(Clearwisdom.net) On August 21, Falun Gong practitioners in San Diego held a rally and press conference in front of the City Hall to call attention to the human right violations in China during the Olympics.

Yu Ping and Geng Sa, two local practitioners, told the media how their family members are being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The local TV stations KUSI and Channel 6 interviewed practitioners.

Yu Ping's mother, Wang Chunyan, a businesswoman in Dalian, has been arrested many times because of her Falun Gong belief. In August 8, 2007, Wang was arrested again. In March, 2008, Wang was sentenced to five years in prison. Ms. Wang's sisters, Wang Chunrong and Wang Chunying, were sentenced to two years and three months and 18 months respectively because of their practice of Falun Gong.

Yu Ping said her mother was arrested with 30 other Falun Gong practitioners, and the excuse for the arrests was "to make sure the Olympics and other nation-wide activities would go smoothly without trouble." Yu Ping said some practitioners were told that they would be released after the Olympics.

Ms. Yu said: "What does this mean? It means the innocent people are being jailed and thirty families are suffering from human right violations."

To avoid the persecution, Yu came to America in February. She has only talked to her mother twice since last August, and her mother told her not to come back to China.

Ms. Yu said that due the persecution, her mother has recognized the evil nature of the CCP and has no hope for it.

Geng Sa, a biologist who came to America last year, had been persecuted in China because of his Falun Gong belief. Geng and his wife were arrested and jailed many times since 1999. Geng held a hunger strike in the detention center to protest the torture. He was force-fed. The policemen forced opened his mouth, and most of his teeth were broken. His wife, Guan Ge, was sentenced to three years in 2001. In 2003, the police in Shibali Labor Camp in Henan applied the "Straight jacket" torture to her, killing her.

Mr. Geng briefly described the "straight jacket" at the press conference. It is a torture that breaks people's shoulders, elbows and wrists. If it is applied for a long time, one's spine will be broken too.

Mr. Li, the representative from the Falun Dafa Association in San Diego, said that the world has been witnessing a series fabrications that CCP has made since the opening of the Olympics. Mr. Li said: "Actually the biggest lie that the CCP has told is about the human rights situation in China." "The CCP promised to improve, but actually the Olympics has caused the persecution to be escalated," Mr. Li said.

According to the Falun Dafa Information Center, from last December to July 2008, 8037 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested in 29 provinces in China.