(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhang Shufeng from Shandong Province, China, has been illegally detained and brutally tortured since October 2013. Her family and local Falun Gong practitioners in Japan held a signature drive near the Osaka Train Station on September 23, 2014, to help rescue her and raise awareness of the severe persecution of Falun Gong in China.

Ms. Zhang Shufeng (right) and her sister Ms. Zhang Shuli.

According to Ms. Zhang's sister, who lives in Japan, Ms. Zhang has been arrested, imprisoned, and tortured many times since the persecution started in 1999. Her latest arrest was in mid-October 2013. She was force-fed and beaten until she was covered in bruises.

Ms. Zhang's sister is worried about her safety, and wants to raise awareness of her plight by gathering signatures on a petition to gain support from people in Japan.

Mr. Matsui, Ms. Zhang’s brother-in-law, and also a practitioner, knows that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has systematically harvested organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. Ms. Zhang went missing for more than two months last year before her family finally learned that she was detained.

Mr. Matsui is also worried about Ms. Zhang's safety, and hopes that the signature drive will garner more support to help rescue her.

According to Mr. Matsui, many Japanese people signed the petition without hesitation. Many told him that they already knew about the persecution of Falun Gong in China, and encouraged him to keep up his efforts.

Mr. Kurita from Nagano told a practitioner that he thought China had changed for the better, with the rapid growth of its economy in recent years, and never suspected the existence of such a horrible, state-sanctioned crime as forced organ harvesting. “It can't be tolerated,” he said as he signed the petition.

Ms. Iwasaki had already signed the petition when practitioners held an activity in another city. When she saw them collecting signatures in Osaka, she grasped a practitioner's hand and said that she really wanted to sign once again. “What you're doing is great,” she said. She left her contact information, and wanted to keep in touch with practitioners.

Mr. Onishi, who was in charge of the petition, said that the practitioners in Japan were trying to rescue Ms. Zhang Shufeng through the available channels. Signatures will be collected on the petition in other cities in Japan, and eventually delivered to the Japanese government. He hopes that the government will help pressure the Chinese regime to release Ms. Zhang.