Since The Epoch Times published the series of social commentaries titled Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party in November of 2004, as of August 18, 2007, the number of withdrawal declarations registered on the Epoch Times website has surpassed 25 million.
Even though the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has poured a tremendous amount of resources into preventing The Nine Commentaries and the news about the withdrawals from spreading in China, both still manage to spread throughout the country through various channels. Recently, a CCP Withdrawal Service Center at Victoria Peak in Hong Kong reported that it has recorded over 5000 withdrawals within half a year.
Everyday, tens of thousand of visitors pour into Hong Kong from mainland China for shopping and sightseeing. Not long ago, the Global Service Centers to Quit the CCP (GSCQCCP) set up over a dozen centers at tourist attractions throughout Hong Kong in order to assist mainland tourists with quitting the CCP, Communist Youth League (CYL), and the Young Pioneers. The one established at Victoria Peak is one of these.
Before 6 o'clock every evening, volunteer helpers such as Zhou Shen and Aunt Liao would arrive at the service site pushing a small cart. They then start setting up photo and television displays, and handing out materials such as copies of The Nine Commentaries . Their goal is to persuade tourists from the mainland to withdraw from the CCP.
Each day, Zhou Shen tells the visitors, “The CCP has already murdered over eighty million of its own people. Withdraw from the Communist Party now to ensure your own well-being and safety!” She is one of the youngest volunteer helpers among those who look after this center.
“This service site has been here for over 5 years now,” said Zhou, a Falun Gong practitioner herself, as she pointed at the crowded sea of tourists getting off tour buses for a glimpse of Hong Kong glittering in the night. “You will find more mainland visitors here than anywhere else.”
“The CCP is censoring information so the people won’t know the truth. The CCP hasn’t stopped murdering, and it hasn’t stopped harvesting live organs from Falun Gong practitioners. We will continue to tell the truth to Chinese people here until the day those cruelties stop,” said Zhou.
After The Epoch Times published The Nine Commentaries in late 2004, the service site added it to their handout materials in order to help the Chinese people understand the evil nature of the CCP. At the same time, volunteers here started providing the service of helping visitors register their “three withdrawals” from the party on the spot. Visitors were very happy to hear that they can make their withdrawal declarations in Hong Kong. Some people have lived through other persecutions by the CCP, and they immediately withdrew from the party. For the large majority of people, the service center provides an alias for them, but some people actually make their declarations using their real names.
The number of people withdrawing from the CCP has grown rapidly. Last November, this service site purchased a fairly thick notebook to keep records of withdrawal declarations, including the name, date, and details of the “three withdrawals.” The notebook was quickly filled and a second one was needed. They recently took a count, and the number of withdrawals had already surpassed 5000.
Even Zhou was very surprised by this number.
“We didn’t think we had so many already. I still remember the time we had less than 20, and then it went up to 90 or so at an accelerated pace,” she said. The visitors’ reactions to The Nine Commentaries also have changed over time. At the beginning, many would respond with profanities, and sometimes even spitting. Now it is far better received by people—to the point where some people become very eager to withdraw.
“This trend tells us something,” said Zhou. “It says that more and more people know the truth and they want to separate themselves from the CCP.”
Zhou cited an interesting case. “There was this one person who wanted to withdraw, so I started to think of an alias for him. I tried ‘Lucky,’ ‘Smoothsailing,’ and ‘Safe,’ but he didn’t like any of them. Then I said ‘How about Healthy?’ He said ‘Yes! You need to be healthy to take down the Communist Party!’”
Aunt Liao is another volunteer who is here everyday. She has persuaded more people to withdraw than everyone else at the service center. It is estimated that she can usually convince 70 to 80 people per day.
Aunt Liao was busy moving among the tourists. She patiently explained the facts to them, and they nodded as they listened. It did not take long for several people to agree to withdraw.
Two Westerners are also helping out at the center. Jeff, an American, said, “I feel this place is special. Chinese tourists come and go, so they are usually here for only about 20 minutes. They all feel like part of a big family to me.”
There were also three teenaged children who decided to withdraw from the CYL and Young Pioneers after listening to Aunt Liao. They later praised freedom of speech in Hong Kong in an interview with The Epoch Times . One boy said, “Hong Kong is very prosperous and very beautiful, and you are free to say what you want here. It’s totally different from the Mainland.”
When asked what made the biggest impression, a girl in the group pointed at the Falun Gong truth clarification display panels and said “Falun Gong and freedom of speech.”
