(Minghui.org) 2023 marks 24 years that Falun Dafa practitioners have peacefully appealed to end the persecution in China. Practitioners held a parade around Taipei City Hall Plaza on the afternoon of Saturday, July 15, 2023. The parade route passed through Shifu Road, Songgao Road, Songren Road, and Songshou Road, finally returning to the Taipei Civic Plaza where a press conference and candlelight vigil were held.
Practitioners gathered at Taipei City Hall Plaza on July 15 to prepare for the parade.
The parade was led by the Tian Guo Marching Band, followed by practitioners in yellow t-shirts holding banners, which were divided into four main categories: Falun Dafa is Practiced Around the World, Millions Have Quit the Chinese Communist Party and Its Youth Organizations, and, End the Persecution. The parade included fairy ladies, a flag team, and a waist drum team.
The parade route wound through the Xinyi Special District, the heart of Taipei’s business center, where the landmark Taipei 101 Skyscraper is located. This affluent area is filled with tall office buildings and international department stores. Taipei residents are usually indifferent, however this year they happily accepted the information about Falun Dafa and the persecution.
The parade wound through Taipei’s Xinyi Special District.
People along the parade route stopped to watch, and took photos and videos. Some expressed their support for practitioners’ efforts to expose the truth, saying, “Falun Dafa is good!” One person said that it was not easy to come out and parade in such hot weather. Others said, “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will disintegrate,” and, “Falun Dafa is good!”
A man from Swaziland (The Kingdom of Eswatini) who came to Taiwan to learn Mandarin Chinese saw the parade and said he was amazed. “Wonderful!” he exclaimed. He asked where he could learn the exercises and exchanged contact information with a practitioner.
Ms. Chen, who works as a waitress, watched the parade near Taipei City Hall. She admired practitioners for persisting for 24 years in calling for an end to the persecution in a peaceful manner. She hopes that people in China can maintain open hearts, “Respect one another’s freedom of speech and freedom of belief, listen more, see more, and have more exposure.”
Ms. Chen also condemned the CCP’s dictatorship and said that in China everything is decided by the Party, “It is not human. It is tyranny and it does not respect people in whatever it does. People should have mutual respect for one another.” She thinks that in modern society, the government should exist for the people instead of the other way around, “If there are no citizens, the government is nothing.” She said that she plans to share the information she obtained today in her social media groups, and also with her friends and relatives.
Ms. Zhuang, who works in Ecommerce design, watched the parade with her sister. She had watched a movie about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa before. She praised the peaceful way Falun Dafa practitioners are working to end the persecution, “Methods like this are good and people can accept them.” She also said that everyone should have the freedom of belief and their human rights, “These are universal values and no one can control what you choose to believe in. Respect others instead of setting rules forcibly.”
Mr. Wu, who is an engineer at a manufacturing firm, praised Falun Dafa practitioners’ parade and spoke about freedom of belief. He said, “People should have freedom and human rights no matter which country they live in.”
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Category: July 20 Events
