Switzerland: Public Support for Ending Persecution in China

(Minghui.org) Seeing the words “Falun Dafa Is Good” on a golden banner from afar, Maria, a music teacher, walked up to a Falun Dafa practitioner who was distributing informational materials. She asked how she could help end the persecution of Falun Dafa in China, then picked up a petition form and read it carefully.

Like Maria, many people saw the eye-catching banner on Marktplatz in the center of St. Gallen on August 12, 2023. They stopped to watch practitioners demonstrating the exercises and read the display boards that expose the shocking details of the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China, including the state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience. People took the informational leaflets, talked to practitioners, and then signed a petition calling for an end to the persecution. Some photographed practitioners as they did exercises and immediately uploaded the photos to their social media, along with the address of the Falun Dafa website, to let more people know what is happening in China.

Practitioners held an event in the center of St. Gallen, Switzerland on August 12, 2023, to introduce Falun Dafa and raise awareness of the persecution in China.

People take informational brochures and talk with practitioners to learn more.

Many people signed a petition calling to end the persecution in China.

St. Gallen is the largest city in eastern Switzerland and the cultural and economic center of the eastern part of the country. The local monastery and its library with its rich collection of ancient medieval books is listed as a World Heritage Site. The University of St. Gallen, known as the Harvard of Europe, is also located here. 

“I Believe the Persecution Will End Soon”

“I know Falun Dafa. It is a peaceful belief group. They meditate and absolutely reject violence. The Chinese Communist Party [CCP] persecutes these people of faith, and many of them are imprisoned,” Maria said as she signed the petition. “I know they were put into solitary confinement, tortured, and underwent various medical examinations. The information obtained [from the examination], including blood type, etc., was recorded. If someone needs an organ, or a demand comes from the world market, their organs will be harvested even if it means they [the practitioners] will lose their lives.”

Referring to the persecution, Maria said, “It is extremely cruel, horrific, and inhuman.” Maria believes that the persecution is not only harming Falun Dafa practitioners, “It is destroying a very precious culture. It’s like hell. Very, very cruel. This regime [the CCP] is extremely ignorant. It doesn’t know what values they have destroyed.”

Maria said that she was shocked when she first heard of the persecution. She took the initiative to do some research. “I know this [the persecution of Falun Dafa] very well, and many people know about it. The CCP thinks it can cover up these facts, but we will not let these [crimes] continue to be hidden.” She believes that the CCP’s crimes cannot continue for long. “More and more facts are being exposed. The dark conspiracy [of the CCP] will not succeed in the end, but light and justice will win the final victory, and support for humanity will prevail.”

“I very much hope that the persecution will end as soon as possible.” As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes. “I will send my support to all [practitioners] who are held in prisons. I hope to bring them the light of kindness and perseverance.”

Before leaving, Maria said firmly, “I believe that the whole [persecution] situation will end soon.”

Learning the Facts and Signing to Support the Call to End the Persecution

Like Maria, many people who talked to practitioners on Marktplaz said they’d heard of Falun Dafa before. Some learned about it from the Internet, and some learned from other informational events held by the practitioners who have persevered in clarifying the truth for 24 years.

Lisa was deeply moved after seeing the photos and descriptions of persecuted practitioners. She read each description, especially the persecution that female practitioners have been subjected to.

Lisa signed the petition after she read about the persecution.

She said that she’d read about Falun Dafa and felt that it is a very good practice. “Falun Dafa is a kind of cultivation and helps people find balance,” she said. “We are often affected by various forces, such as anger, the idea of making money, pressure, etc. We deviate from important things because of this, so we need to improve. I believe that practicing Falun Dafa provides a good opportunity [for us to improve].”

In her view, the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa is “like a kind of control that does not allow people to live following their hearts. It’s like forcing people to stop eating and drinking water.” After reading the display boards, she came to the table and attentively read the petition form and then signed it to support practitioners’ efforts to end the persecution.

“I hope to share my strength and support, to help you realize your wishes,” Lisa said. “I think we are one. A country, and even the whole of the earth, are one. We are related to each other. Everyone has influence, and I think this [signature to end the persecution] will make an impact.”

Nina, who works in the financial industry, said she learned about Falun Dafa on the Internet, and had signed online before to support practitioners in bringing an end to the persecution. Today she met practitioners for the first time. 

She said Falun Dafa is “A practice that can bring people energy and of course is very good. It will have many benefits for the body and spirit.” Talking about the persecution, she thought it was “Terrible. I hope the persecution will end as soon as possible.

“I hope people will know what happened [in China], and actions will be taken to stop the persecution.” Nina also hopes that “Falun Dafa will spread, so people in today’s so stressful society can benefit from it.”

Together to Stop the Persecution

For Thomas Straumann, who works in the insurance industry, Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance “Are very beautiful, showing a beautiful picture of life, which is great.” He said he heard about Falun Dafa on the Internet. He believes that we can’t take a laissez-faire attitude toward the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa. He said, “When I saw what happened [the persecution], I felt as if it happened to me. I deeply sympathize. We should take care of each other.” He said he hopes that his signature can make a difference. He feels that “A country should position itself and put economic interests aside.”

Leonardo also said he hopes his signature will help. “It’s really heartbreaking to see people’s organs being plundered,” he said. “When all this [the persecution of Falun Dafa] stops, the situation in China will improve.” In his opinion, the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa “is too crazy, I can’t accept it.”

Ejder Samci from Turkey said he has seen many Xinjiang people in Turkey who suffered torture in China and fled their homes. He thinks this is enough to show that what CCP does is unbearable. He signed the petition right away and hopes it will help end the torture and persecution of practitioners in China.

“More people should know about it, and it should be reported more in the media,” Ejder said. “People encounter problems in China. If I ignore that, I will not be happy. Because this problem will affect me one day too. So we should share other people’s problems.” He thanked practitioners for their efforts in raising awareness of persecution which has taken place over the past 24 years.

It Is Very Important for People to Know the Facts

Sebastian works at the University of St. Gallen. He signed the petition and said, “Compassion and tolerance are rarely seen in today’s society. We should practice compassion and tolerance. We should be able to tolerate others instead of immediately fighting back. Because if we use violence to stop violence, we can never resolve violence and conflicts.”

Sebastian said he cannot comprehend the fact that the CCP has persecuted Falun Dafa for 24 years. “Persecuting people because of their social status or beliefs should never be accepted,” he said, “and should not happen. I can’t understand why it happened and has lasted for so long, and no one has stopped it. I feel so sorry that big companies still do business with such a China and support the Communist regime’s propaganda.”

He said that the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa is seldom covered in the media, so people don’t know that such a thing is taking place, and they can’t imagine what has happened. This also contributes to the fact that the persecution has been going on for so long. “The subject [the persecution] should be pushed to the front stage. People should be informed about what happened.”

Sebastian believes that “It is very important to let people know such information through word of mouth and encourage people to make their own judgments about it. I am willing to help.” He added, “Because it is about life, a life just like you and me. I don’t want other people to live with the fear of being persecuted every day. We live together on this planet; it’s vital that we don’t persecute other people.”

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 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 24 years, though due to the difficulty in getting information out of China, 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.

Chinese version available