(Clearwisdom.net, February 15, 2004) On February 14, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners from Vancouver held a more-than-7-hour peaceful appeal outside the Chinese Consulate to expose the Jiang regime's latest escalation of the persecution and to commemorate the more than 20 fellow practitioners in China who died recently as a result of the persecution. The practitioners strongly requested to bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang, the chief perpetrators of persecution, to justice.

Over the past four and half years, at least 884 practitioners have been tortured to death. Several hundred thousand Falun Gong practitioners have been imprisoned in jails, labor camps and psychiatric hospitals. Countless Falun Gong practitioners who persist in their practice of Falun Gong have been forced to quit their jobs, leave their homes and become destitute. They lost their very basic rights to live. Unfortunately, the persecution is still escalating. Recently, more than 20 Falun Gong practitioners were confirmed to have died as a result of the persecution. Practitioners from places like Hebei Province are facing violent raids and arrests, and they are faced with mortal danger at any moment.

February 14 was Valentine's Day. The Falun Gong practitioners from Vancouver persisted in practicing the exercises and sending forth righteous thoughts in front of the Chinese Consulate, where the traffic was heavy. Practitioner Ms. Li Ying said, "Jiang's persecution has torn apart countless families. Young wives lost their husbands, small children lost their mothers, and Jiang's jails even hold people from infants to seniors in their 70's and 80's. The reason for the imprisonment was simply because they believe in Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance, which Jiang has outlawed."

February 14 is a special day for western Falun Gong practitioner Sophia Bronwen. On February 14 two years ago, she went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong with other more than 50 western practitioners. As soon as she arrived at Tiananmen Square, she was arrested, and was later repatriated to Canada. She said, "I'll never forget this special experience. Today, I come here to appeal for an end to this persecution and I call upon people to help Falun Gong practitioners in China."

Many practitioners said that Jiang and his followers did not stop at suppressing Falun Gong in China, but they also spread lies through China's Consulates and Embassies in other countries, and extended the persecution to these countries. At the same time, they use economic interests as the bait to compel other countries to tacitly approve and even assist their persecution. The lies they fabricated poisoned countless people both in and outside China. Jiang and his major accomplices need to be brought to justice as soon as possible.

Vancouver Falun Gong practitioners have held an around the clock peaceful appeal and clarified the truth outside the Chinese Consulate for the last 949 days. Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Chen, who was once imprisoned in China, said, "I came here to expose the evil and awaken people's consciences. I'll persist in doing so until the persecution ends."