(Minghui.org) "Today, we stand in front of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China–just like every week since June 2001–in memory of all the Falun Dafa practitioners who have been imprisoned, tortured and abused, and those who have lost their lives at the hands of state authorities, during this 16-year-long persecution."
These words opened a letter that Falun Dafa practitioners from northern Germany sent to the Consul General of the Chinese Consulate in Hamburg, Germany on July 20, 2015.
"Please raise your voice against the injustice against Falun Dafa and support the efforts of practitioners to expose the crimes of organ harvesting and oppression," the letter continued.
The practitioners met on this special day in front of the consulate, because on this day 16 years ago, the persecution of Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) officially started in China. With a candlelight vigil, they remembered the thousands of practitioners who lost their lives in China for their belief.
A Falun Dafa practitioner places a letter to the Chinese Consul General in Hamburg in the consulate's mailbox.
The letter practitioners sent to the Chinese Consul General in Hamburg
Practitioners from northern Germany hold a candlelight vigil on July 20, 2015 in front of the Chinese Consulate.
Candlelight vigil in front of the Chinese Consulate.
"Defame their reputation, bankrupt them financially, and destroy them physically!" With this proclamation by then-head of state Jiang Zemin 16 years ago, the nationwide suppression of Falun Dafa began, and it continues to this day.
What ensued was torture, murder, and numerous abuses carried out upon Dafa practitioners in labor camps, prisons, and mental institutions. It was revealed in 2006 that Chinese doctors were compelled by the state to harvest organs from living Falun Dafa practitioners, to be sold for profit.
The past 16 years are thus characterized by horrific crimes committed by many perpetrators and passive accomplices. They are also characterized by the tireless efforts of Falun Dafa practitioners to expose these crimes and resist the persecution by peaceful means, including the current wave of more than 100,000 criminal complaints being filed against Jiang Zemin.
Category: July 20 Events
