Volunteers hold a banner reading, “Have You Quit [the CCP organizations]?”[/caption]Hong Kong and Macau are the only two Cities in China where citizens can freely practice the meditative, soft-moving exercises of Falun Gong in public without fear of being arrested. Anywhere else in Mainland China—the peaceful cultivation system is vilified and persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In conjunction with similar worldwide activities, citizens who practice Falun Gong marched and rallied in Hong Kong and Macau on April 25^th and 26^th to commemorate a historical protest dating back to April 25^th, 1999 when 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners quietly gathered outside China’s central leadership compound in Beijing to appeal for those who had been arrested in Tianjin and to peacefully protest the ill treatment and harassment by the police. Countless Chinese tourists from Mainland China watched – for the first time – a grand parade held by Falun Gong practitioners. Some banners held at the parade this year highlighted the recent milestone of 200 million people who withdrew from the CCP since 2004. Inspired and encouraged by what they saw, many people proactively renounced their memberships in the CCP organizations right then and there.

Sympathy for Falun Gong

It was the first time for Mr. Chen, a business owner, to watch the Falun Gong parade in Hong Kong. He praised the procession as orderly, energetic, and magnificent. Mr. Chen told a local reporter that some of his staff were Falun Gong practitioners and that he once protected them from local police when they came to harass them. “We all know that Falun Gong practitioners are good people,” Mr. Chen said, “We like to hire Falun Gong practitioners. How dare they arrest and detain them?” Though the practitioners Mr. Chen had protected from harassment were later arrested, Mr. Chen said that the situation in Mainland China had greatly changed. Many people felt sympathy for Falun Gong and the number of people practicing Falun Gong has steadily increased. Some of his son’s classmates are Falun Gong practitioners, and they taught the Falun Gong exercises to other classmates at a recent gathering. “I heard that dozens of them were doing the exercises together.” Mr. Chen submitted his resignation from the CCP years back. “Many high-ranking officials had quit, too,” he said. One of them was his sister, a provincial-level official, who has recently renounced her membership in the Communist Youth League because she was dissatisfied with the CCP’s leadership. Mr. Chen knew of other business owners who had also quit the Party because they believed that, “the CCP‘s boat was sinking”, and in preparation for the fall of the Communist Party, they were transferring their funds outside of China while family members were immigrating.

Inspired by the Parade

Mr. Yang, from Guangdong Province, China, who saw the Falun Gong parade in Hong Kong for the first time said: “The atmosphere in Hong Kong and in Mainland China are different, I could not see this in the Mainland.” Mr. Yang said he knew little about Falun Gong before, however because he had the opportunity in Hong Kong to experience what the practice was truly like, he was eager to learn more. Another parade spectator, a young man from Chongqing, China said that Falun Gong practitioners were righteous and courageous, “I am inspired and empowered! I now believe that there is hope for China.”

Truth told at Macau

In front of the Rosary Church in Macau, Falun Gong practitioners displayed images and provided information to Chinese tourists who otherwise would never be able to learn about in China A young man from Jiangsu Province, who had no idea what Falun Gong was, learned about the peaceful protest of 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners 16 years ago. He realized the censorship he was dealt by the CCP and came to understand the persecution of Falun Gong. He renounced his Young Pioneers membership right then and there.]]>