Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: People Express Support at a Rally in Chinatown Calling for an End to the Persecution of Falun Gong

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners from the Greater Philadelphia area held a rally in Philadelphia’s Chinatown on July 21, 2024, to mark 25 years of working to end the persecution of the practice by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). They also expressed their support for the 430 million Chinese who have quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. More than 30 Chinese registered their withdrawals from the CCP organizations at the event.

Residents and tourists alike expressed their appreciation and support, and many said that there was a need to highlight the Falun Gong Protection Act so that the Senate would pass it and it could be signed into law.

Falun Gong practitioners rally in Philadelphia’s Chinatown on July 21.

Practitioners talk to passersby about Falun Gong and the persecution in China.

During the rally, practitioners held banners and distributed information about the persecution and forced organ harvesting to passersby. Some of them signed a petition calling for an end of the persecution.

Representatives from Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH); practitioners who appealed for Falun Gong in Beijing on July 20, 1999; and others spoke at the rally, condemning the CCP’s persecution, which has been ongoing for the past 25 years. They called on the public to help stop the persecution and forced organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners.

Passersby sign a petition calling for an end of the persecution of Falun Gong.

Banners with Falun Gong information at the rally

Rally organizer Alex Luchansky called on the public to help stop the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong and the harvesting of organs from living practitioners.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Falun Gong Protection Act on June 25 this year. The bill must now be voted on by the Senate. Lukansky urged his listeners to contact their senators and ask them to co-sponsor and support the Falun Gong Protection Act so that the Senate would pass it and it could be signed into law.

Benjamin Moore said that the CCP’s organ harvesting is a crime against humanity.

Benjamin Moore, a behavioral health expert in Philadelphia, was shocked to hear about the CCP’s crime of organ harvesting from living practitioners. “This [organ harvesting] is a crime against humanity, it’s very evil… I want to say that the persecution of people over their religion should stop, it should end, it should no longer exist.” Moore said.

Cynthia Orrock (first on left), a financial industry professional from Virginia, said that it is necessary to push for the Falun Gong Protection Act in Senate.

Cynthia Orrock was also distressed by what she learned at the rally. She said, “I was a little shocked because I didn’t know how many people were affected [by organ harvesting]... Millions of people are being killed and we don’t even know it.”

Orrock said she wanted to learn more about the persecution and that people definitely need to promote the Falun Gong Protection Act in Congress.

Car dealer Mohammed Nasher (center) condemned the CCP’s crime of organ harvesting from living practitioners and called for unity to stop the persecution.

Mohammed Nasher said, “It is very wrong to profit from the suffering of others. The most important thing is that people must stand up, unite, and stop the CCP’s persecution.”

Falun Gong practitioners who spoke at the rally condemned the CCP’s 25-year-long persecution and called on the public to help stop the persecution and the crime of organ harvesting from living practitioners.