(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners in Austin, Houston and Dallas held a rally at the South Steps of the Capitol in Austin, Texas on July 15, 2022. Practitioners are calling for an end of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution, which was launched 23 years ago.

Despite the scorching heat, Falun Gong practitioners, holding large banners, aligned based on three themes: Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) is great, memory of Falun Gong practitioners who had died from the persecution, and calling for a stop of the atrocities committed by the CCP. Texas Senator Angela Paxton, Texas House Representative Matt Shaheen, and Texas House Representative Jacey Jetton sent support letters to the rally.

Rally in Austin marks 23 years of peaceful resistance by Falun Gong practitioners against the CCP’s persecution.

Chief of Staff Antonio Mireles (fifth from the left) from the Texas House Representative Matt Shaheen’s Office, Legislative Director Laura Stowe (fourth from the right) from Texas Senator Angela Paxton’s Office with Falun Gong practitioners

Falun Gong practitioners at the rally

Mr. Song, a representative of the Southern USA Falun Dafa Association, introduced Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and its benefit of cultivating mind, body and spirit. He recounted the Chinese Communist Party’s atrocities against Falun Gong practitioners, including large-scale arrests, hate propaganda, torture, etc. More than 4,000 deaths have been verified. Countless families have been broken. “We are here today to call for everyone to give a hand to stop this brutal persecution,” Song said.

Support from Dignitaries in Texas

Chief of Staff Antonio Mireles reads a support letter from Texas House Representative Matt Shaheen

Texas House Representative Matt Shaheen’s support letter stressed that the State of Texas strongly condemns the CCP’s forced organ harvesting targeting Falun Gong and other groups of people in China. He wrote, “The state of Texas has a very firm position of condemnation of the practice of organ harvesting and other actions targeting Falun Gong and other religious entities. And this is both the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate, but also the Governor.” He also stated, “The state of Texas is behind you, and supports you, and appreciates all that you are doing. We stand with you. From the 150 members of the Texas House and the 31 members of the Texas Senate to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the House.”

Texas Senator Angela Paxton wrote in her letter, “...I do not want to miss the opportunity to thank you for standing for human dignity and specifically to stand against the horrific practice of human organ harvesting.” She said, “I was so honored last year during the legislative session to partner with State Representative Matt Shaheen to author Senate Concurrent Resolution 3, to stand against the practice and bring awareness to the horrific practice of human organ harvesting.”

Texas House Representative Jacey Jetton expressed his appreciation of the Southern USA Falun Dafa Association in his support letter, and called for a stop of the CCP’s persecution. He wrote, “I am writing to express my support for those practitioners in Texas and to call for an end to the Chinese Communist Party’s persecution of Falun Gong. As a representative of Falun Gong practitioners, I must condemn the practices of organ harvesting, forced imprisonment, and other atrocities committed against this group and other minority groups in China.”

Practitioners Being Persecuted

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Han recounted his experiencing the persecution when he was in China. “Six policemen arrested me on my way home on March 25, 2002. My home was ransacked. I was taken to the No.3 Detention Center of Jilin City, where I was tortured until I was close to the end of my life. I could hardly eat anything. I suffered heart failure, a brain injury, and a perforated eardrum. However, the center refused to release me for any medical treatment, and took me to the Chaoyang Forced Labor Camp instead, where I was tortured. My wife, my twelve-year-old son, my parents, and even my in-laws have been harassed and threatened. They continued to monitor me after I was released. I couldn’t see my family for years.”

Ms. Chen, another Falun Gong practitioner, recounted her traumatizing experience due to the CCP’s persecution when she was in her 20s. “My home was searched, and valuables were confiscated. I lost my job. My mother and I were put into detention and brainwashing centers multiple times. We were taken to a forced labor camp without being tried, and forced to work 16 hours a day, facing terrible conditions.

“When I refused to give up practicing Falun Gong, four inmates were taken to my cell. They fastened me to the floor, and force-fed me with a salty mixture. It could have killed me. I shivered, felt suffocated, and started to lose consciousness. When I was close to death, I realized that I could only rely to my belief. I prayed in my mind. One of the men suddenly collapsed on the floor, which interrupted the torture. I couldn’t eat or speak the following days and kept vomiting salt and blood. A male Falun Gong practitioner died from the same force-feeding.”

Chen voiced her call for all fellow Texans to help stop the ongoing persecution and CCP’s state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting in China.