(Clearwisdom.net) The Chinese Consulate in Fukuoka invited several local Chinese and Chinese students for a banquet in celebration of the Lantern Festival on the evening of February 10, 2009. Falun Gong practitioners took this opportunity to expose the persecution of Falun Gong to the local Chinese. They gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate at 5:30 p.m. and unfolded banners reading, "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," "Falun Dafa Is Great," "Stop Persecution of Falun Gong," and "Support 49,600,000 People Quitting the CCP" in both Chinese and Japanese.

When the Chinese emerged from the banquet at around 8:30 p.m., they were surprised to find so many Falun Gong practitioners and their outstanding banners. In Japan they have the freedom to protest the CCP's persecution in front of the Chinese Consulate. Some of the banquet guests took pictures, because a protest like this would never be seen in China. Many took copies of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and brochures on the true story of Falun Gong.

Local police called practitioners the day before their protest, saying the Chinese Consulate told police not to allow the Falun Gong protest, because more than 300 Chinese would be coming to the consulate for the banquet. Practitioners told the police it was an indication that the CCP knew that the persecution was illegal and that it was acting against the people's will to persecute Falun Gong. They explained that the Party was afraid that the Chinese people would find out about the persecution. However, Falun Gong was a legal organization in Japan and had the right to freedom of assembly. The police said they would guarantee practitioners' security. Falun Gong practitioners are determined to protest the persecution until it ends.