(Clearwisdom.net) The evening of August 9, 2007 saw the lighting of the Human Rights Torch in Athens, Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic games. This event kicked off an unprecedented one-year-long worldwide torch relay. Symbolically, this torch was ignited by all the people around world who support justice and who wish to bring an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. The objective of this event is to appeal to the international community to reject violence, and promote peace, freedom and the restoration of morality. The torch relay has profound significance.
On August 18, 2007, Fadu, a young girl who had traveled to Germany with her mother after attending the lighting ceremony in Athens, walked into the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, the first stop of the torch relay. The German International Society for Human Rights, the European Branch of the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG), the Union of Victim Associations of Communist Tyranny (UOKG) and the Library Association to Commemorate the Victims of Communist Tyranny held a solemn greeting ceremony for the arrival of the HRTR. Representatives from various associations spoke at the ceremony, reminding people that China is still a country where much torture and violations of human rights happens. The Chinese Communist regime's extreme persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, who hold belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, has thus given rise to an impetus to boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Shortly after the greeting ceremony, professor Ines Geipel, a well-known former Eastern German athlete, bent down, took over the torch from Fadu and carried on with the relay.
I am a Falun Gong practitioner who has just arrived overseas from China. I was extremely fortunate to have a chance to witness this historical event. I felt duty-bound and joined the torch relay. It was a seven-kilometer journey from the Olympic Stadium to the William's Memorial Church. I followed the running team closely, thinking to myself: "Today is an important day. As a Dafa practitioner I must participate in this historic activity. Although I 'm nearly 60 years old, I feel a responsibility I cannot shirk. I must run for freedom of belief, run for those fellow practitioners who are still being persecuted, run for the salvation of sentient beings, run for the disintegration of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and run for a free China!"
I was not running on my own, but on behalf of my fellow practitioners who are still suffering persecution in China.
Before I went abroad many fellow practitioners said to me, "If there is anything you engage yourself in, please represent all of us!" I remembered what they said. Halfway through the relay journey I felt it was a bit too much for me and slowed down. I thought even if I could not run to the terminal, I would walk there. Just then a police car drove up to me. A friendly police officer said, "Come in and sit in the car if you cannot run any more." The officer's kindness made me feel even more determined. I thought: They support us, and they have already chosen a wonderful future for themselves by doing so. I then smiled and said, "No, thank you." I asked Master to strengthen me. I said in my mind, "Master, I will keep running till the end, and I won't be left behind." I felt my feet becoming much lighter and I could run faster. Very soon I caught up with the team. I tried to keep up with the team and run in the front. I ran steadily and finished after sometime over an hour. I completed the whole distance with the others.
Witnessing the lighting of the Human Rights Torch and the relay, my heart was also filled with sadness. People in China are living a constrained life under the current CCP rulers, without dignity and freedom. The CCP perpetuates their tyranny with the slogan, "Those who yield to me become prosperous, those who go against me perish," and persecute the innocent people. The CCP is especially cruel toward the people who practice Falun Gong and follow the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance."
I'm Chinese, and I am a Falun Dafa practitioner. I love my motherland, as she has five thousand years of civilization and divine culture. The CCP has ruthlessly destroyed her and ruined her. The CCP does not represent China. The CCP has persecuted countless sentient beings with its dirty tricks, and Heaven and Earth are condemning it. It is absolutely certain that the Heavens will destroy the CCP.
I would like to warn those who still participate in the persecution of Falun Gong that they must stop persecuting people. The Human Rights Torch Relay represents universal values and freedom of spirit. This is also a mercy call from gods and Buddhas. They are offering you an opportunity to repent. You must quickly release all detained Falun Gong practitioners and other people under persecution, so that you can choose a good future for yourselves.
August 24, 2007
