Korea: Rallies Mark July 20

(Clearwisdom.net) On July 20, Korean practitioners and human rights groups rallied at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul and the Chinese Consulate in Busan to call for support to end the 12-year-long persecution of Falun Gong. In addition, at Seoul Plaza, practitioners lighted candles to commemorate fellow practitioners who died due to the persecution in China.

Falun Gong practitioners and human rights groups rallied outside the Chinese Embassy in Seoul to protest the persecution of Falun Gong

Protest at the Chinese Embassy: Exercise demonstration

Korean Falun Dafa Association representatives place a letter of protest in the Embassy mailbox

Tourists read truth-clarification posters at Seoul Plaza

Candlelight vigil at Seoul Plaza

During the rally at the Chinese Embassy, representatives from several human rights groups voiced their support for Falun Gong.

International human rights activist Kim Shangxian emphasized that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of peaceful Falun Gong practitioners highlighted its cruelty and shamelessness. He said that its fear of Falun Gong revealed the CCP's weakness, as there is no reason to fear Falun Gong.

After their speeches, Kim and the North Korean Justice Union representative shouted in Chinese: “The Chinese Communist Party is shameless!”

At the same time as the Seoul rally, practitioners in Busan held a similar rally at the Busan Chinese Consulate. Busan University professor and Asian Philosophy Association president Cui Youyuan gave a speech. Addressing the consulate across the street, he shouted, “The Chinese Communist regime, which has committed crimes against humanity, shall collapse soon!”

Around 5 p.m., practitioners from the greater Seoul areas gathered at Seoul Plaza. The plaza is viewed as the heart of the Korean Capital and is an important venue for major rallies. The fact that practitioners managed to hold this event four days after another rally on July 16 marked the failure of the CCP to sabotage practitioners’ truth-clarifying efforts. According to the Korean Falun Dafa Association, the Chinese Embassy called Seoul City Hall asking them to cancel the Falun Gong rally. A city official who answered the phone told the Embassy agent that the rally was approved through established procedure and there was no reason to cancel it. The official also requested the agent’s name. The agent then hung up the phone. After this incident, there were no more calls or any visits from Chinese Embassy staff.

At Seoul Plaza, practitioners demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises and displayed posters exposing the persecution in China. As it got darker, practitioners lighted candles to commemorate practitioners who have died during the persecution. There were many Chinese tourists who were surprised to see Falun Gong practitioners in Korea. When they found out that Falun Gong is practiced in over 100 countries, they were amazed.