(Clearwisdom.net) On March 20, Falun Gong practitioners from Montreal held a rally in Chinatown to protest the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) issuing orders for large-scale arrests of Falun Gong practitioners before the Olympics. After the rally, practitioners held a parade to the downtown area, calling for more attention to the current situation in China in which Falun Gong practitioners are suffering intensified persecution by the CCP in "preparation" for the Olympics.
The rally
Talking to passersby about the persecution
At the rally, Mr. Guan Weidong, a Falun Gong practitioner, stated: "In the last three months, the CCP has used the Olympics as an excuse and conducted mass arrests of Falun Gong practitioners. From last December to now, we have confirmed 1,878 cases of arrest and we have seen an increase in death cases."
On February 19, 2008, the CCP's Central Committee of Political and Legislative Affairs issued a secret decree to 40 provincial committees of political and legislative affairs throughout the country. The decree ordered large-scale arrests and door-to-door searches of Falun Gong practitioners throughout China prior to the Olympics.
Mr. Shen Yue, a Chinese student and Falun Gong practitioner, said: "The Olympics are coming, but the CCP didn't keep its promise of improving human rights in China. Instead, the persecution of Falun Gong is getting worse."
Mr. Shen said: "In July 2007, policemen broke into my home in Chengde and arrested my mother, who is also a Falun Gong practitioner. In two days, 17 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested in Chengde City. Most of them are still imprisoned. My mother was sentenced to five years along with seven other practitioners."
Mr. Shen called for help to stop the persecution and release his mother from unlawful imprisonment.
Many people on the streets accepted information materials. Gerome Audet, a Falun Gong practitioner, said to the reporter, "A Westerner who is learning Chinese had a lot of misunderstandings about Falun Gong. I told him the facts about the CCP's crime of organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners. He was moved to tears when he heard this. I told him what Falun Gong is and gave him the addresses for websites about Falun Gong, and he thanked me."
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