(Clearwisdom.net) On September 24, 2005, at the Dehsing Stadium where the Hualian County Sports Meeting was held, Falun Gong practitioners collected signatures in support of rescuing children who are suffering from the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Since August 25, when the signature drive and the rescue campaign began, we have received about 8000 signatures from citizens of different cities and counties in Taiwan.

The Hualian County Sports Meeting began to cheers. Two art paintings exhibited at the stadium entrance were very eye-catching. One painting depicted a lovely girl whose eyes were full of tears. Another one depicted a little boy who stood inside an iron-barred cell. His eyes expressed confusion. With a careful look, one could understand that the paintings helped the signature drive for rescuing children who are suffering the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

Practitioners relating the persecution facts to people

People signing the petition in support of the rescue effort

Practitioner Mr. Lu said, "Since the Chinese communist regime and Jiang's faction launched the inhuman persecution of Falun Gong practitioners who believe in 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,' nearly 3000 practitioners have been verified to have died in the persecution. The persecution also deprived countless children of their right to go to school. Some were forced to leave home and became homeless. Some have been orphaned." He said that such brutal persecution has continued for more than six years and the bloody persecution has never stopped. Because of the Chinese Communist Party's information blockade, people are unable to learn about the facts of the persecution.

Practitioners carried truth-clarification materials and told athletes and visitors the facts about Falun Gong and the persecution initiated by Jiang Zemin out of his jealousy. One after another, people signed the petition and expressed their sympathy towards those orphans, and indignation towards the suppression. One visitor signed the petition and brought his friends and family members to sign the petition. Police officers assigned to patrol the event also supported the signature drive.

A foreign visitor signed the petition and took some postcards dedicated to the rescue effort. He said that he would bring the postcards for his friends so that they would also become aware of the plight of the orphans. He said that he would mail the postcards to President Bush and call for attention by the U.S. government. A lay-Buddhist expressed his support of this benevolent act. He took a stack of postcards and said that he would help more people to know about it and support the rescue effort.

A little girl came with her mother to attend the sports meeting. In front of the petition desk, a practitioner recounted the persecution facts to the girl's mother. After the mother signed the petition, the little girl said that she also wanted to sign the petition. The mother said, "You don't know how to write your name in Chinese, so you can't sign it." The girl resolutely said, "I can use pinyin to substitute the words that I can't spell." In the end, she used some Chinese characters and some pinyin to fill out the petition form.

Hualian Falun Dafa practitioners call upon everyone to uphold justice and conscience and work together to stop this ruthless persecution. Practitioners hope that people will pay attention to these Falun Gong children and help them to regain the happy life that they deserve.