Thursday, December 8 is International Human Rights Day. Falun Gong practitioners and supporters held a rally in Queen's Park, Toronto. Then they marched to the Chinese Consulate and held another rally to raise awareness and demand the end of the 23 year long persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party.

 Falun Gong is a meditation practice comprised of meditation exercises and improving one's character by living according to the principles of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance. It is practiced by millions in over 100 countries of the world.

The practice was brought to China in 1992 and due to the incredible health benefits, it grew to 80-100 million people within a few years. There were only 60 million members of the Communist Party at that time and so the late former leader of th party, Jiang Zemin, out of jealousy and fear, outlawed the practice and started the persecution. Thousands of practitoners have died and countless have been imprisoned and tortured. There is also evidence of live organ harvesting .

The Tianguo Marching Band led the parade and many onlookers took photos and videos of their performance.