HONG KONG—On New Year's Day, the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (CIPFG)—a group consisting of 400 politicians, rights advocates, and rights supporters—initiated a worldwide one-million-signature campaign calling for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to stop the persecuting of Falun Gong in China.
The initial ceremony was sponsored by a Falun Gong group in Hong Kong on the same day. The groups involved pointed out that it was of historic significance to launch this campaign in Hong Kong, as many of the persecuted from mainland China promised to relay news of the effort to the mainland.
Spreading the Message: "Say No to the CCP's Savage Acts"
The initial ceremony was held in Hong Kong's Charter Garden. Falun Gong spokesperson Zhu Wanqi expressed her gratitude to the CIPFG for its efforts and added that her group would give its all to supporting the campaign.
"Falun Gong practitioners support the appeal across the world sponsored by the CIPFG. This campaign is of profound historic significance, especially in Hong Kong which is within China's territorial sovereignty. We hope all good-hearted people in the international community contact human to human and heart to heart, help us and the CIPFG spread our message: 'Say No to the CCP's Savage Acts' by word of mouth," said Zhu.
The goal of collecting one million signatures calls on the CCP to stop the persecution of Falun Gong before the Olympic Games, release at once all practitioners incarcerated for their faith and end the persecution of supporters and friends and defense lawyers of Falun Gong practitioners like Gao Zhisheng. Zhu Wanqi said that the signatures collected would be submitted, before the Olympic Games, to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), all national Olympic committees, all heads of state and government and other governmental bodies and organizations.
A Demonstration of Conscience and Compassion
Zhu Keming, one of the prosecutors suing ex-Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, said that CIPFG's worldwide campaign is absolutely necessary because the Jiang regime initiated the genocide and torture of Falun Gong practitioners in China.
"A lot of innocent people were forced to leave their homes and roam about for safety," explained Zhu Keming. "Countless numbers of families have been devastated, and many individuals even were put in prison where they suffered cruel tortures or even had their organs extracted while they were still alive."
He encouraged everyone to participate in the activity, adding, "This campaign is a chance for everybody to demonstrate their compassion and conscience while giving an opportunity to do our part to stop the CCP's evil acts."
Appeal to Hong Kong Citizens to Promote Human Rights in China
In a previously recorded statement, the vice chairman of the Asian branch of the CIPFG, Szeto Wah criticized the CCP for failing to keep its promise to improve human rights before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Wah added that, because it was initiated in Hong Kong, this anti-persecution campaign would be even more significance because of the territory's proximity to mainland China.
"It makes sense to launch the campaign of collecting one million signatures calling for the CCP to end the persecution of Falun Gong in Hong Kong. Hong Kong citizens must do their part to require that the CCP fulfill its promise to improve human rights in China. Here I call on all people in support of human rights to participant in this campaign," said Wah.
Spreading the Message in China
Cheng Sen and Lin Jiliang from Shanghai were two of the campaign's first signatories at the event. They promised to spread the message to Chinese people so that more could contribute and support the "one-million-signature" campaign.
Afterward, Falun Gong practitioners organized a demonstration in front of the Liaison office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) calling for the CCP to stop the brutal persecution of practitioners in China. During this event they collected signatures from both residents and foreign visitors who supported their efforts.
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