(Minghui.org) “I commend the Falun Dafa Association of Canada for sharing this discipline with fellow Canadians. The principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance that are central to the practice resonate strongly in our pluralistic society.” says Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in his congratulatory letter to World Falun Dafa Day celebrations in May 2014.

“The important model of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance, is what this great country of Canada is all about,” stated the Canadian Member of Parliament (MP) Brad Butt at the celebration on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Nine Canadian MPs joined him.

At the same May 7 event, MP Stephen Woodworth found that what Falun Gong practitioners are attempting to achieve “is of the highest order of human civilization.” He noted that practitioners had become a source of hope for all freedom-loving people.

Pennsylvania State Representative J.P. Miranda expressed deep gratitude and respect to Master Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Dafa, “Since its founding, Falun Dafa has been practiced by hundreds of millions of people throughout the world who have garnered the benefits of improved health and moral standards and a deepened understanding of life, humanity and the universe.”

Government officials, legislators, locals and tourists joined practitioners for a three-day World Falun Dafa Day celebration in Manhattan Tuesday through Thursday, following worldwide events during the previous weekend.

Proclamations highlighted Falun Dafa's positive impacts on physical and mental health and the practitioners' contribution to the society. Locals and tourists identified with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and condemned the persecution.

On April 26, 2014, 6,000 Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioners formed the Chinese characters for “5.13 World Falun Dafa Day” and “Thank You, Master.” Between the characters is an image of a practitioner sitting in the double lotus position.

“Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” Under Attack

On May 13, 1992, Master Li Hongzhi first introduced Falun Dafa to the public. In seven years, Falun Dafa spread all over China, and almost 100 million Chinese practice it and benefit from it physically and spiritually.

However, due to jealousy and fear, the then-communist leader Jiang Zemin launched the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999. The overwhelming propaganda and physical torture by the state machine suppressed the principle of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” in Chinese society, and deceived people all over the world.

However, facing arrest, imprisonment, torture, and even organ harvesting, the cultivators of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance never gave in. In the last 15 years, they have peacefully resisted the persecution by informing the world about Falun Gong and the persecution.

Clarifying the Facts

Practitioners unfurled “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” banners on Tiananmen Square on May 13, 2001.

On November 20, 2001, 36 Western practitioners held a peaceful demonstration for Falun Gong on Tiananmen Square.

At the beginning of the persecution, practitioners wrote petition letters to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials, telling them personal stories of benefiting from the practice.

One practitioner pleaded in his letter: “We hope that the forces of justice and righteousness will bring true hope to this land. Please give the appropriate recognition to the values of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance for the sake of our country.”

Facing the policemen who arrested him on Tiananmen Square for his peaceful demonstration for Falun Gong, an old farmer opened his backpack and showed them nine pairs of worn-out shoes: “I walked from Sichuan Province to Beijing on foot. I have worn out nine pairs of shoes. All I want to do is to tell the authorities that they have made a mistake. Falun Dafa is good.”

From November 2001 to November 2002, more than 100 western practitioners came to Tiananmen Square, telling the Chinese people about the precious value of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

According to classified information inside the CCP, during the peak times of 2000 and 2001, more than one million practitioners demonstrated for Falun Gong every day!

However, all the appealing and information channels were blocked by the government. A group of practitioners in Changchun City, Jilin province decided to break through the media blockage, and tell the people the facts about Falun Gong.

On March 5, 2002, this group of practitioners tapped into eight cable TV channels, and broadcast two videos that debunked CCP's lies and told people about Falun Dafa's spread in the world.

The CCP and Jiang Zemin's gang were shocked. Jiang issued an order: “Kill without mercy.” In one year, at least 5,000 Changchun practitioners were arrested. Fifteen involved in the TV broadcasting were sentenced to 4 to 20 years, and eight of them were tortured to death in prison.

Falun Gong practitioners are not deterred. During the brutal persecution, they have set up hundreds of thousands of family truth-clarification material sites to tell the public about Falun Gong. The free media founded by practitioners overseas have also pierced through the communist party's lies, and spread the truth of Falun Gong in the international community.

Spiritual Awakening and Innovative Approach of Disintegrating the Evil

The book Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party was published in 2005. It systemically reveals the evil history and wicked nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and have awakened millions of Chinese people.

The book initiated a trend of quitting the party in China and overseas. More than 165 million Chinese people have abandoned the party and its associated organizations.

At a rally, Falun Gong practitioners called upon the Chinese people to recognize the nature of the communist party and abandon it. The Chinese characters on the sign read “quit the party.”

The evil party, who once declared that they would “eliminate Falun Gong in three months,” is disintegrating under the light of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

Championing Justice

In the peaceful resistance against the persecution, Falun Gong practitioners have filed lawsuits against the main perpetrators of the persecution.

On July 21, 2003, five thousand practitioners from more than 60 countries held a parade in Washington D.C., calling for bringing the murderers of the persecution to justice.

On November 19, 2009, following a two-year investigation, a Spanish judge has accepted charges of genocide and torture in a case filed against five high-ranking Chinese Communist Party officials for their role in the persecution of Falun Gong.

This was the first time that a court has recognized the campaign against the group as legally fitting the definition of genocide. If the defendants were in Spain, the court could call them before the judge for a hearing.

On December 17, after a four-year investigation, Judge Octavio Araoz de Lamadrid of the Argentina Federal Court No. 9 made a historic decision, and issued arrest warrants for the former leader of the Chinese Communist Party Jiang Zemin, and Luo Gan, former head of the 610 Office, for their role in the persecution of Falun Gong. The two high-ranking CCP officials were charged with crimes against humanity. Judge Lamadrid ordered the Interpol Department of the Federal Police of Argentina to carry out the arrest.

The international community refuses to ignore the human right violations in China. The murderers of the persecution will be brought to justice.

Shen Yun: A Precious Gift to Life

Since 2006, Shen Yun Performance Arts, with the mission of restoring the lost Chinese culture and spreading the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, has brought marvelous art to the world.

Shen Yun has performed in hundreds of cities around the world, to the delight of hundreds of thousands of people in the audience.

Shen Yun at David H Koch Theater, Lincoln Center, New York City in April 2013.

Daniel Hermann, the Czech Cultural Minister, commented on Shen Yun arts: “It is a unique performance. I truly have to say that it was a very refined performance...I think it is not possible to quash the spirit. Hope is stronger than desperation, life is stronger that death. That is the message."

“The Shen Yun performance was really, really unique. It was mind-blowing, really,” said Jim DeCicco, award winning Hollywood Executive Producer and founding executive of a Wall Street trading firm, after seeing Shen Yun in Los Angeles, ““It’s more of back to the roots of ancient Chinese philosophy, Chinese wisdom, things that so much of the Western world is seeking to find as a philosophy of life. And it’s good to see that there’s such a movement to get that refreshed in the modern day.”

Award-winning journalist Donna Francavilla, who has spent the past decade working for CBS News as a national correspondent and field producer, saw a universal, spiritual, theme in the Shen Yun stories. She said the show portrayed “the overall message of how we came to be, really not a religion but spirituality, and how we got to be here. It’s important to tell, because we are so much alike, we may look different, we may have dark skin, light skin, blue eyes, brown eyes, black eyes, but we are all the same.”

May 13, a Historic Holiday

Since May 13, 1992, Master Li Hongzhi has taught the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in the world and purified people's mind and body. This holiday will be forever remembered in history.