Falun Gong Gains Support in Geneva Despite Interference

[ClearWisdom.Net] March 20, 2001, Geneva

Practitoners demonstrate Falun Gong exercises outside of UN

Today marked the third day of activities that Falun Gong practitioners planned to clarify the truth, regarding the persecution in China, to the world representatives attending the UN Human Rights Conference.

The morning brought rain and the news that some members of a Chinese delegation had erected tents to hold a photo exhibition slandering Falun Gong. They were part of a 500-person delegation that was brought to Geneva from China in an attempt to mislead the public and UN members attending the human rights conference. In a peaceful manner, some practitioners arrived also to clarify the truth to the public. One man walking by asked a practitioner what was going on. The practitioner explained that Jiang Zemin's regime had sponsored the exhibition in order to mislead the public about the persecution against Falun Gong. The man replied, "I don't believe anything they say. Who believes the Chinese government's propaganda these days? Everyone knows how they had persecuted other spiritual beliefs and what they did in Tiananmen Square in 1989. No one will be fooled." He walked away shaking his head.

It seemed that this photo exhibition was held without any legal permit. By noon, the police were observed talking to the organizers and asking them to remove the tents.

Falun Gong is on front-page media coverage in several newspapers. The two biggest newspapers in Geneva had front-page articles that were very sympathetic to Falun Gong. Tribune de Geneve, had a headline reading "Falun Gong: the City's mistake" criticizing the city council member for bending to pressure from the Chinese Embassy to revoke the permit for Falun Gong and then reissuing it. [Note: The permit was not revoked legally and the police and other local government members were not in favor of this one individual's action. Therefore, the permit remained in effect.] Geneve et Region also had a large headline with the words "Falun Gong is a Spiritual Practice."

As there were many diplomats and delegations attending the human rights conference walking about the city, many practitioners took the opportunities to say a few words to them on behalf of Falun Gong. In fact, many of these officials came over to talk directly with Falun Gong practitioners in a casual and friendly manner. They expressed their personal support and admiration over the practitioners' goal to stop the persecution in China. One official from a small country expressed indignation that the Chinese government had already sent people to his office to pressure them not to support Falun Gong. He said he wanted to hear both sides of the story and learn more about Falun Gong. He felt the Chinese government had no right to interfere with his country's right to determine their own vote based on the facts.

In the afternoon under a light rain, practitioners practiced the 5 sets of exercises in front of the UN building. Many people driving by honked their horns in support.

Later in the evening, as part of their week long program to support Falun Gong, Amnesty International hosted a screening of "The Real Story" and "What's the Real Story about Tiananmen Self-Immolation" videos to help educate the public.

Upon returning to the hotel, one practitioner noticed the evening paper, Le Temp, had a big cartoon on the front page making fun of Jiang Zemin's false claims against Falun Gong. It seemed that up to now, Jiang Zemin's representatives have become the subject of disappointment and laughter in Geneva, while on the other hand, practitioners have encountered more and more respect and support from the public and government officials.