France: Activities Held in Three Cities to Expose Persecution of Falun Dafa in China

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners held activities in three cities in Eastern France, including Bourg-en-Bresse, Lons-le-Saunier, and Les Rousses, from August 3 to August 5, 2022. They exposed the persecution of Falun Dafa by China's communist regime and collected signatures on a petition calling to end the atrocities. Local residents expressed their warm support for practitioners’ efforts.

Les Rousses

Practitioners collect signatures in a market in Les Rousses, a popular tourist destination, on August 5, 2022.

This was the first time François Pignede and his wife Nadine, who live in Les Rousses, heard of organ harvesting atrocities in China. They described it as appalling, as the end of the world. François said, “What you are doing is great! You are waking people up. It will reach the government and the European Union. Countries will step out to oppose the persecution!” Nadine said, “The French government should take action!”

Lons-le-Saunier

Practitioners hold activities in a market in Lons-le-Saunier, a historic town, on August 4, 2022.

Bourg-en-Bresse

Residents of Bourg-en-Bresse learn about Falun Dafa on August 3, 2022.

Boiteux, a former government employee, signed the petition and talked with practitioners for a long time. “We all know that freedom is shrinking little by little under the dictatorship in China,” Boiteux said, “Tortures have always existed, though non-government organizations and international associations have worked on improving people’s freedom. So much more needs to be done!”

Background: What Is Falun Dafa and Why Is the CCP Persecuting It?

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and have learned the five exercises, have experienced improved health and well-being.

Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology and on July 20, 1999, he issued an order to eradicate the practice.

Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organization with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.

Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 23 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. Countless practitioners have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.

There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply China’s organ transplant industry.