July 20, 2002 is the third anniversary of the illegal and brutal persecution of Falun Gong by Jiang Zemin's regime. Now after three years have passed, Falun Gong practitioners who practise Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" have not been eliminated as Jiang's regime wished. On the contrary, Falun Gong spreads quickly across the world. People in more than fifty countries are practising Falun Gong. Besides, Falun Gong has received support and help from people around the world. Needless to say, these people can discern good and evil.
However, Jiang's regime is not willing to accept their failure. They are manipulating their political power and state-run media to continue the bloody persecution against Falun Gong.
To commemorate hundreds of innocent Falun Gong practitioners who have been tortured to death because of their belief in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" and to reveal the truth behind the persecution, we call on all kind people to work together with us to stop this brutal suppression. With the coming of July 20, Swiss practitioners from all cities drove to the Swiss capital Bern to join in the SOS rescue walk.
Sending forth righteous thoughts and press conference in front of Chinese
Embassy
At 10 a.m. practitioners started the SOS rescue walk passing by the Parliament Building towards the Switzerland Chinese Embassy. In the procession, distinctive banners were held on which were these words, "SOS Rescue for the Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners in China," "Falun Dafa Is Good," and "Swiss and Hong Kong Practitioners Are Guiltless in Their Appeal." Accompanied by the Dafa music of Pudu and Jishi, the practitioners looked solemn, marching quietly. The procession looked solemn and respectful so that many passers-by stopped by to ask for information materials about Dafa. Reporters from a Swiss National TV station and radio stations in French, German and Italian followed the procession to interview and take pictures of practitioners. On that afternoon and evening positive reports about Falun Gong featured in many different medias.
When the procession arrived at the Chinese Embassy, a Swiss practitioner read aloud a letter in French and German to the Chinese Embassy through an amplifier. The statement called on the Chinese government to promptly stop the bloody persecution of Falun Gong and to declare the innocence of Falun Gong. All of the practitioners started to send forth righteous thoughts. Three practitioners handed the letter to the Chinese Embassy on behalf of all practitioners. However, the Chinese Embassy just shut its doors and windows as usual. The Chinese officials refused to take the letter. So the three practitioners put the letter outside the embassy, holding up their palms and sending forth righteous thoughts. Some of the staff inside the embassy was heard saying, "They are sending forth righteous thoughts." The Swiss police officer in front of the embassy shook his head, unable to understand why the Chinese Embassy refused to take the letter.
Later the procession continued. A press conference was held in front of the Bern Museum. Swiss practitioners told the reporters and civilians about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by Jiang's regime, appealing for everyone's support to stop this suppression. Also, a press release pointed out that it is unreasonable of the Hong Kong government to prosecute sixteen practitioners, four of them Swiss nationals, who held a peaceful demonstration in Hong Kong. The prosecution was forced due to pressure from Jiang's regime. All the Swiss practitioners asked Hong Kong to cancel this ridiculous prosecution against Falun Gong practitioners.
On the same day, activities to introduce Falun Gong were also held in the square in front of the City Government building in the famous Swiss industry centre, Basel. Because the square was located in the city centre, there were many visitors. Practitioners handed out information about the persecution, clarifying the truth of Falun Dafa and performing the five exercises. Elegant Dafa music and relaxing exercises attracted a lot of visitors. After seeing our exercises, one Turk joined us, asking, "Could I practise the exercises with you?" After getting the answer "yes," he practised four sets of exercises with us and took the Dafa materials. On his departure, he expressed his thanks. A visitor from China had a long chat with us. After hearing that thousands of Chinese practitioners had been detained, sentenced, sent to labour camps and even tortured to death, she was in tears. She said that people in China have no freedom of speech; there is only one voice in the Chinese media. She felt disappointed that people in China have no human rights. She also proposed to read Zhuan Falun [the main text of Falun Dafa].
When the night was approaching, practitioners lighted many candles. In commemoration of the fellow practitioners who had been tortured to death, flowers and their photos were placed. All the practitioners sat quietly with their two legs crossed, keeping sending forth righteous thoughts until midnight. After seeing the scene, passers-by were quite touched.
By July 20, practitioners in Geneva had spent one week spreading the Fa and clarifying the truth in The World Citizens Assembly held by non-governmental organizations. The persecution against Falun Gong practitioners by China has drawn comprehensive attention from many international non-governmental organizations. Representatives of non-governmental organizations came to the assembly to understand the situation in China. Particularly noticeable was that many citizens from Africa came to us to understand the truth of Falun Gong. One representative from Nigeria planned to go back to his own country the next day. He said that he had to learn Falun Gong today. With the help of practitioners, he spent a lot of time learning the five sets of exercises. After knowing the truth about Falun Gong, one lawyer from Africa sighed and said that African people, especially the youngsters, need to learn Falun Gong. They need "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." Just as the other Africans, he welcomed us to visit their countries to teach people Falun Gong.
Category: April 25 Events
