(Minghui.org) On July 15, 2023, Falun Dafa practitioners gathered at Stephansplatz in Vienna to expose the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) brutal persecution of this spiritual movement over the past 24 years and called for it to end. Many people condemned the CCP’s crimes and signed a petition to end it.

Through loudspeakers, the practitioners told the public that on July 20, 1999, Jiang Zemin, then head of the Communist Party of China, launched the persecution against Falun Dafa and its practitioners, with his genocidal policy to “ruin their reputations, bankrupt them financially, and destroy them physically.” During the event, practitioners demonstrated the five Falun Dafa exercises and read statements from Austrian politicians who supported practitioners’ efforts in calling for an end to the persecution.

Practitioners demonstrated the exercises at Stephansplatz on July 15, 2023.

Austrian Politicians Issue Statements of Support

Dr. Faika El-Nagashi, a member of the Austrian parliament, said in a statement, “Persecuting others based on their beliefs is a serious violation of human rights. We unequivocally condemn the 24-year repression and brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, and provide assistance to the victims. This is a totalitarian system that silences critics through systematic acts of terror such as imprisonment, torture, and tyranny.

“It is admirable that the will and resistance of people (Falun Gong practitioners) have not been weakened for years and decades. They draw strength from their belief and exercises and work to make the public aware of this often-forgotten topic (CCP persecution). Through their efforts, we learned about the illegal organ trade, which is only part of the criminal acts against Falun Gong practitioners. They have also been arbitrarily detained, tortured, and vilified.”

Dr. El-Nagas also said, “Thank you for your tireless dedication. This makes us focus on human rights violations and the fate of all victims. I wish you strength and confidence, and I will continue to support you in the scope of my work.”

Petra Wimmer, a member of the Austrian parliament, said in her statement, “The right to equality, the right to life, the right to liberty of a person, the right not to be subjected to degrading punishment or torture are self-evident in every country in the world. Unfortunately, Falun Dafa practitioners do not have these rights in China. They are persecuted, tortured, and murdered because of their personal beliefs and values.

“I am thinking of Falun Dafa practitioners and their family members who died as a result of torture, labor camps, or illegal organ trading. The attention of the international community can raise awareness of these issues, thereby increasing pressure on the Chinese government to stop these practices.”

“I thank Falun Gong practitioners for their comprehensive truth-telling and hope that everyone in China (and around the world) can practice a faith that suits them without fear of consequences,” the statement concluded.

Photo Exhibition Touches People’s Hearts

Practitioners also displayed photos of how Falun Dafa spread around the world and the cruelty of the persecution. They re-enacted the tortures that the CCP applied during the persecution in a live simulation as well.

During the event, people continued to thank practitioners, and many signed the petition to end the persecution. Many passersby read the information on the display panels about torture and organ harvesting. Some people asked practitioners for more information.

When he learned that the persecution was continuing and that Falun Gong practitioners were illegally arrested, subjected to forced labor, mentally and physically tortured, and even have their organs harvested while they are still alive for their faith in China, one man exclaimed, “It’s crazy! Communism is terrible! This is the deadliest ideology in the whole world!”

An American told practitioners that he is a Christian and he believes that the CCP’s influence on the world is very bad. There are still too few people who really understand the CCP, and he hopes that the people of the world will wake up as soon as possible.

Photo exhibition and torture re-enactment.

People read the information about the persecution.

People talk to practitioners about the persecution.

People sign the petition to end the persecution.

Chinese People Quit the CCP

A couple from Shanghai initially refused to accept the materials practitioners distributed, instead, they asked a practitioner how much money she was paid to participate in the event. The practitioner replied that she was not paid, instead, she voluntarily attended these events because she knows Falun Dafa is good. She hopes the couple would not believe the CCP’s lies.

The practitioner then explained to them Falun Dafa's principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and told her own story. She used to work as an accountant in China, and because she practiced Falun Dafa, her boss trusted her very much. She was later arrested by the police for posting the truth about Falun Dafa online. She was subjected to forced labor and torture. She also told the couple about the CCP’s crime of organ harvesting and pointed out that when people do bad things they are eventually punished.

She asked the couple to make the right choice for their future. In the end, they agreed to withdraw from the Party and its youth organizations and bid a friendly farewell to her.

Background: What Is Falun Dafa and Why Is the CCP Persecuting It?

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and have learned the five exercises have experienced improved health and well-being.

Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology, and on July 20, 1999, he issued an order to eradicate the practice.

Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organization with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.

Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 24 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. Countless practitioners have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.

There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply China’s organ transplant industry.