On September 23, the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly held a series summits in New York.
The Hammarskjöld Plaza was packed with people dressed in bright yellow t-shirts. Banners and posters with “Jiang to Justice” were clearly visible.
Jiang Zemin, former Primer of China vowed to eradicate the spiritual practice in 1999, perceiving it a threat to his power.
They were calling for an end to the 20-year-long persecution.
The atmosphere was peaceful and surprisingly joyful. The protest lasted from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Some people meditated, some held banners, while others spoke to pedestrians and offered flyers.
Xiao Yanbing, a retired engineer from Shenyang Ligong University, said her husband Yu Chunsheng was arrested on June 19. Yu was an associate professor and department chair at the university. He had been arrested numerous times for his practice.
It’s bizarre that the Chinese Regime would react so violently towards people whose practice lays emphasis on character cultivation. Practitioners strive to assimilate to three sacred principles Truth, Compassion Tolerance.
“He was taken to the Shenyang Railway Police Department Detention Center over three months ago, but our family visits are being denied. She recently learned that officials planned to take her husband to the public prosecutor. “I don’t know what has happened to him and I am very worried,” she said.
Dai Min, a former medical examiner from Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, was fired and detained after he simply mentioned Falun Gong to someone in 2004. “Over the past 15 years, other practitioners and I have been arrested and detained many times. One of them died one day after he was detained as a result of being tortured,” he told people.
Yuan Xiaoli, a practitioner from New York, chimed in and said that her younger sister was recently detained. “On September 11, I received a phone call from Harbin Railway officials. ‘They told me were keeping her in custody. I was very surprised because the police had notified her earlier to just come in just for a physical exam.” Ms. Yuan wishes the international community can help rescue her younger sister.
Say No to Religious Persecution
Alan Adler, Executive Director of Friends of Falun Gong, noting that it’s been 20 years since the suppression of Falun Gong started in China on July 1999, said, “And it still continues today. From the number of practitioners impacted and the severity of torture and live organ harvesting, it is one of the biggest human rights violations in the history of mankind.”
Mr. Adler hopes that many of the world leaders attending the U.N. General Assembly and its summits will help end these atrocities.
On September 23, President Donald Trump spoke at the U.N. General Assembly’s annual session with a “Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom,” making him the first U.S. president to convene a meeting at the U.N. on religious freedom.
Earlier this year, President Trump met with 27 survivors of religious persecution from 17 countries. Among them was Zhang Yuhua, a Falun Gong practitioner from China.
This was the first time a U.S. president had actually met with a persecuted practitioner at the White House.
In addition, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have made several speeches decrying human rights violations by the Chinese Communist Party.
Mr. Adler also mentioned the Magnitsky Act, a bill passed by the U.S. government in 2012.
In 2016, Congress enacted the Global Magnitsky Act that allows the U.S. government to sanction any foreign government officials for human rights abuses. This includes banning entry as well as freezing assets and financial transactions.
“The law already exists. If it is broadly enforced against those human rights violators in China, the impact will be huge,” Mr. Adler explained.
Wouldnt it be just great if everyone takes the time and effort to spread the word? Perhaps the cries of the persecuted and oppressed will open the ears of compassionate world leaders.