(Clearwisdom.net) As the July 20 anniversary approached, a violent typhoon hit Taiwan. On July 17, northern Taiwan Falun Gong practitioners gathered as scheduled at the February 28 Memorial Peace Park in Taipei to hold an event with the theme, "The Light of Life Illuminates Heaven and Earth Forever," to commemorate the 2,691 Falun Gong practitioners who died for upholding the truth. From time to time, heavy rain poured down as if heaven and earth were expressing sorrow together.
On July 20, 1999, former president Jiang Zemin and his faction launched the cruel suppression of Falun Gong. Since then, although the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has exhausted all possible means to block the information and conceal the persecution, at present, more than 2,600 Falun Gong practitioners are verified to have died from the persecution. They left behind 225 orphans who need immediate rescue. Some of these orphans have been forced to flee their hometowns and have become destitute. Some have suffered from the pain of fear, and loss of an opportunity to obtain an education.
Therefore, the Taiwan Falun Dafa Association and Global Mission to Rescue the Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners (GMRPFGP) jointly conducted a press conference with the theme, "Rescue Children Orphaned in the Persecution of Falun Gong." By means of the press conference, these associations are calling on the United Nations Children Fund and Commission on Human Rights to condemn and help stop the CCP's persecution. Practitioners also demanded that the Chinese communist regime unconditionally allow these children to leave China. The two organizations lodged a global signature drive for the rescue of the orphans. A number of media outlets, including Central News Agency, China Times, Liberty Times, China Daily, FTV, and English China Post conducted on-location interviews.
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The Taiwan Falun Dafa Association held a press conference on July 17 at the February 28 Memorial Peace Park to call on the Chinese communist regime to release the 255 children orphaned in the persecution of Falun Gong. A practitioner who was able to leave the Mainland, Mr. Huang Guohua and his daughter Huang Ying, related the persecution they experienced in China.
Director of the Graduate Institute of Journalism at National Taiwan University, Professor Flora Chang pointed out during the 72 months from July 1999 to July 2005, 58.84% (1,467) of the practitioners who have died from the persecution are women, and 41.01% (1,097) are men. Because of the information blockade, the gender of 4.15% (111) cannot be verified. On average, 37 Falun Gong practitioners are persecuted to death every month. Their average age is about 54 years old. The majority of the practitioners are women who died leaving their underage children orphaned. Many are elderly practitioners. Under the Chinese communist regime's rule of terror, those orphaned children have become homeless and destitute. They have not only lost their family members, but also their opportunity to receive a normal education. They are forced to flee their homes and live in extreme fear for their relatives. These children need immediate help from people of all walks of life.
  Professor Flora Chang displays an appeal letter signed by legislator Wang Shu-hui, calling upon the Chinese communist regime to release Falun Gong practitioners' orphans. |
  Mr. Wu Hui-lin signs the appeal letter calling upon the Chinese communist regime to release the orphans of persecuted Falun Gong practitioners. |
Four-year-old Huang Ying (nickname, Kaixin) and her father Mr. Huang Guohua attended the press conference. When Mr. Huang recounted the persecution his family encountered, little Kaixin innocently played around her father. The audience could not help feeling sad. How many children are there in Mainland China who lost their mothers just like Kaixin?
Mr. Huang Guohua and his innocent young daughter Kaixin speak at the press conference.
Kaixin's mother, Ms. Luo Zhixiang, was an architect in Guangdong Province before she died. On November 22, 2002, she was abducted by 610 Office secret agents from Tianhe District, Guangzhou City. She was then locked in the Huangpu Drug Rehabilitation Center, where she was subjected to brutal brainwashing. Ms. Luo went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution, but was tortured through cruel force-feeding. As a result, her health was endangered and she was sent to Tianhe Hospital. Luo Zhixiang passed away on December 4. She was only 29 years old, and she was three months pregnant. In order to escape their responsibility for Ms. Luo's death, the Chinese communist regime lied, saying that she committed suicide.
Kaixin was only one year and six months old at the time of her mother's death. She was unusually sensitive about other people's feelings. She never disclosed the news about her mother's death to her grandmother who was not in good health. When her grandmother asked her, "Where did your mother go?" Kaixin said, "She works in Guangzhou." The entire family tried hard not to let Kaixin's grandmother know about her daughter's death, because they were afraid that she would not be able to bear the sad news. Whenever her grandmother was not present, whoever asked Kaixin, "Where is your mother?" Kaixin would answer, "My mom was killed by bad people!" "Why don't you tell your grandmother?" "Grandmother would cry and she would be very sad!"
After the press conference, more than 140 photographic works depicting how practitioners validate the Fa were exhibited. The scenes were quite touching. The photographs showed the viewers the worldwide spread of Falun Dafa and practitioners' peaceful and persistent journey in resisting the persecution. The pictures clearly showed the practitioners' uncompromising courage and great compassion in the face of the CCP's ruthless persecution.
Lina, one of the practitioners who was in charge of choosing photos for the press conference, expressed that during the process of selecting 140 photos from 10,000 photographic works, she was often moved to tears by the practitioners' unyielding spirit and courage displayed in the pictures. The photographs that were selected were extremely rich and interesting in terms of theme, composition, color and expressive quality. They exhibited Falun Gong practitioners' demeanor in cultivating Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, and their courage in validating Dafa and clarifying the truth in the face of tremendous pressure.
Some people silently stood in front of those photos and finally said, "Remarkable!" Some said, after viewing the works, "I'm so touched! This is such a group of great people!"
One practitioner said, "In order to allow more kind-hearted people to learn about Falun Gong, practitioners voluntarily visit other countries. They have traveled all over the world over the past few years. My friends have told me happily that they have encountered Falun Gong in all the countries they have been to..."
Another practitioner said, "Previously, when the newspaper exposed the bloody scenes of making clothing out of animal fur, a big stir was aroused in society. Now, when these photos show how the good people who believe in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance are brutally persecuted by the Chinese communist regime, shouldn't this draw broader attention around the world?"
  In spite of the typhoon, warm-hearted people still came to view the photo exhibition depicting the worldwide spread of Falun Dafa. |
  From time to time, people bent forward to carefully view the photos |
  An elderly gentleman carefully viewing descriptions of each photo |
  Attentively viewing photos |
At 4:30 p.m., the melodious exercise music sounded and the practitioners lined up to practice the Falun Gong exercises. Because the typhoon hit suddenly, the rain poured down. Many practitioners wore only thin summer clothes and were soaked to the skin. There were elderly persons, young children and many young people among the practitioners. They were not moved at all, and silently and steadfastly continued practicing the exercises. It is precisely this spirit that moves all kind-hearted people around the world.
  Demonstrating the first Falun Gong exercise |
  Falun Gong practitioners perform all five sets of exercises in the downpour |
  A grandpa and grandson practicing exercises together |
At 6:30 p.m., although the rainstorm continued, more people gathered in the February 28 Memorial Peace Park. Since July 20, 1999, Falun Gong has spread to more than 70 countries in the world. Today, thousands of practitioners in Taiwan held a candlelight vigil despite the typhoon, to commemorate fellow practitioners who have been persecuted to death for speaking the truth and upholding justice in the human world.
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In the evening, the practitioners displayed the photographic works in a film show format. The photos recorded practitioners' splendid journey in validating the Fa, spreading the Fa, clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings. The photos also displayed the practitioners' uncompromising courage and stood as witness to the fact that Dafa is indestructible.
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