The Legislative Gazette
By Brandon Quinn, Staff Writer
May 07, 2012

Falun Dafa is a peaceful spiritual practice with more than 100 million followers worldwide.

Originating in China, it has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999 through a coordinated propaganda campaign and brutal physical attacks on those who practice, resulting in the torture of thousands, imprisonment of hundreds for the purpose of organ harvesting and an immeasurable number of deaths.

On April 25, members of the Legislature and other advocates held a press conference to raise awareness, show their support for those being persecuted and call for an end to the strong economic ties America has with the “inhumane regime” governing China.

The event included a demonstration of the yoga-like practice, calls to action by lawmakers and a speech bringing lawmakers and those in attendance to tears by a Chinese, Falun Dafa-practicing refugee who was abducted and tortured by the communist government in advance of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

According to the woman, Lianyang Zhang, who is now a practicing CPA, the government ramped up the persecution before the Olympics in a failed attempt to eradicate the practice and tamper down tensions before Beijing became a world stage. She concluded by reiterating that the end of the Olympics did not bring an end to the persecution.

To commemorate the 13th Annual World Falun Dafa Day Celebration, to be held on May 13 in New York City’s Union Square Park, Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, D-Bronx, has filed a resolution to make the month of May Falun Dafa month in the state of New York.

The resolution has more than 40 members of the Assembly signing on in support and is to be voted on in the near future.

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