(Minghui.org) July 20, 2026, marked 27 years since the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the persecution of Falun Gong. Practitioners in Honolulu, Hawaii, held activities on Waikiki Avenue on Sunday, July 19, 2026. They collected signatures on a petition that calls on US senators to support Senate bill S.4009, the Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act.

Hawaii is a popular tourist destination, and Waikiki Avenue is a hub for visitors. Among those who stopped to learn more about the persecution and sign a petition were tourists from Australia, Canada, South Asia, and other parts of the US, as well as Hawaiians. Some of them said they’d already heard of the persecution but not about the CCP harvesting organs from living practitioners. This was the first time some people had heard of Falun Gong.

Practitioners held an event on Waikiki Avenue on July 19 to tell people about the persecution. (Minghui.org)

Tourists from Chicago and California were stunned to find out about the CCP’s harvesting of organs from living practitioners and expressed their profound sympathy for the victims. They took informational brochures and signed the petition.

Two tourists from Australia asked what they could do to help after reading about the persecution. A practitioner asked them to pass on their brochure so that more people could read about the CCP’s crimes. The pair agreed. A Chinese man from California on vacation in Hawaii gladly withdrew from the Young Pioneers after learning about the persecution.

A woman from South Asia stopped by with her mother and child. After she read the display boards and a flyer about Falun Gong, she said she also meditates and wanted to learn more about the practice. This was the first time that she’d heard about the persecution, and she said she would definitely pay attention to the issue. Four people from Canada stopped to talk with practitioners, learned details about the persecution, and expressed their thanks for the information.

Waikiki Avenue is a popular evening shopping destination in Honolulu, and practitioners have been raising awareness of the persecution there for years. A young chef who works at a restaurant usually hurried past, but this time he stopped to talk. After hearing about the persecution, he signed the petition. A middle-aged man who read the display about Falun Gong said he had seen and enjoyed Shen Yun. He also was disgusted by the CCP’s transnational repression and attacks on Shen Yun in the US. He signed the petition urging Hawaii’s senators to support the Senate bill.