(Clearwisdom.net) At 7 p.m. on July 19, 2009, more than 1000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered at Xinyi Square, a landmark in Taipei, Taiwan, to quietly hold a candlelight vigil in memory of fellow practitioners who have died as a result of the CCP persecution in the past ten years, to condemn the unreasonable violence, and to hold a press conference to call people's attention to this cruel persecution and end it.

Falun Gong Candlelight Vigil in Taipei on July 19, 2009

Former Chairman of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights and current Vice Chairman of the Asian Branch of the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG), Lawyer Qiu Huangquan, made clear that in order to win the the right to host the Olympics in 2008, the CCP signed two UN human rights conventions in 1998, but they began persecuting Falun Gong only six months later. Especially in the past ten years, the cruel persecution has proved that the CCP has deceived the international community by signing these two conventions. The CCP is a swindler.

Mr. Qiu Huangquan

Mr. Qiu said the motto of the Asian Human Rights Charter is "Common Humanity". The CCP's persecution of Falun Gong shows that its nature is against humanity. The fundamental duty of a government is to protect the people and safeguard the people's basic rights. "It is natural that the CCP will be disintegrated because it completely lacks common humanity. Only if the CCP is disintegrated will the persecution end. We believe the persecution will stop because the CCP will soon be disintegrated."

Human rights lawyer Mr. Wei Qianfeng stated, "Many documents have proved that the CCP is intentionally persecuting Falun Gong, because Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance makes the CCP's corrupt, vicious, and aggressive nature stand out. Master Li teaches his disciples to pursue virtue and righteousness and upgrade their moral character, which was especially manifested during the April 25, 1999 Zhongnanhai Appeal. Tens of thousands of practitioners displayed serene self discipline and caused the CCP to deeply fear them. Mr. Wei pointed out, "Lawyers who speak for wronged clients will be arrested or even sentenced to prison and lose their certification. How can such a government have a future?

Mr. Wei Qianfeng

Mr. Yang Changzhen, the Social Movement Department Chair of the Democratic Progressive Party, joined the candlelight vigil representing Party Chairwoman Cai Yingwen. He reminded everyone with a story during WWII, that we should not ignore any unjust things because that is equal to helping the evil and results in oneself becoming the victim. During the Nazi era, one person said he deeply regretted that when the Jehovah's Witnesses were being arrested, he did not speak out since he was not one of them; when they were arresting Labor Society activists, he did not speak out since he was not one of them; when they were arresting Jewish people, he did not speak out since he was not Jewish. Finally, when they came to arrest him, there was no one left to speak out for him.

Mr. Yang Changzhen

Mr. Yang Changzhen added, "If we ignore it when human rights and freedom are in danger, we lose our own freedom." He expressed that he admires the Falun Gong practitioners around the world who persist in speaking out about this persecution. They play a huge role in exposing the lying nature of the CCP. This kind of persistence is the most uplifting for freedom, and the strongest way of safeguarding liberty.

He thanked the Falun Gong practitioners that have never ceased to speak for safeguarding basic human rights and freedom of belief during the past ten years. He said he believes in the great value of China through the Falun Gong practitioners' persistence for freedom, human rights, and personal beliefs.

Candlelight Vigil

The candlelight vigil ended with a memorial statement and the singing of the song. "Sit By My Side" by all.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline for the mind and body. The practice involves slow, gentle movements and meditation. It is easy to learn, enjoyable to practice, and free of charge. Its principles are based on Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. The practice began in China in 1992 and quickly spread by word of mouth throughout China and then beyond. It's beneficial by uplifting an individual's physical health, spiritual well-being, and moral character, and its positive influence in the community and society as a whole is undeniable. In fact, Falun Gong is practiced by over 100 million people in 60 countries. The main works of Falun Gong are available in over 30 languages.

On July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a brutal persecution of Falun Gong. Since the start of the persecution, Falun Gong practitioners throughout the world have been constantly speaking out about the truth of Falun Gong and exposing the CCP's crimes in a tireless effort to end the persecution.