(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners held a rally at Goshen Christmas Tree Park on July 17, 2022 to call for an end to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 23-year-long persecution of the spiritual practice.

They started off the day’s event by demonstrating the Falun Dafa exercises.

Practitioners demonstrate Falun Dafa’s five sets of exercises. 

After they did the exercises, practitioners held up banners written in both English and Chinese that exposed the CCP’s atrocities. Practitioners also held up a banner that read, “Bring Jiang Zemin To Justice.” Jiang, who was the head of the government in 1999, is responsible for initiating the brual persecution of Falun Gong.

Falun Gong practitioners held a rally at Goshen Christmas Tree Park on July 17, 2022.

Chair of the Global Service Center for Quitting the CCP: The CCP Regime Has Openly Robbed the World of Its Values

Ms. Yi Rong, chair of the Global Service Center for Quitting the CCP, said, “Almost 400 million Chinese citizens have already withdrawn from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. This is one of the many miracles that have happened during the 23 years of persecution.” 

Ms. Yi Rong, chair of the Global Service Center for Quitting the CCP, addressed the rally. 

Ms. Yi continued, “The CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners is most evil. It is demolishing human nature and its universal values. The CCP has destroyed 5,000 years of traditional Chinese culture, morals, and faith and has pushed Chinese civilization towards self-destruction. The CCP regime has openly robbed the world of its values and its ultimate goal is to lead humans to destruction.”

Ms. Yi Rong emphasized, “The CCP will destroy itself in the process of persecuting Falun Dafa. Based on people’s standpoint on the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, we believe that a renaissance of divine culture, and moral upgrades will occur and the CCP be disintegrated. Returning to tradition and being compassionate is one’s only hope for surviving!”

Persecution Survivor Ms. Zhang Yuhua

Ms. Zhang Yuhua was invited to meet former president Donald Trump at the White House three years ago. She raised the issue of the persecution of Falun Dafa and the CCP’s state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting from practitioners incarcerated for their faith.

Ms. Zhang was a professor at Nanjing Normal University and was a representative of the Standing Committee of the Nanjing People’s Congress. She was illegally sentenced to prison once and sent to a forced labor camp three times, incarcerated for a total of seven years and seven months. Ms. Zhang addressed the rally and described the psychological and physical abuse she was subjected to.

“I was forced to run under the scorching sun with a temperature of about 36°F (approximately 96.8°F). I was covered in sweat but the guards did not allow me to take a shower. They refused to let me wash my hands, even after using the bathroom. I was not allowed to use the bathroom for two weeks.”

She was also tortured when the guards deprived her of sleep for weeks. She was brutally tortured for over 50 days. 

“They forcefully injected me with unknown substances twice. When the guards forced my mouth open and filled my mouth with an unknown substance for 30 minutes the first time, my tongue began to feel numb and stiff, my limbs also began to feel stiff and I started to twitch uncontrollably.

“They force-fed me with fluids by inserting a plastic tube into my nostrils. I started to feel dizzy and nauseous and my heart began beating very fast. I was unable to open my mouth and I had trouble breathing. My body was in excruciating pain and I began twitching uncontrollably. I fainted shortly after.” Ms. Zhang said that when she regained consciousness, the guards dragged her into a car and took her to a forced labor camp. The force-feeding tubes were still inserted in her nostrils. 

Ms. Zhang’s husband, Mr. Ma Chenyu, is still illegally detained by the CCP. He has been detained for over 12 years because Mr. Ma was the head of the Falun Dafa assistance center in Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province. He was persecuted once again in September 2017.

“During our times in jail, we were constantly forced to undergo blood tests. I am extremely worried for my husband because the guards seemed to have taken an interest in my husband’s blood type.”

Mr. Jiang Chenhua’s Nightmare

Mr. Jiang Chenhua once worked as a corporate planner in a top 500 company in Beijing. Formerly ill, he regained his health after practicing Falun Dafa and was full of energy, and worked harder. Yet he was brutally tortured in a detention center because he distributed truth-clarification flyers. He was illegally sentenced to 13 years, during which he was under constant surveillance, forced to do unpaid labor and was subjected to brainwashing sessions. 

“My ankles and wrists were chained together and I was unable to stand properly. This lasted for about a week. Even now I still have pain in my back.”

Mr. Jiang recalled, “My arms were chained to a chair when I was interrogated. The guards brutally hit my chest with their fists, trying to force me to give up the names of other Falun Dafa practitioners. I was often hit to the point where my body felt numb.

“I was monitored by other prisoners during my ten years in prison. I was watched even when I went to the bathroom or took a shower. I had no privacy. I was forced to do hard labor including digging sewage ditches, planting trees and vegetables, doing farm work, wrapping candies, making artificial flowers, etc.”

Mr. Jiang called on all compassionate people, “It is time that we end this persecution. Please listen to the truth of Falun Dafa. Please support our peaceful protest and end this persecution. You are standing on the side of justice by supporting us. You will also have a bright future.”

Locals Support Falun Dafa Practitioners

During the rally, many local residents gave practitioners the thumbs up and motorists also honked their horns to express their support.

Kevin Ottochian and his wife Clarisse-Anna learned about the rally from their local pastor. They came to the event and wanted to know more about the practice. Kevin, a history teacher, said, “According to my knowledge of the CCP, I definitely do not support the regime in brutally persecuting its own people. This persecution is unjust and wrong.” They signed the petition to show their support.