(Minghui.org) On July 21, almost one thousand Falun Gong practitioners held a grand march and a rally in Hong Kong, calling for the end of the persecution and supporting the Chinese people who have quit the communist party.

The rally

The Divine Land Marching Band in the grand march

The grand march

Watching the march.

Mr. Jian Hongzhang, the chair of the Falun Gong Association in Hong Kong, briefly reviewed the facts of the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

Mr. David Kilgour, a former Canadian diplomat, spoke at the rally and participated in the march. This was his first time to be in a Falun Gong in event in Hong Kong. In his speech, he said that he has been to more than 50 countries and that Falun Gong practitioners are respected in all of them. However, according to the investigation he and Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas conducted, the Chinese government has harvested organs from about 60,000 Falun Gong practitioners between 2000 and 2008. The organ harvesting is still going on in China, he said.

David Kilgour

Mr. Huang Shiwei, the vice chair of the International Organ Transplant Association in Taiwan, and Ms. Chu Wanchi, a Taiwanese human rights lawyer, pointed out that forced organ harvesting is inhuman. They called upon the whole society to help stop it.

Mr. Hu Jia, a famous Chinese human rights activist, sent an audio recording to the rally. He condemned the persecution and the organ harvesting. He pointed out that more and more people have learned the truth of Falun Gong in China, and more and more people support Falun Gong. “I believe that the persecution will not last long. There won't be another 14 years,” he said.

Du Bin, the director of the movie Above the Ghosts' Heads: The Women of Masanjia Labor Camp , also sent an audio recording to the rally. He said that the movie would be meaningless if it had not mentioned Falun Gong. “Falun Gong practitioners have been helping people with their belief. I really admire them, because they still hold a healthy and rational attitude towards society, despite the brutal torture they have experienced in the labor camps and prisons,” he said.

Bao Tong, the secretary of Zhao Ziyang, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party before 1989, said, “The persecution of Falun Gong is one of the worst human rights crimes that Jiang Zemin has committed. Practicing Falun Gong is a citizen's right. The persecution of Falun Gong will be a shameful chapter in history.”

Practitioners pass out truth-clarifying materials.

After the rally, practitioners held a grand march. The Divine Land Marching Band, consisting of 250 practitioners, led the procession, which went through several major streets in Hong Kong. Many people watched and took videos and photos.

Many of the spectators shouted “Falun Dafa is good,” “We support you, Falun Gong,” and “Keep up the good work.” On Kuangtung Street, a guy from the Hong Kong Youth Care Association Limited, an association controlled by the Chinese government that often harasses Falun Gong practitioners, cursed practitioners. A middle-aged man shouted at him, “Falun Dafa is good!” And people nearby applauded the gentleman.

Many Chinese tourists also saw the parade. They were surprised to see such a large scale Falun Gong march. Many of them said that it showed Hong Kong is free. “People have freedom here. I like it,” a Chinese tourist from Xi'an said. “I've heard about Falun Gong, but don't know the details. I'll record the march and show it to my family and friends in China. It is a great march, pretty shocking. I didn't know that the Hong Kong police protected Falun Gong. I want to know more about Falun Gong.” A lot of Chinese tourists accepted truth-clarifying materials.

Two gentlemen from Heilongjiang, China, told practitioners that they were well aware of the evil history of the Chinese Communist Party. They bought two copies of Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and also quit the Party. After the march, many Chinese people quit the Party with practitioners' help.