(Clearwisdom.net) On July 20, 2011, French Falun Gong practitioners held a rally opposite the Chinese Embassy in Paris to protest the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) 12-year long brutal persecution of Falun Gong. At the rally, practitioners demonstrated the peaceful exercises and informed the public of the CCP's atrocities in the persecution of Falun Gong.

Demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises

Mr. Hanlong Tang, chairman of the French Falun Dafa Association, gave a speech at the rally

French police view the display boards

Personally Experiencing the Persecution Year After Year

Participating in the event was Ms. Huang, a Falun Gong practitioner who started the practice in 1996 in Mainland China. She said, “In 2000, after seeing the state-run media slandering Dafa and Master Li, many practitioners went to appeal to higher authorities and explain how beneficial Falun Gong is to individuals and society. At that time, I also went to Beijing to appeal. After filing the petition forms, I was taken back to Shanghai. They illegally detained me for 17 days and forced me to do hard labor. They also threatened my family members, forced me to undergo brainwashing sessions and threatened to send me to a labor camp. I was arrested during my second attempt to appeal, and was released after I went on a hunger strike for seven days. My parents were also illegally detained many times for practicing Falun Dafa, especially my mother, who was detained six times. During all of the so-called sensitive dates, my family members were threatened by the authorities. I was finally able to leave China and arrived in France in 2008.”

Continuous Efforts to Expose the CCP's Crimes and Stop the Persecution

Mr. Hanglong Tang, chairman of French Falun Dafa Association, said, “This is the third consecutive year that our French Falun Dafa Association has held a demonstration opposite the Chinese Embassy in Paris. In the previous two years, our application to hold activities in front of the Chinese Embassy had been turned down by the French police, but the French Administrative Court overturned the police's decision and upheld our right to have a peaceful appeal opposite the Chinese Embassy. I think the decisions made by the police in the previous two years were perhaps due to pressure from the CCP. Due to our tirelessly exposing the atrocities and clarifying the facts, the police have become more and more aware and the law has been on our side in this free society.”

Mr. Tang has seen that the group's peaceful appeals have had a positive effect on the French authorities and the public. He said, “A French intelligence officer once said to us, 'We know you are very peaceful. I have never seen other demonstrations like yours before. You are so peaceful; this is what we admire the most. If everyone behaved like you, then our job would be easier, no violence at all. I'd like to learn the practice myself!'”

Jian Zhang: Jiang Zemin's crimes are despised in democratic countries

Mr. Jian Zhang, a prominent democracy activist and a leader of the Tiananmen Square student appeals in 1989, has lived in France for many years and came to support the Falun Gong practitioners' July 20^th event. He gave a speech at the rally, “In 1989, the CCP conducted a massacre on Tiananmen Square, and Jiang Zemin used the event to advance his political position. Ten years later, Jiang directed the crackdown on the Falun Gong meditation group. This CCP regime is the culprit of the suppression of the Chinese people.” Mr. Zhang also pointed out that the violations of human rights and persecution of peaceful cultivators are despised in democratic countries.

Mr Jian Zhang warned those who are still persecuting Falun Gong practitioners and abusing Chinese people's human rights that, “Heaven is watching. Those who are committing wrongdoing will receive karmic retribution sooner or later.”

The rally enabled many French people to learn about the brutal persecution. A gentleman who was riding a motorcycle and passing by stopped to ask about the event. Upon learning of the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, he said, “I'm surprised that such an unimaginable thing is still happening in this day and age.”

Another passer-by voiced her support, saying, “The persecution of Falun Gong must end. I support freedom of belief and oppose the persecution.”