United States: Practitioners Hold Candlelight Vigil in Front of the Chinese Consulate in New York, Calling for the Chief Perpetrators of the Persecution to be Brought to Justice

On the evening of November 3rd, more than 300 practitioners gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate in midtown Manhattan. Practitioners held a candlelight vigil there,calling for Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Zhou Yongkang and Liu Jing, the chief perpetrators of the persecution, to be brought to justice.

A banner reading "Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Zhou Yongkang and Liu Jing to justice"	A banner details the facts of the persecution	Candlelight vigil in front of the consulate

In the cold wind, practitioners gracefully demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises to music. Some passing vehicles greeted practitioners by blowing a horn. Among the practitioners, there were the old, the young and many from overseas. Some of those present have relatives who are being persecuted in China for practising Falun Gong.

Practitioner Sha Quan said, "We come here to hold this candlelight vigil to send a strong and clear message to Chinese authorities--end the persecution of Falun Gong immediately; meanwhile, we want to tell them that Jiang and his accomplices have committed unpardonable crimes and we are determined to bring them to justice."

"To date, it has been confirmed that more than 1,100 practitioners have been persecuted to death, hundreds of thousands have been brutally tortured and families consequently have been broken while many practitioners have been forced to leave their homes to avoid persecution.... The perpetrators have committed genocide and crime against humanity and they have to be brought to justice before a court of law, before history and before conscience," said Sha.

Zhou Jianfen participated in the vigil with her 2-year-old daughter. After learning about the severe persecution of practitioners from the Internet, her sister Zhou Jianhui, a student who was about to graduate from school, went onto the streets to distribute fliers explaining the truth about Falun Gong. She was caught and then sent to labor camp. Jianfen said, "It is said that my sister was forced to attend brainwashing sessions and to do heavy labor. I am very worried as the Jiang regime is so vicious and it has employed all kinds of brutal and inhuman measures against practitioners. Reportedly, several practitioners have been persecuted to death in that labour camp."

Canadian practitioner Xiao Jin also participated in the vigil. His mother, Ms Li Guanzhen, who was arrested twice for her belief in Falun Gong, was released due to pressure from the Canadian government and from the international community. Mr Xiao said that in the past the Chinese authorities have strategically ended persecutions such as the Cultural Revolution by punishing some scapegoats. We won't allow it to happen again this time, we are determined to bring Jiang and his accomplices to justice.

Gracy Borges, whose office is close to the Chinese Consulate, was waiting for a bus. She said that she had seen practitioners conducting peaceful appeals here for 5 years and she admired practitioners' steadfast spirit. She said, "Rain or shine I saw practitioners sitting here quietly. I think that the Chinese communist government has no reason to not allow people to practise Falun Gong. People have the freedom of belief."