A Falun Gong - the Real Story Exhibit was held at the European Parliament Building in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, from September 12 to 14, 2000. The exhibit was successful due, in part, to the strong support of Ms. Cecillia Malmstrom, a member of the European Parliament. Falun Gong practitioners from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, and Sweden attended this exhibit. The majority of the practitioners were Westerners. Some Western practitioners came to Belgium to join this activity directly from another Hongfa activity in New York City.
European practitioners set up three exhibit areas in the 100 square meter hall in the European Parliament Building. The exhibition languages were English, French and German.
A press conference for the Falun Gong, the Real Story Exhibit was held at 11am on September 12th. At the press conference Ms. Cecilia Malmstrom said: "I am proud to host this Falun Gong exhibition, but also sad that it is needed. The reason we are organizing this is to focus on the massive violation of human rights that the Falun Gong is exposed to by the Chinese government."
A Falun Gong practitioner read out loud a statement from European Falun Gong practitioners: "China mustfollow the same human rights standards as all United Nation member states. We thank the European Parliament for the resolution that they have already passed condemning China's human rights abuses. We urge the European Parliament to continue to help stop these flagrant violations of human rights and to recognize that Falun Gong is a peaceful, non-political, spiritual practice which has brought immense benefits to a hundred million people worldwide." Another practitioner read the experience of a practitioner who resides in England who was inhumanely tortured during a visit to China. This UK practitioner was unable to attend the exhibit because the Chinese Embassy had suspended his passport.
After the press conference, the reporters interviewed some Falun Gong practitioners and Ms. Cecilia Malmstrom. At 2pm, Ms. Cecilia Malmstrom presided over the opening ceremony of the exhibit, which was well attended by members of the European Parliament and visitors from various circles. Invitations had been sent to all 626 members of the European Parliament. Therefore, during the exhibit, many parliament members and their staff visited during their breaks to view pictures and read Dafa materials. Practitioners from different European countries contacted parliament members from their respective nations to introduce Falun Dafa to them in detail, and to make them aware of the true facts concerning the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. The parliament members seemed very interested in the exhibit and gave many suggestions about how to clarify the truth of Falun Gong to the public.
September 13, 2000
By European practitioners
Category: April 25 Events
