Ireland: Rally and March Held to Peacefully Protest the Persecution of Falun Gong in China, Elected Officials Express Support

(Minghui.org) Two rallies and a march were held outside the Irish Parliament and in the center of Dublin on July 14 and 16, 2022 to protest the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP's) 23-year-long persecution of Falun Dafa in China.

Sixteen Irish state parliamentarians and local elected officials either signed a joint statement calling for an end to the persecution of Falun Dafa, or sent letters and signed a petition on the spot. They voiced their support for practitioners’ efforts to expose the persecution.

Members of Parliament of Ireland who expressed their supportLocal elected officials who expressed their supportSenator Sharon Keogan (second from left) and Deputy Mattie McGrath (fourth from left) have a group photo with practitioners after signing a petition on the spot during the rally on July 14 next to the Parliament building.March protesting the persecution in the center of Dublin

Deputy Mattie McGrath spoke at the Falun Gong Rally last year and once again joined the rally this year to express his support. He said, “The persecution of Falun Gong that is happening in China is terrible. I support you all (in protesting the persecution).”

Senator Sharon Keogan said that in the Western world people take basic freedoms for granted. She was startled to learn that for a Falun Gong practitioner even holding up a banner or handing out a leaflet takes deep faith and courage - not everyone can do it. The senator said that due to the persecution, it is far too dangerous for a Falun Gong practitioner to go back to China as one may never see or hear from them again. Senator Keogan said that she is willing to use her official capacity to help practitioners bring the tyranny to an end.

Multiple Irish elected officials co-signed the Joint Statement Calling for an End to the Persecution of Falun Gong, urging the Chinese government to respect international norms and the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China is a signatory to; to immediately stop the persecution of Falun Gong in China; and to unconditionally release all detained Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience.

The joint statement stated, “In 2019, an Independent Tribunal in the UK, chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice QC, concluded that ‘forced organ harvesting has been committed for years throughout China on a significant scale and that Falun Gong practitioners have been one—and probably the main—source of organ supply.’”

Falun Gong practitioners in Ireland held a rally and march in the center of Dublin, the capital, on July 16. They condemned the CCP’s 23-year-long persecution of Falun Gong, and called for the disintegration of the CCP and an end to the persecution.

The march passed through Chinatown and the famous O'Connell Street in the center of Dublin, attracting many passers-by including Chinese people to take photos and videos. Numerous Chinese quit their memberships in the CCP and its affiliated organizations during the march.

After the march, practitioners held a rally in front of the famous Irish landmark General Post Office. Practitioner Zhao Ming told the public about the true nature of the CCP based on his personal experience of being persecuted in labor camps.

“Almost everyone asked me, ‘Why does the Chinese government persecute Falun Gong?” he said. “If we look back at the CCP’s history, Falun Gong practitioners are not the only group that the CCP persecuted. Since the Party seized power in 1949, the persecution of different classes and groups has come one after another.

“The CCP’s persecution campaigns were against landlords, business owners, and intellectuals, etc. The Communist Party is not a normal human political party, but an anti-human hooligan group, which fundamentally hates humanity and the universal values of human beings. If If we dig out Marx’s original writings, we will see descriptions like, ‘destroying traditional human society,’ and so on.”

During the event, many people expressed their support for Falun Dafa. Some people said they shared their videos of practitioners’ march they recorded on their social media.

Background: What Is Falun Dafa and Why Is the CCP Persecuting It?

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and have learned the five exercises, have experienced improved health and well-being.

Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology and on July 20, 1999, he issued an order to eradicate the practice.

Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organization with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.

Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 23 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. Countless practitioners have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.

There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply China’s organ transplant industry.