(Minghui.org) The fourth annual Baila Con Dover Latin Festival was held at The Green, a historic downtown park in Dover, the capital of Delaware, on August 29, 2026.
Many visitors, community leaders, and politicians who visited the Falun Gong booth to learn about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong and the state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting signed a petition to support US Senate Bill S.4009, the Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act.
Practitioners demonstrated the exercises, distributed flyers, and collected signatures on the petition.
Visitors learn about Falun Gong and sign the petition in support of Senate Bill S.4009. (Minghui.org)
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee reviewed and passed the bill, which was co-sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) on July 27, 2026. The bill aims to sanction foreign nationals that are involved in organ trafficking, mandate comprehensive US State Department reporting, and prevent US medical institutions from aiding organ transplants associated with human rights violations. A companion legislation, the Falun Gong Protection Act (H.R.1540), was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives on May 5, 2025.
Festivalgoers Learn About Falun Gong
When they saw the exercise demonstration, some of the visitors came over to the Falun Gong booth and learned about it.
Paul Skivers (left) learning the first Falun Gong exercise (Minghui.org)
After he did the exercises, Paul Skivers, an administrative assistant in a school district, said, “This exercise is good.”
Vanessa Alstos (right) learning the fifth Falun Gong exercise (Minghui.org)
Vanessa Alstos, a vendor who was selling health and beauty products, also tried the exercises and bought a copy of Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Gong.
“I am very interested in learning different techniques of harnessing energy naturally,” Alstos said, noting that the movements left her feeling “very relaxed.” She emphasized the value of holistic health.
People Condemn the Forced Organ Harvesting
Many visitors paused at the Falun Gong booth to learn about the CCP’s 27-year persecution and state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience.
Dr. Robert Buckley (left) talks with practitioners. (Minghui.org)
When Dr. Robert Buckley, clinical director at Optimus Injury Treatment Center, learned about the organ harvesting in China he said, “I’m horrified. That’s just a horrible thing.
“The Lord gave us all free will ... we all should be able to have that belief, and there should be no organization that takes that away from us,” Buckley said after signing the petition.
“The sanctity of life and these people that have a soul and a living spirit, to use them as a farm to harvest their organs” is unconscionable. Buckley also noted that major media outlets often fail to report such atrocities because of differing agendas.
Chelsea Prest (left) talks with a practitioner. (Minghui.org)
Chelsea Prest of Dover expressed similar shock after speaking with practitioners.
“It sounds like a kind of genocide happening for the last 27 years,” Prest said. She said the forced organ harvesting was “just horrible” and that, while she intends to research the details of the Senate legislation further, “it sounds like something that I would want to support because you know that [forced organ harvesting] just sounds awful.”
Calling for Action to Stop the Persecution
Medical and political figures expressed their support and called for an end to the persecution.
Dr. Mike Katz, a candidate for the US Senate from Delaware, signs a petition in support of S.4009 bill at the festival on August 29. (Minghui.org)
Dr. Mike Katz, a pediatric critical care anesthesiologist and Republican candidate for the US Senate from Delaware, addressed the issue from a medical standpoint.
“I spent my entire life and my career in medicine, healing people and helping people live healthy lives,” Katz said. “When I heard about this, I was just in disbelief that humans could do this to other humans, that it was to make money, that it was essentially 'organs on order' worldwide, and that the government of China was aware of this.”
Katz reaffirmed his commitment to the Falun Gong and Victims of Forced Organ Harvesting Protection Act, saying, “Our country, the United States of America, has an obligation to commit to making sure that we do everything we can to stop this sinful and horrible, essentially execution of humans in China.”
Earl Cooper (left) (Minghui.org)
Earl Cooper, a Republican candidate for Delaware’s at-large US House seat, praised the Falun Gong volunteers for their advocacy and commended them as an “outstanding group wanting to be able to fight for justice” against overseas persecution.
Dover Councilman David Anderson (second on left) and his wife Jennie Anderson (second on right) learn about Falun Gong at the festival. (Minghui.org)
Dover Councilman David Anderson, an ordained Christian minister, signed the petition alongside his wife.
“As a Christian minister, I am very much sensitive to religious persecution whether it’s what’s happening in Nigeria or whether it’s what’s happening in China, we all have to stand together because once you open that door to persecution, the government has the power to persecute anyone,” he said.
Calling forced organ harvesting evidence of the inhumanity of totalitarian communist regimes, Anderson emphasized the importance of public grassroots education: “When you shine the light on things, the darkness disappears.”
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