California: Falun Dafa Practitioners from Western U.S. Rally and Parade in San Francisco, Urging the Chinese Government to Stop the Persecution (Photos)

(Clearwisdom.net, September 23, 2003) On September 20, Falun Dafa practitioners held a grand rally and parade in San Francisco to celebrate the wide spread of Falun Dafa in the western US. They also urged the Chinese government to end the four-year-long persecution of Falun Gong and called for the international community to assist in stopping the persecution.

Group practice	Parade	Parade
Parade	Parade	Rally
Representatives of practitioners attending the rally	U.S. Congresswoman, Ms. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen	Ms. Margery Farai, representative of U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos

About 500 Falun Dafa practitioners gathered together at the Washington Square in San Francisco to practice the exercises, which attracted many Chinese people's attention. Some said, "This is Falun Gong!" "So many people practice Falun Gong!" Some expressed that they wanted to learn the exercises on the spot.

The parade set off at 10:30 a.m. Some practitioners held banners that read, "Falun Dafa around the World," and "The World Needs Truth-Compassion-Forbearance" led the procession, which paraded through major streets in Chinatown. Practitioners participating in the parade were divided into four processions. The first procession was composed of female practitioners dressed in colorful traditional Chinese costumes. Holding colorful lamps in their hands, they danced gracefully while walking. Following them was the exercise-demonstration group. The elegant dance performance and the peaceful exercise demonstration attracted numerous people's attention. Both sides of the streets were crowded with people eagerly watching the parade. Next was the procession calling for the rescue of the Falun Gong practitioners and family members being persecuted in China. They called for an end to the persecution. The last procession exposed Jiang Zemin's crimes against humanity, genocide and torture, and called to bring the chief perpetrator Jiang to justice.

The parade concluded at the Justin Herman Plaza, where Falun Dafa practitioners held a public rally. Attendees included U.S. Congresswoman of Florida, Ms. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, California Congressman Tom Lantos's representative, Ms. Margery Farai, Mr. He Haiying, President of the Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners (GMRPFGP), and about 500 representatives of Falun Gong practitioners across the country.

Mr. He Haiying, President of GMRPFGP said that since last September when GMRPFGP was established, 16 countries joined the rescue mission. The mission committee also included some members of international human rights organizations. In the US, 40 families, including 6 from California, are seeking assistance in rescuing their family members. He said there have been successful rescue cases in the US, Canada, Australia and Japan. Although there are still some family members currently imprisoned, pressure from international communities allowed the persecuted people to have their conditions improved.

US Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said that in order to stop this kind of persecution, she would initiate a resolution to condemn the human rights violations. Later, she will sign a bill to handle the persecution issue in China as well as various harassments and threats by Chinese officials and secret agents against Falun Gong practitioners in the US.