(Clearwisdom.net) Clearwisdom correspondent Li Hua reports from Vancouver: On this grand occasion when Dafa practitioners throughout the world celebrate the Twelfth Anniversary of Falun Dafa's introduction in China and Teacher's birthday, Vancouver practitioners greeted another special day: the 1000-day, round-the-clock peaceful appeal in front of the Chinese Consulate.
Falun Gong practitioners in Vancouver began the peaceful appeal around the clock in front of the Chinese Consulate on August 20, 2001. At that time, two incidents of severe persecution of Falun Gong practitioners had occurred in China: one was that several practitioners were tortured to death in the Wanjia Labor Camp in Heilongjiang Province in a severe round of persecution against Falun Gong practitioners. The other incident involved about 100 practitioners who were conducting a hunger strike to protest the brutal persecution, and their lives were in critical condition. Upon hearing the news, overseas Falun Gong practitioners came to the Chinese Embassies and Consulates in their respective countries to request a stop to the persecution. Vancouver practitioners joined the global peaceful appeal and after 300-hour relay hunger strike appeal, they decided to continue their peaceful appeal in front of the Chinese Consulate.
May 15 year marks 1000 days of this peaceful, round-the-clock appeal.
These past 1000 days and nights have borne witness to the Dafa practitioners' courage, strong will and perseverance in upholding their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and in exposing Jiang's group's injustice and the wrong imposed upon Falun Gong practitioners. The Vancouver practitioners have persevered for the sake of saving sentient beings whose minds have been poisoned, to stop the persecution, and to help fellow practitioners in China.
A Large Array of Blue Display Boards and a Small Blue Shelter
In front of the Chinese Consulate in Vancouver, there are two new and eye-catching tourist spots; one is the small blue shelter set up by Falun Gong practitioners to do the sitting meditation, and the other is a long array of eye-catching blue display boards. The bright yellow words on the display boards tell people passing by of the wonderfulness of Falun Dafa and that Dafa has been spread worldwide to more than 60 countries. They tell people that Dafa practitioners are suffering brutal persecution, and call for a concerted effort to stop the persecution. The display boards inform people about the several lawsuits that have been filed against Jiang and his accomplices in several countries. A huge wreath and photos of the practitioners who have died as a result of the persecution remind people that the brutality is still going on.
During the 2003 Fa conference, many practitioners from other countries held a candlelight vigil in front of the Chinese Consulate. One American practitioner said, "I'm amazed at seeing so many display boards here. It's remarkable."
The display boards not only frighten the evil but also suffocate the evil. The display boards and the small blue shelter were set up by Vancouver practitioners in the process of exposing the evil. Over the past three years, the Chinese Consulate has used all means they could think of, including complaining to the city government and police departments, to deter the practitioners from their peaceful appeal. Their tactics have involved trying to make the city engineers force practitioners to remove the display boards and the shelter with the excuse of needing to do construction in that spot; they have instigated some people to damage the display boards at midnight, and they have even made trouble to try to frame Falun Gong practitioners. In the face of such harassment, the practitioners have strengthened their righteous thoughts, and by patiently clarifying the truth and exposing the evil, they have won the understanding and support from the city government and police departments.
The contents of the display boards are changed regularly, constantly delivering updated news about Falun Dafa to the public. The small blue shelter has firmly stood in front of the Chinese Consulate. Every weekday there will always be one practitioner sitting in the shelter, and all practitioners in Vancouver come to send forth righteous thoughts together on Saturdays.
Many People Learn about Falun Gong and the Persecution of Falun Gong in China
Gulanhu Street where the Chinese Consulate is located, is a thoroughfare in Vancouver where traffic flows unceasingly, like a flowing river. During these past 1000 days and nights, countless people have passed by and learned about Falun Dafa and the persecution, and in turn they have brought the truth to more and more people. The practitioners have gradually won people's recognition and understanding.
Many people have showed their support in different ways. One night, after 10:00 p.m., a Chinese person got out of his car while driving by, holding a pot of light yellow flowers. He said to the practitioner, "I'm just off work, and this pot of flowers is perfect to place in front of the portrait of the deceased friends, to express my respect." He said that when drove by on his way to and from work, he often stopped and sat with the practitioners for a while. He had learned a lot about Falun Gong and was moved by the practitioners' great compassion and courage. He hoped the persecution would be ended soon, and he believed that the truth would soon be revealed to the world.
Many tourist buses pass by this location, and the tour guides tell the tourists, "This is Falun Gong, they are here to appeal to China to stop the persecution." Some tour guides told practitioners that their place has become a tourist spot.
The Peaceful Appeal is to Validate Dafa and it is Also Cultivation
It is not easy to have been present in front of the Consulate for so long a time, and there are also many tests for us. As many practitioners have a lot of other projects to attend to, there are not always enough practitioners to do truth clarification in front of the Chinese Consulate.
Some young practitioners go to work during the daytime, and come to the small blue shelter during the night. Whether elderly people in their 70's, or mothers with their little babies at home, whether Chinese practitioners or Western practitioners, they all bear a share of the responsibility.
Be it the hot sun in summer or the cold wind and snow in winter, none of these difficulties can block Dafa practitioners. The surveillance equipment hung outside the Chinese Consulate once made Dafa practitioners' families worry for the safety of their practitioner family members. At first, their family members did not support them in their appeal, the ordinary people did not understanding them, and all this tested the Dafa practitioners. Through clarifying the truth, however, the practitioners won their families' support, and also helped their neighbors, friends and landlords learn about the truth of Falun Gong.
1000 Days Do Not Mark the End of the Appeal
The five-year persecution is still going on. According to incomplete statistics, since July 20, 1999, 958 Falun Gong practitioners were verified to have died as a result of the persecution. However, according to official internal statistics released at the end of October 2001, the death toll among the detained Falun Gong practitioners had reached 1600. At least 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been illegally sentenced to prison, more than 100 thousand have been illegally sent to labor camps, thousands of practitioners have been forced into mental hospitals to be tortured with drugs that damage their central nervous system. A great number of practitioners have been abducted and sent to different "brainwashing classes" to suffer torture and abuse; more practitioners were beaten and had large sums of money extorted by lawless officers.
Vancouver practitioners will keep going on, and for every day that the persecution continues, the appeal will not end. Evil cannot suppress the righteous. In the near future, history will let people see the true nature of the evil. Jiang and his accomplices, the perpetrators of the brutal persecution, will definitely be served with justice.
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