(Clearwisdom.net) On the afternoon of July 15 in Washington D.C., a procession many blocks long marched along the streets of the nation's capital. The march was followed by a rally and as darkness fell, a candlelight vigil in the shadow of the Washington Monument. A couple of participants in the days events were interviewed for this report.
Falun Gong practitioner Zhi Zheng is from China's Liaoning Province. He was rescued to Canada with help from the United Nations in 2006. Life has been good in Canada. He and his friends started a service business and his son is now in the third grade.
Falun Gong practitioner Zhi Zheng
In 2002, Zhi Zheng was on the wanted list for his perseverance in practicing Falun Gong. He left his two week old child and wife under pressure. His father passed away soon after, unable to endure the stress.
Zhi said, “Falun Gong is treated differently in China than in Canada. In China, I was persecuted and had to leave my home to avoid persecution. In Canada, I have my dignity.”
He continued, “I think that some day, Falun Gong practitioners living abroad will be able to return to China with dignity. Truth-Compassion-Forbearance will once again be promoted in China.”
Hua Yu from Beijing, living in Toronto, was also in the march. She started practicing Falun Gong in 1997 and soon regained excellent health. The rheumatic heart disease and other health issues she was facing simply disappeared.
She continued practicing Falun Gong after the Chinese Communist Party began to persecute the peaceful practice in 1999. She was taken to brainwashing sessions twice. She was fired and monitored. In August 2001, she was imprisoned for half a year in a brainwashing center in Langfang. She was deprived of sleep for five days in attempts to force her to renounce her beliefs.
She said, “I recall that the food we were given in the brainwashing center was laced with toxic drugs. We felt fatigue, loss of memory and other terrible symptoms. It took half a year to regain my memory. To force us to renounce our belief, they threatened that they would throw us off the top of a four-story building if we did not give up our beliefs. We were forced to place our fingerprints on papers renouncing our beliefs.”
On July 12, 2006, she came to Canada. Hua Yu said, “I feel happy now, as I live in a free country.”
The march procession consisted of 2,500 practitioners from around the world. A woman watching the march said that she was visiting from Australia. She said, “I know Falun Gong very well. I admire their efforts.” She said she was pleased to see practitioners from Australia in the march as well.
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Category: July 20 Events
