Hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners assembled on the grounds of the Ontario legislature on April 20 to mark the 25th anniversary of China’s suppression of a peaceful protest in Beijing. The April 25, 1999, protest was a pivotal precursor to an unprecedented human rights crisis.
Adherents of the spiritual practice, also called Falun Dafa, fell victim to a disinformation and defamation campaign orchestrated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the late 1990s. It’s widely believed that then-Chinese leader Jiang Zemin ordered the campaign because he felt threatened that there were more people practising Falun Gong than there were members of the Party. He also viewed Falun Gong’s moral teachings as being in conflict with the communist ideology of atheism.
Speaking at the rally, Jose Peralta, who immigrated to Canada from Argentina four years ago, said that upon learning about the April 25, 1999, incident, “I just couldn’t believe what happened, because the only thing these practitioners wanted was to practise in peace and become better people without being harassed and persecuted.”
“Around 10,000 people, self-motivated, gathered there peacefully and quietly, and stood there for hours to get an answer. They even cleaned up everything [before] they left without blocking any road that [would] impede transit,” he said.
“In a world where protests today are full of anger, hate, looting, blocking bridges or avenues, and disturbing order in society, [Falun Gong] practitioners did just the opposite. They sat down, [or] stood on the sidewalk in silence. I thought that was beautiful, and so inspiring.”
“It was a great demonstration of what Falun Gong practitioners’ characteristic is like, which was completely opposite to the lies the CCP was presenting at that time and [continues to do],” he added.
CCP ‘Going Towards Its Destruction’
Michael Stainton, president of the Taiwanese Human Rights Association of Canada, commended Falun Gong practitioners for their perseverance in peacefully resisting the CCP’s repression, noting its impact on both practitioners and the wider Chinese population.
“In its desperation to preserve its power, in its desperate fear of any organization that is not controlled by the Communist Party, the Communist Party effectively destroyed the basis of its own rule and is going towards the destruction of its own role in China,” Mr. Stainton said.
“They organized a mass persecution that had no basis in law. … People don’t believe what’s happening in China because it’s so shocking and so terrible,” he added.
“Surely, no rational government would do this. And yet, this is not a rational government. The Communist Party, in fact, is not a government at all.”
Mr. Stainton pointed out that the regime was aware many communist officials, military personnel, and police officers were secretly practising Falun Gong, and thus implemented “a reign of terror that affected all of the Chinese people.” This persecution included setting up “kangaroo courts” and multiple prisons to intimidate both Falun Gong adherents and their own cadre.
“Today, because of its desperation to eradicate Falun Gong—a desperation which has not been successful—the Communist Party has thrown China into a dead end of a fascist dictatorship,” Mr. Stainton said.
Mr. Staintont spoke on Falun Gong’s three core principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance and its practitioners’ peaceful adherence to those ideals.
“In the Roman Empire, Christians were persecuted just as Falun Gong practitioners are today, but Falun Gong people suffer much worse persecution,” Mr. Stainton said.
“Christians eventually triumphed because of their faith; they did not strike back against the Romans [because] they practised loving their enemy.” Similarly, he noted, Falun Gong adherents in China and in Canada all abide by their three core tenets, which Mr. Stainton said serve as “the spiritual basis on which any civilization is rebuilt.”
‘Commitment to Freedom of Expression’
Dean Baxendale, president and publisher of Optimum Publishing International, condemned the CCP’s suppression of Falun Gong and other religious minorities in China. He described the gathering on the grounds of the Ontario legislature as a “demonstration of commitment to freedom of expression.”
“The Chinese Communist Party chooses to ignore, and they continue to ignore any expression of free speech, or of religion, as we know today,” he said.
Mr. Baxendale highlighted the CCP’s forced harvesting of organs from prisoners, initially targeting Falun Gong adherents and later extending to other religious communities.
A Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) special report says, “It is difficult to assess the actual number of Falun Gong adherents who have been killed in detention. According to some estimates, 50,000 to 100,000 [Falun Gong] members are being killed for their organs per year.”
“Although this number appears unfathomable, the actual number might be even larger,” adds the DAFOH report published December 2022.
Mr. Baxendale said “this deadly, brutal organ harvesting regime that is criminal in nature should be condemned by every government in the world.”
