A group of conscientious objectors have made it their mission to spread awareness of the many injustices that Chinese citizens face. Estevan is one of many Canadian cities in which the Falun Dafa Association of Canada is touring.
Association members stopped in Estevan on Aug. 18 to speak to residents of the city about the persecution of practitioners of Falun Gong in China, calling for public condemnation of that persecution by world leaders.
Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) is a spiritual practice that cultivates a sense of mindfulness and enlightenment, through exercises and philosophical study.
“It’s not a religion of any sort. We just do exercises, and base everything we do on the values of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance,” said Paula Liu, a representative of the Falun Dafa Association, and one of the activists who visited Estevan.
“We follow those values and do no harm to anyone. But the Communist Party wants to control everything that goes on in their country. Since they couldn’t control Falun Gong, they seek to eradicate it,” said Liu.
Liu made a brief public speech outside city hall, claiming that the persecution of those who practice Falun Gong by the Chinese government is a violation of human rights on the part of the ruling Communist Party.
In her speech, and a subsequent interview with the Mercury, Liu asserted that the persecution entails the unfair imprisonment in labour camps, killing of and even the harvest of organs from Falun Gong practitioners. Liu said the persecution has been ongoing since 1999, and the harvesting of organs from Falun Gong practitioners has been going on since 2000.
The main objective of the Falun Dafa Association’s campaign is to end the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, as well as to call for former Chinese president Jiang Zemin to be prosecuted in the highest court possible for his involvement in that persecution. Liu stated that such an end could be achieved by spreading awareness, and signing a petition and calling on Canadian politicians to condemn the persecution, and for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to raise the issue the next time he meets with Chinese leaders.
“Over 200,000 Chinese nationals have filed criminal claims against Jiang Zemin, in the highest court in China,” said Liu. “We hope that the people in Canada will be able to help us deliver justice.”
“We have five groups covering Canada. We’re running in a total of 250 cities across Canada to spread this message to as many people as we can,” said Liu.
Liu added that their stop in Estevan was one of many cities and towns, in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, on a tour that will eventually take them back to Ontario.
