(Clearwisdom.net) On the last dark and cold winter night of the year, over 60 Dafa practitioners from all over Japan gathered outside the Chinese Embassy, holding banners reading, "Falun Dafa is good," and "Stop persecuting Falun Gong."
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Why come here to spend New Year's Eve?
Mr. Iga and his wife own their own business. They drove 11 hours from Hiroshima to Tokyo. When they were asked why they came so far to spend New Year's Eve, Mr. Iga said, "We know that 537 people have been tortured to death because of practicing Falun Gong in Mainland China. I'm also a practitioner. In different countries, we've received different treatment. We can't enjoy New Year's Eve and disregard the suffering of our fellow practitioners. We came to mourn those who have safeguarded Dafa, to peacefully appeal to the Chinese government through the embassy. We strongly request them to stop the persecution! " He also said that when they passed Shanli County on the way here, his wife sent her former schoolmate a copy of Zhuan Falun, who wanted to practice Falun Gong.
A student from Otyanomizu University: We have spent three New Year's Eves here, and to date, the persecution in China is still going on. We peacefully appeal to the Chinese government through the embassy. We have persistently appealed, but they haven't come out to meet us, nor did they accept our suggestions. In others' eyes, it seems that we won't get an answer, but we have used our hearts to do all this. I believe our sincerity will touch their hearts in the end. We also want to stay at home and entertain ourselves with New Year celebrations. But thinking of those fellow practitioners' suffering, we can't feel at ease at home.
Mr. Yitou and his wife: "In China, people have no right to express their opinions. Tonight we come here to express our outrage at the Jiang regime for those fellow practitioners who have lost their lives and suffered from brutal torture, detention, and who have been forced to become destitute and homeless. Cultivating 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance' is not wrong, why have they been thrown into jail? Although it is cold, our hearts are warm. We hold this vigil for those Dafa disciples who have been murdered. They are in our minds and encourage us to follow the righteous Fa and take our path all the way to the end."
Dr. Suzuki from Tokyo University: "Dafa practitioners in the Mainland sleep in the open and eat in the wind, I don't mind staying outdoors for one night. I feel duty-bound to come here. I was a bit late tonight. Dafa disciples in China suffer from detention and beatings, and they're being murdered. We are fellow practitioners. What we are doing and thinking are the same. We come to support Dafa disciples in China, and we must expose the evil and not allow them to run rampant. We should work together. Being a good person is not wrong, and we didn't do anything wrong, we have come to validate Dafa. "
A young mother who carried a baby in her arms and held another child: "More and more people have learned the truth. However, the evil persecution in China is still going on. My elder sister has been repeatedly detained due to practicing Falun Gong. The other day, after more than one year's incarceration in a mental hospital, she was released under appeal from the international community and the media, but she was then sent to a forced labor camp. The persecution also extends to Hong Kong, it attempts to enact Article 23 legislation to strangle freedom of speech. We should celebrate the New Year, but thinking of the brutal persecution going on daily in China, we must come here to express our concerns. "
White-collar worker Mr. Satou: "We all miss our friends and relatives on holiday occasions. Many fellow practitioners in China have their families torn apart, and just because of Jiang's pitiful jealousy, countless good people have been suffering persecution. In such a peaceful world, how are such things allowed to take place? We hope the Jiang regime will immediately stop its persecution of good and innocent people. They should stop slandering Dafa and Teacher. Release all detained practitioners and return our peaceful environment for practice. We hope all people can learn about Dafa and not be deceived by their propaganda."
On a cold winter night, from 6:00 p.m. on December 31, 2002 to 8:00 a.m. on New Year's Day, Dafa practitioners peacefully stood in the cold winter wind to use their great compassionate hearts to present the truth to people. After that, Dafa practitioners went to Shinto shrines and temples to distribute Dafa truth-clarifying materials and clarify the truth to people who went to pay their homage on the New Year holiday.
Category: Rallies & Protests
