Hong Kong: People from all Walks of Life Support Falun Gong

On December 12th, World Human Rights Day, Falun Gong practitioners from Hong Kong held a grand parade and rally to protest the persecution. People from all walks of life gave their support. Several spoke at the rally, condemning the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and calling for an end to the persecution.

The rally

The parade

The parade

The rally was held at noon in Fengshujie Park. The Divine Land Marching Band, made up of Falun Gong practitioners, performed first. Mr. Jian Hongchang, a spokesman for the Falun Dafa Association in Hong Kong, briefly reviewed the history of practitioners' peaceful resistance against the persecution. He said, "Practitioners have been clarifying the truth to the public and giving people opportunities to choose what is right. Such peaceful resistance will prevail."

Cai Yaochang, Vice President of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, said in his speech that the CCP dictatorship cannot last long, nor will the persecution of belief. He encouraged people to keep on fighting for truth and their beliefs.

Mr. He Junren, the chair of the Hong Kong Democrat Party and Hong Kong council member, sent a recorded speech to the rally, in which he emphasised that we cannot give in to the CCP. He said, "We need to resist all kinds of CCP human rights violations. As long as the country is governed by tyrants, we will fight."

Zeng Aihua, a local Falun Gong practitioner, told of her own experience being persecuted in China in 2006. She was jailed for three years, but she still tried to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to the police and judges.

Several members of the Hong Kong Democrat Party spoke at the rally. Chen Shuying, a member of the central committee of the party and a council member from the Tunmen District, said, "I fully support Falun Gong from bottom of my heart. Such a righteous group should not be persecuted." She called upon the public to stand together against the dictators.

Lin Zijian, a member of the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG) and a member of the central committee of the party, mentioned how communism has ruined traditional Chinese culture. He also pointed out that the CCP is afraid of its own people, because it knows that it will crash and burn in the near future.

Lin Yongran, a member of CIPFG and a member of the Democrat Party, said that the CCP has never changed its evil nature. He called upon the public not to be deceived by the CCP.

Zhou Weidong, a key member of the Democrat Party, said that more than 85 million Chinese people have quit the CCP. He called upon more Chinese to join them. "We should do it, if we love our country, its people, and the culture," he said.

Chu Wenchi, a human rights lawyer, sent a recorded speech to the rally. She told the attendees that three days before, the Taiwan Legislative Council passed an interim resolution. The resolution stated, "When any Chinese officials or Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials apply for entry, the Judicial Department of the Mainland Committee and Immigration Bureau should conduct a detailed check to see if they are involved in human rights violations. If such violations are found, the officials should be listed as unwelcome and not given permission to enter."

Mr. Feng Chihuo, a former council member, said in a recorded speech that he was happy to hear about the resolution passed by the Taiwan Legislature. He said that the CCP leaders should know that they will be punished for violating human rights, and they will be held responsible for their wrongdoings.

Several other council members who could not attend the rally in person also sent their recorded speech, including Liang Guohsiung, Li Zhuoren, and Liu Huiqing. They expressed their concerns about the humans right situation in China and their support for Falun Gong.

Professor Sun Wenguang, a famous human rights activist in Shandong, China, was the only speaker able to send a recorded speech from mainland China. He praised Falun Gong practitioners for bringing freedom to Chinese people. "Falun Gong practitioners developed many tools to break through the CCP Internet blockade. This has helped many people to access the truth through the Internet."

Many Chinese tourists saw the parade and rally. Some of them even joined the rally. Mr. Han from Liaoning Province said, "I've been persecuted by the CCP, too. I am very happy that I can join the rally today. You could not do it in China. I hope the CCP will collapse soon." Mr. Han said that he had already quit the Party.

The parade started at 2:30, after the rally. The Divine Land Marching Band drew the attention of many local citizens and Chinese tourists. They took photos and videos of the parade and said that they could not see this in China. One Chinese lady said, "I've never seen anything like this before. I am videotaping the parade and will play it for my friends in China. Human rights are very important. I support these activities."

The parade lasted two hours.