(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Gong practitioners in the UK have been continuing their efforts in Central London to raise public awareness of the persecution of Falun Gong in China. For several consecutive weekends, practitioners have come to St. Martin's Square, which is right next to Trafalgar Square, to display photographs, demonstrate the five Falun Gong exercises, distribute leaflets and collect signatures calling for an end to the persecution. Their goals are to have more people in the UK see and hear about Falun Gong, learn about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in mainland China and sign the petition calling for an end to the persecution. Crowds of people from all directions passed by the banner reading, "Falun Gong is being persecuted in China." From short conversations with those who stopped to read the posters and sign the petition, practitioners found that more and more Westerners have heard about Dafa and know about the persecution. Many condemned the persecution, taking a stand on the side of justice and Falun Gong.
|
|
|
|
|
|
An elderly English gentleman amicably accepted the leaflet offered. When asked whether he wanted to sign the petition, he replied, "I support you. I have signed it before. I am on your side."
An English woman walked straight over to sign the petition, telling the practitioner at the stand that she practiced yoga. She had heard about Falun Gong and knew that it is good but is being persecuted in China. She was attending a big event at Trafalgar Square with a lot of friends and colleagues. She said that she would tell all her friends to come over and sign to support Falun Gong. Later, she indeed twice brought over her friends to sign the petition, about twenty people in total.
Another Western woman took a leaflet from a practitioner standing at an intersection. She stopped to tell the practitioner that she had met practitioners here one year ago when she first heard that Falun Gong practitioners, who follow the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance," are being barbarically persecuted in China. She felt sad that the persecution is still continuing. As a Christian, she believes that goodness is rewarded and evil is punished and that the final judgment is approaching. In her mind, the many catastrophes happening in the world today are the beginning of God's punishment to the evil-doers. She added that she believed that Falun Gong, which follows the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance" and represents goodness, will win. Those who persecute Falun Gong will eventually be punished, she said.
Having read the exhibits and accepted a leaflet, a gentleman from Ireland signed the petition. After a while he returned to ask the practitioner for more Falun Gong materials. He told the practitioner that he was about to write his Masters thesis on human rights. Having read the leaflet, he identified the Chinese Communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong as a prominent case of human rights violation. He therefore wanted to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the persecution. The practitioner gave him a Falun Gong truth-clarification DVD and a copy of the "Report into Allegations of Organ Harvesting of Falun Gong Practitioners in China" by independent investigators from Canada.
An English woman from outside London who had just attended a gathering at Trafalgar Square took a leaflet from a practitioner who greeted her. Glancing at it, she asked with interest, "What is Falun Gong?" The practitioner introduced Falun Gong and discussed in detail about how the practice has spread across the world and about the brutal persecution suffered by practitioners in mainland China. Having seen the graphic reports on how Falun Gong practitioners are atrociously tortured even to the extent of having their organs harvested while they are still alive for not giving up their beliefs, the woman said with emotion, "It must stop! It must stop!" She also told the practitioner that the Chinese Communist Party's atrocities against Falun Gong reminded her of the genocidal crimes of the Nazis. She said that a government like this is not fit to host the Olympics. When Nazi Germany hosted the Olympics in 1936, the world dropped its guard against Hitler's military regime under the lure of its fast economic growth and high employment rate. The Second World War that followed taught the world a tough lesson. The woman said that we should not let history repeat itself.
A gentleman made a beeline for the stand with the petition form. The practitioner at the stand asked whether he knew about Falun Gong. He answered that he was from the US and he had heard the facts from Falun Gong practitioners in New York. He said he felt sad that such an inhuman persecution could happen, and he sincerely hoped that the persecution would stop immediately.
An English gentleman and a Chinese woman stood by the exhibits for a long time while the gentleman kept explaining something to the lady. A practitioner went over to inquire. The gentleman said that he had just come from Hong Kong and knew very well that Falun Gong is being persecuted in mainland China. He said that the facts of the persecution were covered up by the Chinese Communist Party, as were other crimes like the Tiananmen Square Massacre, and so it is difficult for people in China to know the truth. The woman next to him agreed, "You are right. Indeed I have not seen this material in China." While saying so, she took a leaflet from the practitioner.
Category: Rallies & Protests
