinese have misunderstood us, and even been hostile to us. However, we do not seek any self-interest, and we spend our own time driving from Bay Area or even far away places, only to reiterate our sincerity and tell you about Falun Gong's innocence. We hope everybody can distinguish between right and wrong and not be deceived by lies. We believe that we will ultimately be understood and everyone will learn about the truth in the end."
Mr. Zeng also said, "Today we are here to inform everyone about the lawsuit against Jiang and the 610 Office,' and the truth about Falun Gong. We hope that everyone has a beacon of light in your heart that can discern right from wrong, and can see the truth through dense haze. It is very important for every one of us and for our countries. After enduring the persecution that has lasted for four years, the truth of Falun Gong is right in front of your eyes."
San Francisco resident and Falun Gong practitioners Hu Zhihua and Lu Zhonghua related the ordeal of their family members in China who were arrested, tortured and illegally sentenced to prison. They called upon people to follow their conscience to help stop the persecution.
That day, various truth-clarifying banners and display boards were placed on the Garden Corner Square. A stream of people asked for and received truth-clarifying information and materials. The banners, reading, "Suing Jiang for Genocide," "Immediately release Charles Li," and "Stop Jiang from murdering Falun Gong practitioners" were prominently displayed.
We called upon people with a sense of justice around the world to join together to bring Jiang, the mastermind of the brutal persecution, to justice, and to secure the immediate release of Charles Li and put an end to this unprecedented persecution.
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