On July 20, 2000, Falun Dafa practitioners went to the Chinese Consulate in Chicago to petition for Falun Dafa. They practiced the exercises in front of the consulate and distributed Falun Dafa materials to the public. Reporters from both Chinese and English media interviewed the practitioners. People were shocked when they saw the photos showing the persecution against Falun Dafa practitioners in China and expressed their concerns. Around 10:30am, three practitioners accompanied by two reporters went into the Consulate and delivered a petition letter. This described numerous inhumane treatments towards Falun Gong practitioners in China during the past year, and expressed deep concerns of practitioners in US about the situation in China.
The letter mentioned that hundreds of thousands of Falun Dafa practitioners had risked their lives by going out to do the exercises on streets, in parks, in front of Government offices and on Tiananmen Square. They did this to show the Chinese Government and the public that Falun Dafa is good. Everything the practitioners did was open, and they were determined to remain open and be good people. It asked the government to think about why these people had been doing this and if suppression could solve the problem. It quoted what an enlightened person said long time ago, "When one knows the truth and the real meaning of life, one will not be afraid to sacrifice one's life for its cause."
The letter also stated that since its first public introduction eight years ago, Falun Dafa quickly spread around the world. It has over 100 million practitioners worldwide and countless people have benefited from the practice. In contrast, in its birthplace -- China, Falun Gong has received such an unjustified treatment, which is a shame in Chinese history. In the letter, it also said, "We [practitioners in Chicago] love our country, and that is why we are here today to express our opinion peacefully to the Government. We hope that the Chinese leaders will realize that this large-scale atrocity against Falun Gong practitioners has caused deterioration of the human conscience among the Chinese police and government officers. Moreover, it has severely damaged the image of this country with a long history of civilization."
In the letter, the practitioners appealed to the Chinese Government once again to respect the Chinese constitution, stop the suppression against Falun Dafa practitioners, release all practitioners under custody, cancel the arrest order for Mr. Li Hongzhi, restore the innocent name of Falun Dafa, and solve the crisis through a peaceful dialogue. Finally, the practitioners asked the Consulate to forward these requests to the Chinese leaders.
The petition ended at 5:00pm.
Reported by Falun Dafa practitioners in Chicago on July 20, 2000