United States: Falun Gong Practitioners Hold Large Scale March in Washington DC

Starting at noon of July 21, more than three thousand Falun Gong practitioners representing more than 60 countries all over the world participated in a large scale march in Washington DC. They asked for the main culprit of the persecution against Falun Gong and the former Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin to be tried in court. The practitioners also wanted to raise the awareness of the persecution against Falun Gong in China in the minds of the world's kind-hearted people, so that this trampling of human rights that is based on lies can be stopped together. The march started at the Washington Monument and proceeded down Pennsylvania Avenue toward Capitol Hill. The march covered 2.2 miles and lasted approximately two hours.

As reported by the Chinese-language news website Epoch-Times, at 11:30 a.m. on July 21, the procession began its march onto Pennsylvania Avenue with police cars leading the way. Three giant banners led the way: "Stop the Trampling of Human Rights, Try Dictator Jiang Zemin in a Court of Law", "The World Needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance", "Jiang Zemin Cannot Escape Responsibility for Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity." Following the banners were more than one hundred practitioners wearing white. They carried photos of some of the practitioners who have died as a result of the persecution in China. They walked along the route, silently showing one aspect of the cruel persecution being endured by the Falun Gong practitioners in China. The rest of the practitioners from different regions, nationalities and ethnicities held various banners and pictures. They did not chant slogans or make loud noises, peacefully showing the world their determination and the strength that comes from the Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful nature.

Four Years of Persecution a Complete Failure

Ms. Min Ge, one of the march's organisers, said that every year practitioners from all over the world gather in Washington DC on July 20. Their goal is to call for people to safeguard justice and conscience, and support the Falun Gong practitioners who are being abused in China. Each year more and more practitioners have made the trip. This year more than 5000 practitioners representing more than 60 countries made the trip to Washington DC, the biggest turnout yet.

Ms. Ge expressed that this large turnout representing so many countries shows that Falun Gong is receiving the support of more and more governments and people around the world. The Jiang regime's persecution of Falun Gong outside of China has been a complete failure, and becoming more and more unpopular in China.

Well-known author Mr. Zheng Yi expressed that Falun Gong has persisted until today in spite of the four years of cruel persecution because of the courage to uphold and speak the truth. He said that it would be very difficult for any group in history to come this far in history, but Falun Gong has done it and become stronger in the process. Their courage and spirit is an inspiration to the rest of the world.

Falun Gong Welcomed by the World's People

Dutch practitioner Peter Houben recalled his experiences in the cultivation of Falun Gong. He said that it was because of the persecution that led him to find out about Falun Gong. At the time he was curious and found the Falun Gong books available online. After reading the books, he discovered that it was nothing like the Chinese government's propaganda, and in fact the books answered many questions in his mind that he could not resolve for many years. That is how he first began to practise Falun Gong.

The Korean practitioners wore their traditional dress and were particularly eye-catching. Practitioners Quan Hongda, Zhang Shu, and Chen Yingji said that more than 50 practitioners from Korea came to Washington DC, and it was the first trip to the United States for many of them.