'I don't hate them,' Says Falun Dafa Association President About Attackers

FLUSHING, New York City—Sen Yang came from Chicago to talk about why so many Falun Gong practitioners gathered in Flushing Saturday.

As he spoke at a large rally on Saturday afternoon, the president of the U.S. Falun Dafa Association did not miss a beat, despite a soaking cloudburst and a few hecklers.

Yang dispelled the rumors being circulated by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that Falun Gong practitioners do not care about the Sichuan earthquake victims and that they are blocking donation efforts.

He noted that he himself has relatives in Sichuan that he has not been able to contact, and that he and other Falun Gong practitioners have donated to organizations such as the American Red Cross.

"Who can interfere with you if you want to donate money?" he said, in response to the rumors. "You can donate money online or in many other places. The CCP rumors are ridiculous.

"Everything from the CCP is lies. All the persecution [of Falun Gong practitioners] is based on lies. Now they are trying to export those tactics to this country. They use Chinese-language media here to spread lies."

Violent mobs have assaulted Falun Gong practitioners in Flushing recently. Yang connected these assaults with the persecution against Falun Gong, begun by the CCP in 1999.

"We are given rights by the [U.S.] constitution. The CCP is trying to take away rights by violence. They think they can scare us. But we will stand strong."

'We just want people to know the truth'

Yang reflected on the people who are attacking Falun Gong practitioners in Flushing and the peaceful message regarding withdrawing from the CCP that practitioners bring to Flushing.

"I don't hate them. Probably they don't know what we are doing. But what we are doing is good for everyone.

"We are not trying to overthrow the CCP, that's not our intention. We just want people to know the truth of what's really going on."

He pointed out that communism does not belong to Chinese culture.

"Falun Gong practitioners love China, love Chinese culture, and love the Chinese people. But communism came from Germany and Russia, it's not part of Chinese culture.

"The CCP persecutes many Chinese people, including Falun Gong. The CCP is inciting violence in the United States and China.

"We all heard about what's happening in Flushing. That's why we're here."