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Recalling that ill-fated night can be traumatic but we want to remind the world lest they forget like the holocaust during the Second World War that killed 6 million Jews. And we don’t want people to write off 20th July 1999 like the holocaust which they say is something that never happened and is part of a conspiracy theory! Auschwitz survivor Philip Riteman says the Holocaust must be remembered so `it doesn’t happen again` .

Yes, Recalling the night of 20 July 1999 in China, survivors can’t forget what has been seared in their memory when under the veil of darkness police and security dragged hundreds of innocent people who practiced Falun Gong (an exercise and meditation practice introduced by Master Li Hongzhi) from their homes, forcing them into prisons and detention centers.

Nineteen years later, even today the persecution of Falun Gong continues unabated and has taken on a more barbaric role of killing Falun Gong practitioners for their organs to feed a flourishing billion dollar organ trafficking.

What went wrong? Although Falun Gong initially enjoyed considerable support from Chinese officialdom, by the mid- to late 1990s, the Communist Party and public security organizations increasingly viewed Falun Gong as a potential threat due to its popularity and growing numbers, independence from the state, and spiritual teachings.

It was hard to believe that an innocuous practice that had grown in popularity — as many as 70 million practiced according to the Chinese government’s own study and saved the country millions of yuan in health bills, was suddenly considered an evil practice. Interestingly, many high-ranking officials in the Communist party, government and military had taken up the practice.

Denying religious freedom and trying to control the mind and spirit is the nature of the State in China. Also, with a righteous practice that engenders strong moral character, there is the fear of the government’s corruption and misplaced ethics being questioned and exposed.

Tensions culminated in April 1999, when over 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered peacefully near the central government compound in Beijing to request legal recognition and freedom from state interference. This demonstration is widely seen as triggering the persecution that followed.

So on July 22, Falun Gong was formally outlawed across the land, marking the official beginning of a state-engineered hate campaign that has lasted 19 long years. Orchestrated by China’s ex-president Jiang Zemin, the persecution is unprecedented for its devious nature and virulent scope.

It has branded millions of peace-loving citizens ‘enemies of the state’ and sought to destroy them.

Mounting evidence tells a terrible tale of murder and mutilation in China.

Multiple independent investigations estimate that tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been killed to fuel China’s lucrative organ transplant industry.

Shocked by these reports, former Secretary of State for Asia Pacific David Kilgour and renowned Canadian human rights attorney David Matas launched their own independent investigation.

Who is the real enemy of the people?

The suppression of Falun Gong has been from the outset in direct violation of the international rights treaties China has signed.

Jiang Zemin created the 6-10 office (named for the day it was created, June 10, 1999) with the sole purpose: to “eradicate” Falun Gong. It is like Hitler’s Gestapo, an extra-constitutional body of unquestioned power whose sole intention is to spread terror that penetrates every aspect of Chinese society.

Under orders from the top, “no means are too excessive” in the mad drive to eradicate Falun Gong practitioners. Police and labor camp authorities have to fulfill quotas for the number of practitioners they can “transform” and they are free to use any method which includes imprisonment, torture and killing. The police who make quotas get bonuses or promotions; those who do not may be fired.

In order to hide evidence of 6-10 sanctioned crimes, police and government officials are ordered to cover up all murders. They “Report All Deaths as Suicides” and “Cremate Bodies Immediately.”

Families have been torn apart and homes ransacked and destroyed. The families, friends and colleagues of more than one hundred million practitioners have been implicated by association.

The funding for the Persecution comes from the tax payers’ money. One quarter of the nation’s financial resources is used to sustain the persecution.

 

What has given Falun Gong practitioners the strength to withstand such torture and cruelty?

Peaceful resistance is the hallmark of Falun Dafa practitioners. Their non-violent response has often been compared to that of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King. Their living by the credo of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance have often humbled the cruel perpetrators and rendered them impotent. That’s why Falun Dafa faithful have borne the brunt of China’s formidable security apparatus for 18 long years and mustered what is arguably the most sustained challenge to authority in 70 odd years of communist rule.

Throughout the past 19 years, Falun Gong practitioners all over the world have continued with an unprecedented campaign that is strictly non-violent and non-political. Through the internet and the web sites they have built up a world-wide network; and Human Rights organizations, prominent non-governmental organizations and politicians and leaders of various governments have joined a chorus of voices, condemning the Chinese Communist party’s nineteen-year persecution. Their single objective is to restore the basic human rights of Falun Gong practitioners to freely practice their beliefs. The worldwide awareness of this issue has resulted in a big wave of support to the victims of the persecution in recent years.

To conclude on a positive note: “This anniversary is a time of commemoration for the millions whose lives have been unalterably changed by this violent campaign,” says Levi Browde, executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center. “It is also a time for hope. Nineteen years after the CCP sought to crush Falun Gong ‘in three months’ countless Chinese citizens people all over the world continue to find peace and spiritual fulfillment through the practice, and more and more people are peacefully standing up for their rights to do just that.”



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