(Minghui.org) May 13, 2025 was the 26^th World Falun Dafa Day and the 33^rd anniversary of Falun Dafa’s public introduction. Falun Dafa practitioners from Scotland and northern England gathered in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and held an event on the famous Royal Mile to celebrate the occasion on May 17, 2025.

A group of students from the Czech Republic follow the practitioners practicing the Falun Dafa exercises on May 17, 2025.

The event was held on the day of the opening of the Scottish Church’s annual conference. The city hall where the meeting was held was opposite the practitioners’ event venue. Two cars carrying the attending elders drove slowly out of the city hall. They watched the practitioners’ practicing the exercises and looked at the display boards.

People learn about Falun Gong.

Passersby sign the petition calling for an end to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong in China.

People Like Falun Gong

Many people expressed their interest in learning Falun Gong after seeing the exercise demonstration. Two young women, one from the United States and the other from the United Kingdom, said they wished to learn Falun Gong. A practitioner told them how to register for an online free-teaching session.

Two young women, one from the United States and the other from the United Kingdom, want to learn Falun Gong.

A young man in his 20s with an American accent asked for the location and contact information of the local group practice site. He said, “I will go to learn the exercises with my Father in Edinburgh.”

A woman in her 50s passed by the booth and accepted a flyer. She read it right away. She said she felt strong energy and asked for more information about Dafa. A practitioner presented her with a small, origami lotus flower.

Andrew·Graham, a retired professor, and his daughter

Andrew·Graham, a retired professor, said he had lived in China for more than 10 years. He had taken his daughter to walk around and they went to the Falun Gong booth. He expressed his agreement with and support for Falun Gong. He said, “There seems to be no harm that it can possibly bring anyone, other than joy to the people who indulge in it, so I support them 100 percent.”

He said that Falun Gong practitioners are innocent and loving people who don’t deserve to be persecuted. “I am very familiar with the persecution of Falun Gong people. And it’s absolutely outright disgusting. And I condemn it in every single sense, and the world needs to be aware of this, he said. “I support their quest to try and get rid of this problem with all of my heart,” he said.

The CCP Is Not China

John·Harris (right) from Australia

John·Harris from Australia accepted a flyer from a practitioner and learned about the CCP’s persecution and forced organ harvesting. He was indignant about the human rights abuses Falun Dafa practitioners face in China and signed the petition. “I signed it because everything that the Chinese government's doing is totally wrong,” he said.

He said his wife is Chinese and her family fled China and immigrated to Australia to avoid the communism. “I know exactly what communism does. I understand it perfectly. And what I understand was why they basically want to outlaw anything where people can unite. Because what Marxism and communism is, it’s identity politics where they play one group off against the other.”

“What the CCP represents isn’t the China as it was,” he said. “Not the same thing, not the same people. One doesn’t represent the other.”

A Practitioner from the United Kingdom Appreciates Dafa

Practitioner Colleen Dixon from the United Kingdom

Colleen Dixon said she had been very ill and had chronic Lyme disease before she practiced Falun Gong. She was weak and had treatment for acupuncture. “The doctor who was treating me recommended Falun Gong. And I began to practice. I was taking a lot of drugs, and my consultant said that I would always be on drugs. As I got older, I would get worse,” she said.

Ms. Dixon listened to the doctor and started practicing Falun Gong. She said, “Within six months of practicing Falun Gong, I came off all my drugs. And I have not taken any drugs for years. And although I am getting older, nearly 70 years old now, my health is getting better.”

“For me, the real value is that it has given me, a Western typical woman, a deeply spiritual life, and I am deeply grateful because it supports me every day.”

Ms. Dixon also introduces Dafa to others. One of her friends has been learning Falun Gong for three years and has found that the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance have brought her great benefits in her work, family, and daily life.