Each year, on the anniversary of July 20, Falun Gong practitioners come together to call for an end to the persecution against their faith in China. It was on July 20, 1999 that the once named, “Star Qigong” practice in China became the target of one of the most brutal persecutions by the Communist regime since the Cultural Revolution.
According to a study which was done just before the persecution began, between 1992 and 1999, an estimated 70 to 100 million Chinese had started to practice Falun Gong. In fear of its growing popularity, the Communist regime launched a campaign of arrests, torture, and harassment against the practice in an attempt to end it.
“Every year we hold activities to call for an end to the persecution,” said Li Min, a spokeswoman for Falun Gong.
This year was unique as Falun Gong practitioners gathered on Main Street, Flushing, the site of a series of violent attacks against Falun Gong practitioners by pro-Communist Chinese mobs sometimes numbering in hundreds.
On May 17, the mobs gathered around Falun Gong practitioners along Main Street in Flushing where they physically and verbally attacked the practitioners. Many in the crowd carried red Chinese communist flags, shouted death threats at the Falun Gong practitioners, and threw eggs or spit on them.
Later, World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) also released a recorded telephone conversation in which the New York Chinese Consul General Peng Keyu admitted that he had "encouraged" and "agitated" the pro-CCP mobs . Since then, at least 12 individuals have been arrested for their attacks against the practitioners.
“This year, we came to Flushing because there have been gatherings of pro-communist mobs who have been attacking Falun Gong practitioners on American soil,” said Min. “This is a serious hate crime against Falun Gong practitioners so we came to raise awareness in the public and let people understand what Falun Gong is.”
Min said that she hoped that through the day’s activities, more people in the area would come to understand Falun Gong and why it is persecuted in China. She also expressed her hope that more people would stand up to call for an end to the persecution of the practice both in China and in Flushing.
Michael Wu, a Flushing resident expressed his support of the day’s activities. “Falun Gong’s belief is really touching,” said Wu. “People have a right to judge if something is right or not, and the Communist Party doesn’t have the right [to take that away].”
“Everybody should do things according to their conscience, not money,” said Wu.
It was nine years ago, on July 20, 1999, that the former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Jiang Zemin, ordered the brutal persecution against the practice in China. Since that day, over 100,000 Falun Gong practitioners have been sent to forced labor camps, imprisoned without trail, and sent to reeducation camps where they have been subjected to torture, brainwashing, and have been used by the CCP as sources for live organ transplants .
Still, nine years later, the persecution carries on, and many fear that the CCP is trying to spread its persecution of the practice onto American soil.
Lining up along the sidewalks from Sanford Avenue to Roosevelt Avenue, along Main Street, close to 400 Falun Gong practitioners came to hold banners which exposed the persecution of the practice. Others also took the opportunity to pass out materials which explain the persecution and the events which had taken place in Flushing.
Jifi Li, a Flushing resident who had emigrated from China said that he remembers when Falun Gong had first been made public in China. Li also expressed his support for Falun Gong practitioners in their efforts for human rights in China. “Falun Gong has also done a good job on improving Chinese citizens’ health when it first came out,” said Li. “Falun Gong has really pushed forward the human rights issue for China.”
Having lived in the U.S. for just over a year, Gang Zhang, now a Flushing resident, expressed his wish to speak out for Falun Gong, but said that he was concerned that if he did his family back in China would be persecuted. “Don’t take pictures of me and don’t record me. I can’t have my picture published, but I want my voice to be heard,” said Zhang.
“I believe and support Falun Gong practitioners,” said Zhang.
Zhang said that he had once been told by a member of the Chinese military that anyone who turns a Falun Gong practitioner into the police will get a “Third Reward” which is a prestigious award in China. “When there are no rights for life itself, how can [the CCP] talk about human rights?” Zhang said.
As the sun began to set, a candlelight vigil was held in front of the Chinese Consulate in Manhattan. Sitting quietly in meditation with candles gently illuminating the streets, many gathered to peacefully call for the Chinese regime to end its persecution.
