After we heard that Jiang Zemin would be in the Canary Islands for around ten hours, three practitioners and I immediately decided to go to there to appeal. We went to a Travel Agency to buy tickets right away, but we were afraid the tickets would be sold out since it was already two o'clock in the afternoon. The travel agency, however, told us that one flight to the Canary Islands had four openings left. In fact, that flight was the only one going to the Canary Islands that day; we understood that everything had already been pre-arranged. Thus, after we booked the tickets, we started to prepare Falun Dafa promotional materials, banners, etc.
At 1:30 that morning, we flew to the Canary Islands. A western practitioner who recently attained Falun Dafa greeted us warmly and provided us with lodging. Early the next morning, we went to the hotel where Jiang Zemin was staying and awaited his arrival. Though we were told we didn't need a permit for less than 20 people, we decided to wait and open the banners when Jiang arrived.
At that moment, more and more policemen patrolled the hotel entries and roads leading to Jiang's hotel. Some of the Chinese Embassy officials also waited in the front of the hotel.
Around 7 am, the motorcade finally appeared and a practitioner and I walked closer to get a better look. As the first car was coming up the road, we ran to the car and held open the banners. As the first car arrived at the entry to the hotel, we reached the side of the road. We quickly opened the golden yellow banners and lifted them high above our heads. My heart was peaceful and pure though I saw a policeman rushing towards me. A sense of glory and solemnity filled my heart. At that time, the police officers stopped. Even the policeman in front of us let continued to let us stand there. I saw everyone in the motorcade turn around and read the banners; no one interfered with us until the motorcade passed by.
Two other practitioners held banners some twenty meters away from us. Their banners read, "Falun Dafa is the Righteous Law," "Release Falun Gong Practitioners," and "Put Down the Weapon; Stop the Persecution." All of sudden we saw a man from behind the practitioners shouting loudly, asking the police to drive them away. The police officers asked us to show identification so we took this opportunity to promote Falun Dafa. We told them that we came to appeal because hundreds and thousands practitioners in China were being detained, beaten, and even tortured to death. We gave materials containing the true facts to all the policemen there. They looked indifferent and serious at the beginning, but, after we introduced the crackdown of Falun Gong to them, they showed their compassion for the Chinese practitioners who were being persecuted. When we asked them if we could continue to hold the banners, they smiled and said, "Of course." An official from the Chinese Embassy went to them and talked with them angrily. In the end, an officer told us that we couldn't have banners because the Chinese officials considered it a security problem. The police said they understood us and believed us, but they had to carry out the order. They did tell us, however, that we could hold the banner on the other side of the street.
As we crossed the street, two plain-clothed police officers from the local police station stopped us and asked us to go to the station and have a talk. Upon hearing this, one practitioner became irritated and lost a peaceful mind; another practitioner developed the attachment of fear. The other practitioners immediately reminded them to calm down and keep a righteous mind. "This is just an opportunity to promote Falun Dafa," they said, "Under normal circumstances, we aren't even able to go there when we want to." In the police station, we introduced Falun Gong and the persecution of practitioners in China to the police in detail. They all listened to us--- even the police chief joined us. When the police chief heard that female practitioners in China were being mistreated and raped, he was overwhelmed with indignation, saying, "They should protect the women and children." In the end, we gave Falun Dafa materials to every officer there. The officer who brought us to the station also wanted to buy a Spanish version of the Falun Dafa books; I gave him the only version of the Spanish Zhuan Falun that we had. He was very thankful, and told us he saw that Mr. Li Hongzhi had been a candidate for the Nobel Peace Award. As we said goodbye to the officials, they wished us good luck and success.
After we left the police station, a reporter from the biggest newspaper in the Canary Islands invited us to his office. This was another opportunity to promote Falun Dafa. After the reporter listened to us introduce to the true facts regarding the practice and the persecution, he said he would write a complete and positive report on Falun Gong. We were all grateful to hear this news, as it meant more people would soon know the truth of Falun Dafa.
Spanish Practitioners
On April 20, 2001
