Las Vegas: Practitioners Hold a Candlelight Vigil to Call for an End to the CCP’s 23-Year Persecution

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in Las Vegas performed the exercises and held a rally on the city’s busiest casino boulevard on the evening of July 15, 2022. Their event was a peaceful protest against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s persecution of Falun Dafa which has continued for 23 years. They called on kind people to support Falun Dafa practitioners’ efforts to end the persecution and stop the CCP’s live organ harvesting.

Practitioners set out display boards, held banners, and distributed truth-clarifying materials to passing tourists. They collected signatures for a petition calling for an end to the persecution.

As the sun started to set, the practitioners held a candlelight vigil. As the peaceful music played, practitioners mourned the practitioners in China who have lost their lives due to the CCP’s persecution.

Falun Dafa practitioners distribute truth-clarification materials and collect signatures for a petition calling to end the persecution.

Practitioners held a candlelight vigil in Las Vegas on July 15, 2022.

Tourists Learn about Falun Dafa

A continuous flow of tourists was attracted to the solemn and peaceful atmosphere of the rally. They stopped to listen and ask questions. Almost everyone left with a Falun Dafa brochure in their hands.

Ms. Barbara Gomes, a tourist from Miami, had come to a casino for a four-day vacation with her husband and a friend. It was the first time she had heard of Falun Dafa and that the practice is persecuted by the CCP. She happily accepted the small lotus flower that a practitioner handed to her and said that she will check for information about her local Falun Dafa practice site when she returns to Miami.

A practitioner explains the truth about Falun Dafa to Ms. Barbara Gomes and her husband.

Waves of tourists were attracted to the truth-clarification event that night. The candlelight vigil lasted for more than three hours. People watched the candlelight vigil and many stopped to read the content on the banners and display boards intently. Many tourists said, “Falun Dafa,” as they walked by.

Before the start of the candlelight vigil, eight police officers came over to help maintain order at the site. They even left one officer’s mobile number with practitioners so they could contact them if they needed to. Two police cars turned on their patrol lights and stopped at the roadside not far from the vigil and waited for the end of the Falun Dafa practitioners’ event before they left.

New Vietnamese Practitioner Recovers from Contracting Covid in Three Days

At the rally, a new Vietnamese practitioner, Christina, was the first to deliver her speech. She expressed her gratitude to Falun Dafa for improving her health, both physically and mentally. She said she is now able to overcome many difficulties that she had faced in life.

Christina contracted Covid in 2020, but she recovered within three days by practicing the Falun Dafa exercises. She is a ballet teacher and the mother of two children, and she abides by the Falun Dafa principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in her work and daily life, and she is well-liked by her friends and colleagues. The principal of her ballet school said to her, “God sent you to our school!”

Christina said she was puzzled about why such a wonderful practice is banned and persecuted in China. She wanted to call on everyone to listen to the heartfelt voices of the Falun Dafa practitioners in China and help them to regain their right to freedom of belief.

Lawyer Calls for Kind People to Reject the CCP and Support Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance

Mr. Ma, a Falun Dafa practitioner who came from a coastal city in China where he worked as a lawyer, was the next to deliver his speech. Mr. Ma talked about how Falun Dafa practitioners have withstood great stress and faced great danger since the start of the persecution, but they have persisted in abiding by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and peacefully raised awareness of the persecution in China and all over the world.

“They have continuously clarified the truth to both the Chinese and people around the world in all sorts of peaceful ways. This has been ongoing for 23 years to date,” he said.

Mr. Ma, a representative of practitioners, delivers his speech at the rally.