(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners maintained their annual presence at the California State Fair, which was held this year from July 11 to 27, and exposed the 15-year-long persecution in China on two weekends.
The State Fair has been held in Sacramento, the capital of California, annually for the past 161 years. Attendance this year reached over 750,000, a record high for the past 10 years.
Practitioners experienced more support from visitors this year than in the past.
Albert came to the Falun Gong booth and offered his encouragement, “Well done! I see you everywhere. Isn't this [persecution] the same as the persecution Christians went through? I believe more capable and influential people will come out to help enforce changes when more and more people know the facts!”
Branson, who was with a southern California performance group at the fair, told practitioners that he had a Korean friend who is a Falun Gong practitioner. He took a picture of the Falun Gong poster and sent it to his friend.
Three women passed by the practitioners' booth. Before a practitioner could even say, "Hello," the middle-aged woman pointed to the organ harvesting special edition and said to her daughter, “People are persecuted for their beliefs, even to the extent of organ harvesting. If you don't understand what's going on outside of America, you won't understand the meaning and value of freedom.” She took a copy of the special edition.
A young man pointed to a picture of practitioners doing group exercises in Geneva, Switzerland and said, “I saw them there! I just came back from Geneva two weeks ago.” He showed the picture to his friends and practitioners. A practitioner asked him if he knew about the persecution. He took a brochure and said that he would do his research online, even though he had taken materials in Geneva and skimmed through them.
A woman approached the Falun Gong booth and asked, “Do you remember me?” She works at a local art school. Two years ago, she encountered Falun Gong for the first time at the same fair. She was supportive of practitioners' efforts to end the persecution and placed Falun Gong materials at her school for the students and faculty.
A man listened to the facts of the persecution and said to other visitors, “I think all of us should maintain an open mind.” A practitioner smiled and replied, “Yes, so we won't miss good stuff.” The man waved the Falun Gong truth-clarification materials in his hand and said, “Look, I didn't miss it. I have found [Falun Gong]!”
