NEW YORKโChinese entrepreneur Chen Quanhong had one message he wanted to tell to the world: โTuidang.โ
Itโs a Chinese phraseโand it means โquit the Party.โ
The words were emblazoned on a yellow flag Chen was carrying at a parade in Washington on July 21 to highlight the Chinese communist regimeโs myriad human rights abuses.
Chen is now one of 400 million Chinese who have renounced their ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliate organizations.
In June, the business owner from Chinaโs eastern Shandong Province made a statement formally breaking his ties with the Party, participating in a nearly two-decades-long grassroots movement that has sought to expose the communist regimeโs history of deceit and killing, and give people an opportunity to disassociate from the entity.
โIn China, I was no different from a worm trampled upon by the authoritarian power, not daring to stir a bit,โ Chen told The Epoch Times. โOnly when I came to America did I begin to feel like a person, because finally thereโs no fear from the communist party.โ
The Washington parade was the first one of its kind Chen had joined in his 50-plus years of life. It came ahead of a major milestone for the Tuidang movement: 400 million people renouncing their Party affiliations. The number tipped over that mark on Aug. 3.
โ400 millionโthis number is greater than some countriesโ entire population,โ Yi Rong, the president of the Global Tuidang Center in Flushing, New York, told The Epoch Times. โWith such a large group abandoning the CCP and steering clear from its crimes, it will spur a positive change in Chinese society.โ
As more people join the quest for freedom, a โnew Chinaโ free of communist control appears ever closer to reality, she added.
Dark Memories
The Partyโs history of killing during its ruling of China has left generations of families broken and scarred, including Chenโs own.
Byย Eva Fu