[Clearwisdom.net] Over 50 Dafa practitioners from New York and New Jersey held a press conference at the Chinese consulate in New York City despite harsh weather conditions. The press conference marked the beginning of a 3-Day vigil in front of the Chinese consulate. This activity was instigated by reports of 20 deaths in the last 22 days of Falun Gong practitioners who died due to torture and mistreatment while in police custody in China.

It was raining all morning; however, 20 minutes prior the start of the conference, it stopped raining and the clouds began to break apart slightly. A western practitioner opened the press conference by welcoming the media who had come and talking about the fact that in cities all around the world, practitioners and supporters of Falun Gong were gathering to expose the violence and killings unfolding in China against Falun Gong practitioners. He also talked about how the entire world is condemning Jiang Zemin's regime on the Falun Gong issue and even the legal establishment in the U.S. and other countries is beginning to play a role, handing down decisions against those who take part in the persecution.

Practitioners Deliver Press Statements

A Chinese practitioner then stood up and read a prepared statement so that the media, on-lookers and those working at the consulate across the street could clearly hear her words.

Then, a western practitioner stood up at the microphone and talked about his personal experience in Falun Gong, the inherent injustice of the persecution, the righteousness of the disciples in China who resist the evil's arrangement with truthfulness, compassion and forbearance, and finally, how the world's governments, legal institutions and everyday citizens are standing up against the persecution. A Chinese practitioner translated so that those in the Chinese consulate and those coming in and out of the Chinese consulate could understand.

Practitioners Send Forth Righteous Thoughts

In the middle of the speech, it began to rain heavily. Practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts, and by the time the speech was ending, the rain had stopped once again.

The 3-Day Worldwide Vigils are being held in over 30 cities around the world, including New York, Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Ottawa, London, Paris, Geneva, Stockholm, Taipei, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.