More than 1,000 Falun Gong practitioners yesterday marched the streets to remember those fellow practitioners who are suffering or who lost their lives under Chinese government persecution, while calling on the public to give them a hand in the fight against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Led by a group of drummers, the Falun Gong practitioners held banners condemning CCP persecution of practitioners in China, enacted scenes of Chinese police torturing Falun Gong practitioners and harvesting their organs while they are still alive, while others marched quietly in yellow uniforms.
The group paraded from Taipei 101 to Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office, where a rally was held under the hot Taipei afternoon sun.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“Today marks the 15th anniversary of the CCP’s persecution on Falun Gong,” human rights attorney and Falun Gong practitioner Theresa Chu (朱婉琪) told the crowd on Ketagalan Boulevard. “As we remember those who have lost their lives or are suffering because of their beliefs, we lament that there are millions of others in China who are not aware of what’s truly happening to Falun Gong practitioners, that millions of people have not withdrawn from the CCP and that there are still people who are giving the CCP a hand in its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.”
Chu called on the government to refuse to welcome the visits of Chinese officials who play a role in persecuting Falun Gong.
“Monday [this] morning, the CCP chief of Jiangsu Province, Qiang Wei [強衛], is set to arrive in Taiwan. We urge government officials at both the central and local levels to cancel their scheduled meetings with Qiang, as he was one of the first officials to follow former Chinese president Jiang Zemin [江澤民] when he launched the persecution against the Falun Gong in 1999,” Chu said. “If government officials still see him, we will file a lawsuit for torture and crimes against humanity against him in the Taipei High Court at 2pm tomorrow.”
Taiwan Falun Dafa Association chairman Chang Ching-hsi (張清溪) said that the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong practitioners since 1999 has been unbelievably brutal.
“Since 1999, as many as 3,769 practitioners — and these are only those whose names have been recorded — have lost their lives, while more than 100,000 have been sent to labor camps,” Chang said. “The CCP also harvests organs from living Falun Gong practitioners for transplants, even though China has ratified the UN Convention Against Torture and is a member of the UN Commission on Human Rights.”
Academia Sinica associate research fellow and Sunflower movement leader Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) accused politicians in Taiwan of not showing enough concern for Falun Gong practitioners.
“There are political parties that are longing for a friendly relationship with China and parties saying they don’t have any historical conflicts with China,” Huang said. “But whatever your view on China is, you should speak out against the CCP’s violation of the most fundamental universal human rights values, especially when this regime has never given up its ambitions on Taiwan, and threatens Taiwan’s freedom and democracy.”
In addition to speeches, Falun Gong practitioners remembered and showed support for their fellow practitioners in China with a candle-lit vigil and music performances.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716