Issued by Clearwisdom Net

On June 12 2005, the 2005 European Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference was grandly held in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Falun Gong practitioners from nearly 30 countries attended the conference.

The conference site

Revered Master Li sent a message of greetings to the conference; all attending Dafa practitioners were deeply inspired.

A practitioner sharing her experience

A little practitioner sharing her experience

A practitioner sharing his experience

Practitioners from fifteen different countries gave speeches at the conference. In an opening remark, representatives of the European Falun Dafa Association said: "For Swedish practitioners and those from the rest of Europe, 1995 was an unforgettable year. It was in this year that our compassionate Master came to the continent of Europe. He showed the way for practitioners and He brought beauty to Europe. And now, during the ten-year anniversary of Master visiting Europe and teaching the Fa in Sweden, we hold our European Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference in the capital city, making this conference even more special and historically important."

A Turkish Dafa practitioner represented all Turkish practitioners to make their first conference speech at such a large-scale Fa conference. She said at the end of her speech that there are many touching stories among Turkish Dafa practitioners and she hopes those practitioners can share their experiences in the future. All in all, Turkish Dafa practitioners in different cities are devoting their capabilities to helping Master rectify the Fa and are getting more and more mature on the path of the Fa-rectification. More and more Turkish people are coming to practice Falun Dafa. Falun Dafa has taken root in the Turkish people's hearts.

A 7 year-old Swiss practitioner shared her experiences as a young practitioner of doing the three things well. She mentioned that when sitting in meditation she would always put a small display board beside her so that passers-by could read it and learn the truth of the persecution. "I am so glad that I can have such a display board. Perhaps many people have seem my board, and I am keen to help them," she said.

The conference concluded successfully in a sacred and celebratory atmosphere.

On the afternoon of June 11, 2005, dozens of Falun Gong practitioners rallied in front of the Parliament House of Victoria Province to support Zhang Cuiying and Dai Zhizhen's lawsuit against Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, requesting him to withdraw the restriction on Falun Gong's peaceful appeals.

The banners read, "Mr. Downer, Please Stop Certificates that Limit Falun Gong Appeal at Chinese Embassy," "Falun Gong Filed Lawsuit in Supreme Court," "Australians Please Lend Your Hands to Help," "SOS Rescue Falun Gong Practitioners Persecuted in China," and "Supreme Court Has Accepted Lawsuit Against Foreign Minister Downer."

A Falun Gong spokesperson introduced the lawsuit and the facts about Falun Gong. He said that ever since the Chinese Foreign Minister's visit to Australia in March 2002, Mr. Downer began to sign certificates forbidding Falun Gong practitioners from displaying any banners or to play recordings in front of the Chinese Embassy. The practitioners' banners were confiscated. Because the certificate is only valid for one month, Mr. Downer has to sign the certificate every month to keep the restriction in place. In the past three years, Falun Gong practitioners have always tried to communicate with Mr. Downer about this issue, but never succeeded. Therefore, the practitioners have decided to sue him in a court of law.

A Western Falun Gong practitioner gave many examples of the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of Falun Gong, including his wife and other 35 western Falun Gong practitioners who went to Tiananmen Square to unfurl a banner with the words, "Truthfulness Compassion Tolerance." They were arrested and beaten by Chinese policemen. He called on the Australian government to put human rights before trade, and urged them not to forsake the country's dignity for a little economic gain.

A Falun Gong practitioner from Burma talked about his own practicing experience. Seven years ago, he felt totally lost until he found Falun Gong. Falun Gong started his life anew and he became a healthy and upright person again. He said, "I don't know that Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance has anything wrong with it. The Chinese Communist Party is buying someone's soul with money."

A Chinese student, who had been to the grand appeal on July 20, 1999 at Fuyou Street in Beijing, talked about the happenings of that day. He saw policemen beat Falun Gong practitioners and many reporters took footage at the site. But he never saw any report in the news about it. As for the issue of trade between China and Australia, he believes that business is like making friends. Australians shall recognize the true nature of the Communist Party. Since the Nine Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party were published, over 2 million Communist Party members have withdrawn from the party. If the Communist Party collapses one day, all its economic promises will be empty. He hopes that the Australian government realizes this.

During the rally, many people listened to the speeches. Beside the rally, a torture re-enactment raised awareness about the brutality of the persecution in China. Many people took photos and some motorists honked their horns to show their support.

The town of Smithtown on Long Island, New York celebrated its "Smithtown Annual Festival Day" on June 12, 2005. Over 400 companies and individual business people from Long Island set up their stalls in the early morning. The atmosphere was warm and lively. Falun Gong practitioners on Long Island also came to the festival. They handed out truth clarification materials to visitors. Almost everyone happily accepted the materials and read them carefully.

People come to learn about Falun Gong People sign the petition to support Falun Gong and oppose the persecution

Signing their names to oppose the persecution

Signing in support of Falun Gong

The white cloth full of names

Practitioners also set up a stall, and hung a banner reading, "Falun Dafa is Good." Below the banner were photos and illustrations exposing the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Beside the banner was a table where a long white cloth was spread for people to sign their names. Some practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts, some handed out truth clarification materials, some practiced the exercises and some clarified the facts face-to-face with visitors.

One resident of Long Island listened to a practitioner's truth clarification and said, "The world media all report on wars and murder around the world, but no media report on such an event as severe as the persecution of Falun Gong. It's unfair." She also said that she would help practitioners hand out materials near Long Island University.

Some people felt anger towards the Chinese Communist Party for selling products made by slave labor in China's labor camps to the US. They said that people should go all out to stop such acts. Some people wanted to learn the Falun Gong exercises. Most people were very happy to accept truth clarification materials, and many people signed their names to support opposing the persecution. There were several occasions in the course of the day that people were lined up waiting to sign their names. When the activity concluded, the white cloth was covered with names.

On May 28, 2005, practitioners participated in Westchester County's 7^th Asian Culture Festival.

Under the banner "Falun Dafa is Wonderful," our booth attracted a lot of visitors. Some practitioners taught small children how to fold paper lotus flowers, some taught the exercises and some gave out materials clarifying the truth about Falun Gong, and some patiently talked to tourists.

Several of the tourists were couples that had adopted a child from China, or Westerners who have a strong interest in Asian cultures. The lotus booth attracted the interest of kids and adults alike. People crowded around the table we had set up for folding lotus flowers from the opening in the morning until the end of the festival.

The appeal to rescue Falun Gong orphans attracted the interest of many people. They came and asked about the persecuted practitioners and the orphans, and said that they will come to the musical concert in New York to help rescue the orphans. Many visitors looked at the materials and photos in the booth, and signed their names on the "rescue Charles Lee" postcards.

Many of the Chinese tourists were from mainland China. The majority of them listened carefully to the practitioners clarifying the truth on how the CCP persecutes Falun Gong, and accepted the materials that we gave them. Some of them were very interested in the health benefits of Falun Gong.

On June 11, 2005, the Mayor of Easton, Pennsylvania, Mr. Philip B. Mitman, the Mayor of Northampton County, Mr. Glenn F. Reibman, and nine city council members proclaimed Falun Dafa Week in the Easton Public Library.

Easton is a historic city that people always remember as one of the three places the "Declaration of Independence" was announced. It is located in a beautiful area, where the Delaware River meets the Lehigh River.

The proclamation of Falun Dafa Week was co-signed by Senators Lisa M. Boscola, Patrick M. Browne, Robert C. Wonderling, State Congressmen Richard T. Grucela, Craig A. Dally, Julie Harhart, Steve Samuelson and T.J. Rooney. Mr. Robert L. Freeman attended the ceremony in person and announced the proclamation. In his speech, he said that Americans need the harmonious Falun Gong exercises and "Truthfulness Compassion Tolerance" in their lives.

Falun Gong practitioners and the proclamation

The ceremony lasted about two and a half hours. As part of the program, Falun Gong practitioners and musicians Mr. Chen Rutang and Mrs. Chen Yingfang performed a duet. Their son, Mr. Chen Gang talked about the tortures he experienced in China. Several Falun Gong practitioners from New Jersey and New York demonstrated and taught the Falun Gong exercises.

Easton is one of the 100 Cities of Artists. Several artists came to the meeting and learned the five sets of exercises after the speeches.

One artist said he felt a strong energy field when he walked towards the stairs to the meeting room. Another young man, who just graduated from a culinary school, said he had looked everywhere in Easton for a Falun Gong practice site but couldn't find any. He almost planned to move to New York, but fortunately he saw the notice in the library a few days before. So he came and found Falun Dafa.