(Minghui.org) Two hundred million is a significant number – especially when it refers to 200 million individuals renouncing their membership in Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organizations. To mark this milestone, Falun Gong practitioners gathered in Houston's Chinatown on April 18 to form a “Great Wall of Truth,” holding banners celebrating those who have freed themselves from the CCP's mind control.
Falun Gong practitioners in Houston's Chinatown form a “Great Wall of Truth” on April 18 – holding banners with information about the worldwide movement to quit the CCP.
Many people shopping at nearby supermarkets took note of the event. Ms. Huai, who came from China 15 years ago, remarked, “After the Chinese Communist Party seized power in China, it committed a lot of bad deeds. Corruption doesn't cover it all. Their ability to lie is beyond imagination.
“I know there's a global trend of people quitting the Party. The CCP is just like a crumbling building. Chinese people are captured inside. If we don't quit the Party organizations, we will go down with the CCP. I totally agree with the saying that only quitting the CCP will bring about [one's] personal safety,” she added.
The movement of quitting the CCP was triggered by the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, a series of editorials published by the Epoch Times, a newspaper run by Falun Gong practitioners, in late 2004. The first 100 million withdrawals took about seven years starting in December 2004, but the second 100 million took just three-and-a-half years – half the time. And the movement is gaining momentum at a pace of over 100,000 renouncements every day.
Local practitioners in Houston have seen this trend reflected in their city, noting growing numbers of people eager to disassociate from the CCP. According to them, people are much more open to quitting the Party than they used to be. While it previously took a long time for someone to consider and make the decision to renounce their Party membership, they now often arrive at the decision after just a brief exchange.
Ms. Zhang has been working at the Epoch Times in Houston for over five years. She has observed the same trend, based on the community feedback she receives when she distributes the newspaper in Chinatown.
“At first some [Chinese people] were totally against our newspaper. Now most are curious upon seeing our consistent efforts over the years. Some even come over to help me when they see me arriving with heavy bundles of newspapers,” she shared.
“A Chinese person once made negative comments about the newspaper,” she added. “He was immediately interrupted by a bystander who told him, 'The fact that you don't want to read the Epoch Times doesn't mean that others don't. You can't reject the newspaper on behalf of others.' Some people actually wait for me to deliver the newspapers each week at the supermarket.”
