(Minghui.org) Last weekend, Falun Gong practitioners in Vancouver and Montreal joined others all over the world in holding activities to commemorate the 16th anniversary of a large-scale protest in Beijing and support the 200 million who have chosen to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party.
Vancouver: Supporting Those Who Quit the Party
Falun Gong practitioners and supporters in Vancouver rallied in front of the City Art Gallery. Spectators praised the peacefulness of Falun Gong's resistance to the persecution in China and thanked practitioners for their efforts to raise public awareness of the human rights violation in China.
Ms. Fang from the Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party speaks at the rally in Vancouver.
Ms. Fang from the Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party said in her speech that commemorating the April 25 Protest and supporting those who quit the party are not two independent themes.
“The goal of the April 25 protest was to protect Falun Gong practitioners' right of belief, and also to stop the Communist Party's wrongdoing, whereas quitting the Party is to help Chinese people to recognize the Party's atrocities,” Ms. Fang said.
Members of the United Black Canadian Community Association, who were at a different event, later joined the rally and sang a song to support Falun Gong. Yasin Kiraga, president of the association, told the reporter that the Chinese Communist Party is evil for persecuting innocent people. He believes that everyone is responsible for fighting for the freedom of belief.
“I will try my best for Falun Gong's freedom until the persecution stops,” Kiraga said.
Yasin Kiraga (first right) and his friends sing a song to express their support for Falun Gong.
Mr. Li Yiping, a writer and democracy activist, thanked Master Li Hongzhi (the founder of Falun Gong) and the practitioners in his speech.
“It is clear that the Communist Party's tyranny is based on two things. The first is lying, and the second is instilling fear. They fool people with their lies. For those whom they cannot fool, they try to scare them.”
“Falun Gong practitioners have done a great job of breaking the Party's lies. They have given the Chinese people ways to break through internet censorship and passed out millions of flyers that bring people the truth.”
“The book Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party triggered the trend of quitting the Party, and Falun Gong practitioners are the main driving force behind it. The more people abandon the party, the less fear they will have.”
Representatives from several pro-democracy associations also expressed support for Falun Gong's peaceful resistance and encouraged more Chinese people to quit the Party.
Eric Chen, speaking on behalf of the Federation for a Democratic China, praises Falun Gong practitioners for encouraging Chinese people to recognize the evil nature of the Chinese Communist Party.
Mr. Cai from the “Say Goodbye to the Communist Party” Association in Vancouver says that quitting the Party brings hope and a better future to China.
Mr. Lousie Huang from the Canadian Core Value Guardian called for a monument to commemorate the practitioners who were tortured to death in the persecution and those who fight bravely for their belief.
At the rally, practitioner Alice Zhang called for help to rescue her mother Tang Huafeng, who was arrested in China in February 2014 for practicing Falun Gong. She is still detained after 420 days.
Alice had just learned that her mother will face trial on April 30. She hopes that speaking out about her mother's plight will raise awareness of the persecution and encourage more people to help stop the abuses in China.
Alice Zhang calls for help to rescue her mother Tang Huafeng, a Falun Gong practitioner jailed in China for her belief.
Montreal: April 25 Protest Demonstrates Peacefulness and Compassion
Spectators look on as practitioners demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises
A practitioner teaches a passerby the second Falun Gong exercise
Several practitioners at the rally in Montreal's Chinatown recalled their own experiences of attending the April 25 protest in Beijing 16 years ago. They told the public the real motivation behind the protest—restoring the reputation of Falun Gong after facing slander in state-controlled media, and affirming their right to practice.
Xiaoyan, originally from Tianjin, said, “there was no organizer of the protest. Our hearts were pure. We just wanted to tell the government what Falun Gong really is. The government, however, did not believe that there existed such kind of people. They treated our compassion negatively.”
Sylvain Muruguppa watched the practitioners' meditation for a long time. “I want to join them,” he said to a practitioner. He has heard about the April 25 protest. “Such a peaceful practice will only bring peace to society. It should not be persecuted,” he said.
Sylvain wished the practitioners luck and added, “I know they've suffered a lot, yet they still have extraordinary peacefulness in their hearts. People should learn from them.”
He had a practitioner teach him the five sets of Falun Gong exercises after the rally.
Josee from Laval was happy to see Falun Gong practitioners in Chinatown. A few years ago, her child did a school project on Falun Gong, so her family was familiar with the persecution. She found a practitioner who lives in her community and arranged to learn the exercises the following weekend.
More than 20 Chinese people quit the Party at the rally. Practitioner Ms. Liu told the reporter, “no matter how people treat me, I give them flyers with compassion and sincerely tell them to abandon the Party for the good of their own future. Many people would stop to listen to me, and I helped a lot of them quit the Party.”
“No matter how severe the persecution is, and no matter how people misunderstand us, we, Falun Gong practitioners, always treat people with compassion. It's completely different than the Communist Party's violence.”
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Category: April 25 Events
