(Minghui.org) During a recent campus engagement week in southern France, high school teacher Frédérique and other practitioners set up a booth on March 2, and introduced Falun Dafa to students, teachers, and staff members. Many people stopped at the booth and asked for information. 

High school teacher Frédérique explains what Falun Dafa is. 

Impressed by the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance as well as the health benefits of Falun Dafa, passersby said they would share the information with family members and friends. Some signed a petition calling for an end the brutal persecution in China targeting the peaceful practice. 

During break times in the morning, many people came to the booth. As Frédérique was introducing the practice and answering questions, another practitioner demonstrated the exercises. Several students admired the peaceful movements and took pictures or videos. 

Willy, one of Frédérique’s colleagues, signed the petition to support practitioners. He said he would like to watch the Shen Yun performance since his daughter is very interested in learning authentic Chinese culture. 

Another colleague, Françoise, was shocked to hear what was happening in China. She had no idea the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) would treat people so badly for having a belief. She said she would tell other teachers and students to come, talk to practitioners, and sign the petition. 

Second-year high school students learn about Falun Dafa and the suppression in China. 

Several second-year students asked why such a peaceful practice was suppressed in China. They said the persecution is wrong since the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are beneficial for society. Senior year student Manon said she is aware of the brutality in China. When she was a middle school student, a teacher told her that the CCP was killing people for their organs. 

After one teacher learned about Falun Dafa, she brought her students who are in the Advanced Vocational Diploma (Brevet de technicien supérieur) program to the booth. They listened attentively and were shocked by the human rights abuses against practitioners in China. Many of them signed the petition. 

One teacher is a radio host in the area and she invited practitioners to be interviewed on her program. In addition to signing the petition, she said the next time she visited Paris, she would attend the Art of Zhen-Shan-Ren (Truth-Compassion-Forbearance) International Exhibition.

When the program was about to end, three of the school’s staff members also signed the petition. “Every signature counts,” one of them remarked. “I am so happy to support such a good cause.”

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.