At noon on July 11th, Falun Gong practitioners from the greater Washington DC area rallied outside the Chinese Embassy to protest the Chinese Communist regime for rampantly arresting and persecuting practitioners in China in the name of the Olympics and extending the persecution to the US. A Chinese visiting scholar passed by the rally site and took many photos, saying that it was the first time she had seen a Falun Gong rally outside of China.
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| A representative for the practitioners reads a statement outside the Chinese Embassy |
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| Washington DC practitioners rally outside the Chinese Embassy demanding immediate end to the persecution |
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| Washington DC practitioners rally outside the Chinese Embassy demanding immediate end to the persecution |
According to organiser Ms. Ge, it has been reported recently that many practitioners in Hebei, Liaoning, Hunan, Sichuan, Hubei, Heilongjiang and Jilin have been arrested and some have been killed in the intensified persecution.
At the rally, Ms. Ge exposed several persecution cases reported on the Falun Gong website in the last three days:
- Li Zhengling, 42, lost his eyesight because of severe persecution while detained in Deyang Prison in Sichuan Province and could not take care of himself. On June 24th, he died in the Shuangliu Police Hospital in Chengdu.
- Di Jinzhu from Bailou Village, Xianyu Township, Dingxing County in Heibi Province was arrested a number of times and subjected to severe torture as he refused to denounce Falun Gong. On July 5th, Di died in Liyu Village Brainwashing Centre. He was only in his 40s.
- On the evening of July 3rd, Chen Yumei, a practitioner in Liaoning Province, was beaten to the ground by policemen from the Chang'an Station, Shenyang near her home. Ms. Chen lost consciousness and died in the evening on July 4th. She was only 48.
- On March 18th, around 8 a.m., Sun Pinghua, was abducted by Yueyanglou District police. Sun was subjected to torture and consequently disabled.
- On July 2nd, under the direction of the party secretary of the Yingcheng City Police Department, more than 30 police officers assaulted the Dongmafang development to arrest residents who practice Falun Gong.
According to Falun Gong websites, Ms. Ge said, it has been confirmed that at least 3164 practitioners have died due to the brutal persecution since it was started on July 20th, 1999 by the then Chinese president Jiang Zemin.
Local resident Ms. Tao said that the persecution has last nearly 9 years and the Chinese Communist regime now is escalating it in the name of the Olympics. "This shall not be tolerated," said Tao, "The Chinese Communist regime not only persecutes our practitioners in China, it is also exporting its activities to the US. Most recently, the Chinese Consulate in New York instigated Chinese Immigrants in Flushing, New York to attack us. Its involvement in these hate crimes was soon exposed and many mobsters who attacked the practitioners have been arrested. We urge the US government, organisations and all kind-hearted people to help us end this 9-year persecution."
A Chinese visiting scholar passed by the rally site and took many photos. She said that she just came to the US from Mainland China. "Several years ago, I often saw practitioners from different provinces coming to Tiananmen Square to display banners and shout 'Falun Dafa is Good.' Today, this is my first time to see a Falun Gong rally outside of China. I have many friends and colleagues who practice Falun Gong and they are still practicing.
Upon hearing her story, practitioner Ms. Zhao said: "Many Chinese people are waiting to hear the truth of Falun Gong." Ever since the persecution started, Ms. Zhao has been distributing truth-clarifying materials at tourist sites in Washington DC.
"Nowadays, many Chinese people take the initiative to acquire materials form us. People are changing and they want to side with the good," Zhao said.
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