On January 2, 2010, R.E.A.L. supporters and other human rights activists from the Voice of the Copts, Pakistan Christian Congress, and Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) attended the Shen Yun Performing Arts show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Epoch Times reported on this and on our comments at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music.
Lisa Tao Speaks at National Press Club on the Human Rights Abuses by Communist China Against Falun Gong (Falun Dafa)
I accompanied Falun Gong’s Lisa Tao and others from the Washington DC area to the Shen Yun performance in Philadelphia. At R.E.A.L.’s December 10, 2009 press conference at the National Press Club on Human Rights Day, Lisa Tao and Jin Pang told of the torture of their families in Communist China because of their beliefs. Lisa told of her father was “tortured to death” by the Communist Chinese government, and of her own torture. Lisa told the press and the audience on December 10 how “I was also frequently beaten, and many times I was close to being beaten to death.” Jin Pang told of the imprisonment and torture of her mother and her aunt. Her mother and aunt were part of 10,000 Falun Gong supporters arrested during the Beijing Olympics. During the DC press conference, Lisa told of estimates that the Communist government has killed 80 million people, and she told of the countless others tortured, imprisoned, and abused by the Chinese Communist government.
But like during our protest of the 60th anniversary of the Communist Chinese government at the PRC embassy on September 30 (October 1 Beijing time), Lisa does not tire or get discouraged. She glows from the power of hope, love, and freedom that her beliefs have taught her. It is something that the Communists could never take away from her. She found extraordinary strength in her faith and in her belief in human freedom.
Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) Protests at PRC Embassy in Washington DC
On our trip together to see the Shen Yun performance in Philadelphia on a bitterly cold January night, she does not notice the chill, as we stopped together to get a fish sandwich at a nearby McDonalds. (Meantime, I am bundled with layers of clothing and a heavy sweater.)
Quietly, just like Lisa Tao regularly protests at the PRC embassy without publicity or the press, Lisa Tao is also waging a daily battle for human freedom in Communist China. That night Lisa shared with me her efforts that day alone in helping Chinese people to find the courage to stand up and defy the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). From the United States, Lisa calls people in Communist China on the telephone and tells them about Falun Dafa and also encourages them to stand up against the CCP. She is part of a “Quit CCP” movement of Chinese people who publicly renounce their support for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
That day alone, Lisa Tao convinced 10 new people to publicly Quit the CCP. Her efforts won’t be recorded in any local news media. But she has the quiet confidence and satisfaction of someone who is living the courage of her convictions.
The Quit CCP movement states that over 66 million Chinese have left the CCP since December 2004. Public individual statements are posted on the Quit CCP campaign web site. Every day, Lisa Tao and freedom fighters around the world seek to extend a hand to other Chinese people who are lifting themselves up out of oppression.
The march for freedom – for human beings around the world – is just getting started. But every day, there are new members joining that march and taking up the cause.
We share their commitment to universal human rights, and to being Responsible for Equality And Liberty.
Love Wins.
Jeffrey Imm at January 2, 2010 Shen Yun Chinese Cultural Concert in Philadelphia, PA
