(Minghui.org) A group of Falun Gong practitioners held a rally in front of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco on June 19, 2023, calling on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to immediately release four women in three Chinese provinces who are being detained for their faith in Falun Gong.
The CCP has been persecuting Falun Gong, a mind-body practice also known as Falun Dafa, since July 1999.
People who came to the Chinese Consulate to apply for visas listened to speeches from Falun Gong practitioners. One Chinese visitor talked to the rallying Falun Gong practitioners and helped explain to his non-Chinese friend what Falun Gong is.
Falun Gong practitioners rallied outside the Chinese Consulate on June 19, 2023.
Falun Gong practitioners rallied outside the Chinese Consulate. The white banner read, “Immediately release Falun Gong practitioners Yuan Xiuhua, Meng Zhaohong, and Kong Qingping.”
Ms. Meng Zhaohong and Ms. Yuan Xiuhua in Hebei Province
Ms. Ding Yue is a Falun Gong practitioner in the Bay Area. She spoke at the rally and demanded the release of her mother, Ms. Meng Zhaohong, and another practitioner, Ms. Yuan Xiuhua.
Ms. Ding Yue, her husband, and their baby called for the release of her mother Ms. Meng Zhaohong.
Ms. Meng, 68, and Ms. Yuan are residents of Qinglong County, Hebei Province. They were arrested on May 9, 2023 after being reported for talking to people about Falun Gong at a local fair. They were interrogated at the Anziling Police Station and given formal arrest warrants by the Qinglong County Police Department on May 23.
Ms. Ding said that her father died when she was ten years old, and that her mother raised her alone. Despite the hard life, Ms. Meng was a kind, strong, and healthy woman thanks to her practice of Falun Gong. Her health, however, suddenly declined after her recent arrest.
Ms. Ding said that her family learned from an insider that both her mother and Ms. Yuan had elevated blood pressure and developed lung disease after just one day of interrogation. The local detention center declined to admit them, and the police kept them at the police department for further interrogation, instead of releasing them or notifying their families of their health conditions. After the two women’s symptoms worsened, the police transferred them to Qinhuangdao City Police Hospital, where they remain.
Ms. Ding said, “The Chinese authorities have denied us family visits, so we still do not know the exact health conditions of my mother and Ms. Yuan. We’re worried about them.”
Ms. Kong Qingping in Liaoning Province
Ms. Liu Zhitong is another Falun Gong practitioner in the Bay Area. Her mother Ms. Kong Qingping, a resident of Dalian City, Liaoning Province, was arrested on October 22, 2022, and has since been held at Yaojia Detention Center and denied family visits.
Ms. Liu Zhitong called for the release of her mother, Ms. Kong Qingping.
Ms. Liu said that her mother suffered a persistent fever in early 2004 and was diagnosed with septicemia. Her condition was very dangerous and the medical treatment didn’t have much effect on her.
Ms. Kong later decided to practice Falun Gong, which scared Ms. Liu, as she had read many slanderous reports about Falun Gong at school and on TV. But Ms. Liu soon came around because she just wanted her mother to find a cure, whatever that might be.
Amazingly, in just one month of practicing Falun Gong, Ms. Kong’s health improved significantly and her ailments disappeared before she knew it. The melasma on her face was gone and her complexion became rosy and refined. In addition to the improvement in her physical health, her bad temper also disappeared. Her relationship with her husband and other family members became harmonious again.
Ms. Liu said her whole family was impressed by her mother’s changes, and realized that Falun Gong was nothing like what was depicted by the CCP’s slanderous propaganda.
Ms. Lyu Lifang in Jilin Province
Ms. Shen moved from Changchun City, Jilin Province to the Bay Area. She was at the rally calling for the release of a Changchun resident, Ms. Lyu Lifang, who was arrested on May 18, 2023 and whose whereabouts have since remained unknown.
Ms. Shen described herself as a “little pink” (young people in China who advocate the CCP’s communism ideology and nationalism policies) before taking up Falun Gong. She said when she was first told about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong, she had trouble believing it. After reading many persecution cases, however, she came to understand the CCP’s brutality and took up Falun Gong herself. She said to those who visited the Consulate, “I hope you listen to what we Falun Gong practitioners have to say and understand the CCP’s crimes against innocent people.”
Related Reports:
Mother of San Francisco Resident Arrested for Her Faith, Denied Family Visit
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Category: Rallies & Protests
