At noon on the 25th of February 2006, eleven Falun Gong practitioners who had been granted asylum by Bodoe City government in Norway held a press conference at the International Centre in Bodoe to express their appreciation to the people and government of Norway. The eleven Falun Gong practitioners came from various parts of mainland China; eight of them arrived in Norway via Thailand one month ago while the other three came to Norway via Japan half a year ago. The press conference participants included Jan, a Canadian from the Falun Gong Human Rights Working Group, Terese, a Norwegian Falun Gong representative, Bodoe city media and some local residents.

Recounting the persecutionConference participants attentively listen to practitioners' stories

The conference started with Terese reading an appreciation letter on behalf of the eleven practitioners. In the letter, they extended their thanks to the people and the government of Norway for kindly helping them escape the brutal persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Regime. Two practitioners demonstrated the five exercises accompanied by the beautiful Falun Gong music. The eleven practitioners from four different families in turn introduced their detailed experiences in practising Falun Gong, the benefits Falun Gong brought to them and the persecution they had been through in China. Participants listened attentively. The conference finished with questions from the reporters. Several residents expressed their interests in learning Falun Gong. A reporter was very much interested in the experience of one of the practitioners and took down the contact info for an interview later on. Practitioners presented leaflets and CDs on the facts of Falun Gong to all participants. The conference drew to a successful close at 3 pm.

Here is an English translation of the letter of appreciation from the eleven rescued practitioners to the people who helped them:

Dear Norwegian Government, Bodoe City Government and Asylum Office and All Residents of Bodoe,

Today we are very honored to have the opportunity to hold the conference in Norway, the land of freedom. We thank the Norwegian government, the government and Asylum Office of Bodoe City, and the Norwegian people for all the generous helps to us.

We eleven people from four families are from different regions and social strata in China. We each led different lives in China. One thing we had in common, however, was that we were all forced to escape from China as a result of the CCP's brutal persecution against practitioners of Falun Gong and believers in "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance". Eight of us obtained asylum status from the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) in Thailand. On December 15, 2005, while protesting in front of the Chinese Embassy in Thailand against the rape of two female Falun Gong practitioners by a Chinese policeman, four of us were illegally arrested and detained by Thai police acting under pressure from the Chinese Embassy. In such a predicament, the Norwegian government extended a helping hand. With the help of UNHRC, we came to this beautiful country of Norway. In the short month since our arrival, the Norwegian government has provided us with comfortable living conditions. We are deeply moved by the kindness and warm-hearts of the Norwegian government staff and the Norwegian people. We feel at ease like never before.

In today's world, commercial interest has become the number one goal for many countries. Some so-called democratic countries have traded their founding principles of human rights, democracy and justice for commercial interest. Their bowing to evil power has blemished their nations' history. The heroic act of the Norwegian government in receiving us has set a good example for those countries. You've demonstrated to the whole world the power of righteousness, the preciousness of upholding democracy and human rights, the magnificence of pursuing freedom of believe and the kind nature of Norwegian people.

Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, is an ancient form of cultivation system originated from China. Combining the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance" with five easy-to-learn exercises, Falun Gong promotes great benefits to both mind and body. Within a short decade since its introduction to the general public, it has spread to over seventy countries in the world with over one hundred million practitioners. Falun Gong has gained more than one thousand awards and recognitions from various governments and other organizations all over the world.

In China, however, Falun Gong has suffered brutal persecution by the CCP since July 1999. Over seven years, nearly three thousand Falun Gong practitioners have lost their lives through persecution, hundreds of thousands have been tortured mentally and physically in labor camps and brainwashing centers, thousands have been forcibly injected with toxic drugs in psychiatric hospitals, tens of thousands have been beaten to disability and countless families have been broken.

Many kind-hearted westerners do not understand why CCP would persecute a group of good people believing in "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance". This is because CCP believes in "Lies, evilness, and tyranny". In order to maintain its evil and atrocious rule, it insanely persecutes anyone with a belief. The communist movement is a disaster for mankind. The Communist Party is the biggest threat to the peace of the world. The world is starting to pay attention to a phenomenon in China to quit the Chinese Communist Party as a result of a book called Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. Since December 2004, more than eight million people have withdrawn from the CCP after seeing through its evilness. Recently, CCP's new campaign of persecution against the Chinese general public has triggered a global relay hunger strike to fight for human rights, which has attracted attention worldwide. In the near future there will definitely be a new China without the CCP. At this special historical moment, every country and organization faces a choice: righteousness or evil? We appreciate the Norwegian government's choice of righteousness. We deeply believed that your kindness and warm-heart will bring you a magnificent future!

Our sincere thanks once again to the Norwegian government, City Government, Asylum Office and all residents of Bodoe!

The eleven practitioners are: Li Jianhui, Dai Ying, Wang Yajun, Liu Ying, Wang Anqi, Hua Feng, Miao Miao, Hua Yuchen, Tan Zhenqi, Zhang Chunhua, Tan Fayuan.