Toronto: Falun Gong Practitioners Hold Rally before July 20 to Expose the Persecution (Photos)

By a practitioner from Toronto

(Clearwisdom.net) On July 16, 2005, the weather was exceptionally hot in Toronto. Around noon, several hundred Falun Gong practitioners and supporters held a grand rally in front of Queens Park, the centre of Ontario's provincial government. The rally sponsor, representatives of the Toronto Falun Dafa Association, Falun Gong supporters and several practitioners who had been imprisoned in China delivered speeches. After the rally, practitioners held a parade.

Mr. Steve Ang, President of the Chinese Community Centre of the Greater Toronto Area, and a representative of the local East Asian community addressed the rally to condemn the Chinese communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong. They also joined the parade. Several media outlets including CTV, CBC, New Times TV, NTDTV covered the event.

On June 10, 1999, Jiang Zemin established the national terrorist organization, the 610 Office, which overrides the Chinese Constitution and law to systematically suppress Falun Gong practitioners who follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. The genocidal policies they have implemented to oppress Falun Gong include, "Ruin their reputation, bankrupt them financially, and physically eliminate them;" "Falun Gong practitioners beaten to death are counted as committing suicide," and "Falun Gong practitioners tortured to death are to be directly cremated without identifying the body."

Mr. Zhang Zhaojin, representative of the Toronto Falun Dafa Association addressing the rally

Mr. Zhang Zhaojin, representing the Toronto Falun Dafa Association said in his speech, "Through Falun Gong practitioners' persistent effort to clarify the truth over the past six years, Canadian government officials and citizens have become more and more supportive of Falun Dafa. After practitioner Mr. He Lizhi was released from prison in China, his immigration documents had expired. Later, it was because of the support and help from the Canadian government officials from different levels that finally allowed him to reunite with his wife in Toronto. However, the Chinese communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong is still going on. At present, 2,685 Falun Gong practitioners are verified to have died from the persecution."

Mr. He Lizhi, former senior engineer from China's construction ministry, who had been imprisoned for three years because of his practice of Falun Gong, and Architect Li Xin who just came from Beijing to Canada several months ago, also spoke at the rally. They exposed the Chinese communist party's (CCP) persecution with their personal experiences.

Ms. Li Xin had been imprisoned in the Beijing Women's Labor Camp for one year and six months, where she was tortured so badly that she became disabled. Currently, she still needs steel inserts to support her vertebra. This was the first time that she attended a rally commemorating July 20, 1999, the date that the persecution officially began. She said that on July 20 in China, many practitioners were abducted from their homes or placed under various kinds of surveillance. Here in Canada, she said, we are able to freely parade and express our wishes. The contrast is so striking.

Today in Canada, the facts of the persecution of Falun Gong are well known. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police listed 15 high-ranking Chinese officials, including former president Jiang Zemin, who have participated in the persecution of Falun Gong, as persons not welcome in Canada. If they attempt to enter Canada, a prompt investigation will take place. Recently, when the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board in Toronto handled defector Mr. Han Guangsheng's application for asylum, they clearly took into consideration the fact that China's judiciary takes part in the inhuman suppression of Falun Gong. Mr. Han is the former Judicial Bureau Chief of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province, China.

Dafa practitioner Ms. Yan, who persistently clarifies the truth in the local community, said that more and more people are willing to accept truth-clarifying materials. One time when she was distributing Falun Gong flyers in a public place, a Chinese person walked back and forth four times in front of her and finally came over to take the materials and whispered to her, "Thank you! You've worked so hard!"

The parade after the rally included several processions with different themes: Falun Dafa is Great and Falun Dafa in Canada, a Falun Gong exercise demonstration, a troupe of female practitioners dressed in white carrying photos of fellow practitioners who died from persecution, a Falun Gong Orphan Rescue troupe composed of Minghui school students, and anti-torture exhibitions. Different from previous parades, was the addition of friends and supporters of Falun Gong, which helped create a memorable and extremely eye-catching ensemble.

Orphan Rescue procession formed by Minghui school students

Women practitioners dressed in white to mourn fellow practitioners who died in the persecution

Float with anti-torture exhibition passes through the streets

Practitioners march through Chinatown

Ms. Jin Man, who demonstrated the torture method, tiger bench had personally suffered the persecution when she was in China. She said, "Because the Chinese communist regime is now using more hidden ways to suppress Falun Gong, many people don't believe the authenticity of the persecution even if they have a chance to learn the facts. I have personally suffered from this method of torture when I was in China. I'm willing to use this very visual way to tell people that all of these tortures are real."

Mr. Ji Jinyu, a Christian, said that he previously listened to the Chinese communist regime's slanderous propaganda and did not understand Falun Gong. Later, he read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and witnessed the great tide of withdrawals from the CCP. He said, "The Nine Commentaries allow me to completely see through the evil nature of the CCP. I also communicated with some Falun Gong friends and found that they really behave in accordance of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance and pursue lofty virtues. In today's China, under the CCP's brainwashing, people are driven by material interests, and the moral standard has rapidly declined. I've seen the hope of China in Falun Gong practitioners."

 Yearly Archive   Printer Version