Los Angeles: Dignitaries Speak Out at Falun Gong Rally Against the Communist Regime’s Persecution

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners and supporters held a candlelight vigil and rally outside the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles on July 19, 2025 to call on people to help end the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong.

There was a gentle, cool breeze as practitioners quietly held candles and commemorated their fellow practitioners who were persecuted to death. Some held banners with messages such as: “Falun Dafa Is Good,” “The World Needs Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance,” “Stop Persecuting Falun Gong,” “Falun Gong Peaceful Rational Protest for 26 Years” and, “Immediately Release Jailed Falun Gong Practitioners in China.

Practitioners held a candlelight vigil and rally at the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles on July 19, 2025, calling to end decades of persecution.

The CCP’s brutal persecution of Falun Gong which began on July 20, 1999 has gone on for 26 years. This persecution brought tragedy to countless families of Falun Gong practitioners causing them to lose their jobs, their freedom, even their lives.

Human rights activists and leaders from the Taiwanese Association in the US came to the rally to show their support and to condemn the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong.

Call for Help to Rescue Practitioners in China

Some of the practitioners who attended the event were persecuted in China and others have loved ones who are being persecuted right now.

Ms. Wu, a practitioner asked for help in getting practitioners Zhou Zixian and 10 other illegally detained practitioners in Hengyang City, Hunan Province released.

Zhou Zixian, who is nearly 70 years old, is a retired official at an oil company in Hengyang City. He began to practice Falun Gong in 1997 and said he found happiness and good health. The CCP launched the persecution two years later. He went to Beijing three times hoping to tell the government the personal benefits he gained through the practice and ask it to stop persecuting good people. However, he was sentenced to one and a half years in a labor camp and 6 years in prison.

At the end of March 2024, Zhou was once again arrested by police outside his house. His place was ransacked. He was shackled and hung up, beaten, forced fed, shocked with electric batons and placed in solitary confinement for two months while in detention.

To stop him from doing the exercises, guards frequently shackled him to steel doors at night. He was not allowed to sleep and in the morning, he was made to do humiliating “training” which required extreme physical strength. In the summer, he was made to climb on scalding hot cement that led to huge blisters on his palms… Such inhumane torture continues to take place in China.

According to two decades of investigation, the CCP carried out genocide on Falun Gong practitioners, employing over one hundred types of torture methods, including organ harvesting.

The CCP’s Persecution of Falun Gong Is Unsustainable

Professor Wu Yingnian at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) gave a speech on behalf of the Los Angeles Falun Dafa Association. He said that in the past 26 years, the CCP used extremely brutal, barbaric ways to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. In the first half of 2025, Minghui.org recorded the deaths of 76 practitioners who died from torture, 430 practitioners were illegally sentenced to prison, and 2 were sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. To date, at least 5,238 practitioners have been tortured to death.

“Falun Gong’s rational, peaceful, non violent protesting the persecution in the past 26 years is obvious to all, furthermore, Falun Gong teaches one to follow Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance. It benefits society,” he said.

Wu said he recently observed an increasing number of countries have begun standing up to oppose this persecution. In May, the U.S. Congress passed the Falun Gong Protection Act. “I think this persecution is unsustainable. People in China are already aware of how evil the CCP is. They also know of the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong. People know about various brutal crimes including organ harvesting. Ordinary citizens will be affected if this persecution is not stopped. Therefore, more people will come out to oppose the persecution.”

At present, the Party is divided internally, there is the trend of anti communism sentiment globally—people are rapidly awakening. According to the Quit the CCP website, 450 million Chinese citizens have withdrawn from the party and its affiliated organizations to date.

“We call on international society to continue to pay attention to this persecution, help stop it.” He also called on people from all walks of life to write letters to their legislators so that elected officials from both parties will support legislation to end the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong.

I Support Falun Gong

Human rights advocates and leaders of the Taiwanese Association in America condemned the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong after listening to the personal accounts of persecution from Falun Gong practitioners at the rally.

Liu Yingquan, president of the China Social Democratic Party said in his speech that Falun Dafa is a practice that is effective in improving people’s moral values and health. It was once popular in China and a blessing for Chinese people. It is also a good thing for humanity. However, the CCP carried out a brutal suppression of this group to uphold its one Party rule, “This is genocide, we must condemn such crimes,” he said.

Liu Yingquan, president of the China Social Democratic Party, spoke at the rally.

Liu said he knew of the Quit the CCP Movement started by Falun Gong practitioners, and said it’s important for changing China’s current situation and improving the moral values of mainland Chinese. He observed that CCP officials with consciences also saw the disaster persecuting Falun Gong brings to humanity and has began to awaken; many politicians in the international society are more determined to support Falun Gong.

He said, “With the support from democratic governments all over the world, people who love freedom and as more Chinese people awaken and speak out, I believe Falun Gong practitioners will have the opportunity to practice freely in China for sure.”

Ken Wu, deputy president of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, LA branch said in his speech that freedom of belief is very important. Falun Gong is able to gain popularity in Taiwan today because there is democracy on the island. The Taiwanese people chose the right political power to rule Taiwan.

Ken Wu, deputy president of the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, LA branch spoke at the rally.

Ken called on more people to step up to support Falun Gong in fighting for freedom of belief, otherwise, “It is very likely we will be the target of this suppression next, the next to be persecuted may be Christians followed by Taiwan, even the U.S….”

Bring Down the CCP, Let Chinese Citizens Gain a New Life

The CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong has incurred more and more severe criticisms from democratic countries in Europe and America. Ahead of this year’s July 20 activities, elected officials in the U.S., Germany, Italy, UK, Switzerland, Australia and so on spoke out to safeguard basic human rights, support Falun Gong practitioners and called on the U.S. government to take action urging the CCP to stop the persecution at once.

Li Youfu, president of the Southwest Falun Dafa Association in America spoke at the candlelight vigil and rally.

This May, the U.S. Congress passed the Falun Gong Protection Act, which asks the US government to take action to stop the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong. Senator Ted Cruz said in his video recording that he supports Falun Gong practitioners’ July 20^th activities, “These attacks should have ended long ago, and the United States should take action to stop it now.”

Li Youfu, president of the Southwest Falun Dafa Association in America said in his speech that as time goes by, the beauty of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance as spread throughout the world, exposes the CCP’s evil. Through the rational, peaceful efforts of practitioners to raise awareness on the persecution for 26 years, the world has seen clearly how evil the CCP is and witnessed the beauty of Dafa.

He said that now people clearly know that the CCP’s existence is a crime that never ends, “Everyone with a conscience will come together to stop such evil.

“As a result of the deep tragedy the CCP brought to Chinese people in the past 100 years, it cannot avoid bearing the consequences of its evil doings.” Li urged those in power in the CCP: This is the last chance to break free from the CCP cult, bring down the CCP, let yourself and Chinese people gain a new life. Let Chinese people break away from disasters and welcome a bright future.”