(Clearwisdom.net) The Renaissance is said to have originated in Florence, Italy. Every year many tourists visit Florence, including many sightseeing groups from Mainland China. Because December 26, 2005 is Saint Stephen's day and also Italy's national holiday, Italian Falun Gong practitioners held an anti-torture exhibition at Florence's Piazza Republica to introduce the facts about Falun Gong and the brutal persecution in China to the general public.

Many tourists stop in front of the truth-clarification posters to learn the facts

Many sign the signature collection book, expressing their appreciation to the practitioners and encouraging them to persevere

Though it was the middle of winter, it was not very cold and people were happy in the holiday atmosphere. Accompanied by their parents, children happily played in the amusement area in the square, while street performers were playing violins and singing joyfully.

Falun Gong practitioners divided the activity into two parts. The first part was to demonstrate the magnificence of Falun Gong. In front of the banner reading, "Falun Gong Teaches People 'Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance'," practitioners demonstrated the five sets of exercises, which attracted many people's attention. The second part of the activity was to expose the Chinese Communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong. Practitioners held an anti-torture exhibition acted out by real people, and also displayed various photos and posters depicting the persecution of practitioners in China.

Many tourists from various countries accepted leaflets. After learning the facts, they came to sign the petition one after another to show their support for Falun Dafa and the persecuted practitioners. People were outraged by the fact that such a peaceful cultivation practice is oppressed by the Chinese dictatorial regime. An Italian woman expressed that she was very sorry to see the photos of practitioners being tortured, and said that it's hard for her to imagine that such extremely cruel persecution cases take place today. After viewing the posters, a monk from the Church of St. Francis of Assisi also signed the petition. While signing the petition, many people expressed their appreciation and admiration of Falun Gong practitioners' efforts to stop the persecution and encouraged them to persevere.

Many Chinese people in the square also came to see the exhibition. Lots of them had already learned about Falun Gong and had read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, so they knew about the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) evil nature. When practitioners were distributing truth-clarification materials and the Nine Commentaries, some Chinese sightseeing groups accepted the materials while others refused to take them due to fear. However, when others in their party were not around, some of them did accept the materials and hid them immediately. Still other Chinese tourists who didn't accept the materials read the display boards attentively.

Although one Chinese tour guide tried to stop group members from listening to the facts, after practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts, they listened anyway. While practitioners were explaining the facts to Chinese people, a westerner gave the thumbs up sign and shook hands with the practitioners to show his support.

During the five hours of activities, thousands of people found out more about Falun Gong and the CCP's six-year persecution of Falun Gong. Practitioners hope that they will all have a bright future.

http://clearharmony.net/articles/200601/30792.html