Forming a bright sea of yellow, hundreds of Torontonians converged on Nathan Phillips Square on Sunday dressed in matching shirts, holding colourful banners, and performing the meditative exercises that are part of the traditional Chinese spiritual practice known as Falun Dafa.
The gathering on May 11—which included VIP speeches and a parade through downtown Toronto—marked the 33rd year since Falun Dafa was introduced to the public in China by its founder, Li Hongzhi, in 1992. Similar World Falun Dafa Day festivities take place on or around Mr. Li’s birthday, May 13, in many cities worldwide every year.
As in past years, this occasion in Toronto featured a marching band, a lion dance, choral singers, and dancers in graceful costumes performing Chinese dance. It was organized by the local community of Falun Dafa practitioners in Toronto—among them those who had fled communist China due to an ongoing religious persecution against the group.
Finding freedom of belief in Canada, practitioners in many Canadian cities hold the annual event to celebrate as well as raise awareness. The gathering often includes speeches and greetings such as by government officials and community leaders showing their support.
In contrast, “the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners is deplorable,” Genuis said, referring to the alternative name by which Falun Dafa is known.
“It’s a grave violation of international law and basic norms of human rights, and Conservatives will continue to stand for human rights in China and everywhere, to advocate for recognition of universal human dignity of all people,” Genuis added.
Falun Dafa is a self-improvement practice for the mind and body that centres on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance and includes five meditative exercises.
The FDIC said Jiang saw the ever-growing numbers as a threat, as well as the spiritual practice’s independence from Party control and its guiding principles that were incompatible with communist atheist ideology.
“I want to, once again, acknowledge and respect who you are and what you’re doing, because we do need it, and we continue to need it for the world at large,” he said.
Former Conservative MP Wladyslaw Lizon, originally from Poland, told the rally participants: “I grew up in a communist system. Therefore, I know what it means for followers [of faith] in China who are mistreated by their own government.”
“We should not forget them, and we should never stop asking and pushing the communist government to stop persecution,” he said.
Also speaking was Gloria Fung, president of Canada-Hong Kong Link. Pointing to the CCP’s “brutality in China suppressing Falun Gong brothers and sisters,” Fung said “all of us have known that the CCP will stop at nothing to preserve its power.”
“This practice has spread around the world,” Baxendale said in a speech at the rally. “The movement was suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party, as we know, [starting] back in the late ‘90s.”
“But what’s important to understand is that this is not a U.S. problem,” Baxendale said. “This is a global problem, and we need legislators here in Canada to stand up and to push back against the Chinese Communist Party’s oppression and transnational repression writ large around the world.”
It’s “the most tenacious, morally appealing, and peaceful movement in human history,” Sheng said.
Houqiang Yu, Canada Committee chair of the China Democratic Party, was another supporter who spoke, also in Mandarin Chinese.
“Seeing everyone’s efforts here, I believe that one day, we, the true Chinese people, will live freely, ... embracing the true essence of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance,” he said, referring to the guiding principles of Falun Dafa.
“When that day comes, when Chinese people no longer live in fear under the communist regime, only then will we have true freedom,” Yu added. “I hope we all work together toward that day.”
Falun Dafa Association of Canada representative Joel Chipkar expressed his appreciation to Falun Dafa’s founder and spoke to how the spiritual faith has benefited its practitioners.
“What began as a quiet spiritual practice based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance quickly spread into a profound and life-changing force touching millions of lives around the world,” he said, noting that “Falun Dafa is the fastest-growing spiritual practice in China’s history” and has practitioners in over 150 countries.
“What is most inspiring is the strength and resilience that Falun Dafa has given to people who practise it,” he said. “Even in the face of misinformation and persecution, millions of people have held firm in their faith, responding not with hatred, but with compassion and truth.”
“Their stories of endurance and forgiveness are a testament to the power of Falun Dafa and a beacon of light in our world today,” Chipkar said.
