(Minghui.org) “They’re very focused, peaceful, and serious, which I appreciate,” said American tourist Larry when he saw Falun Dafa practitioners doing the exercises on April 27, 2024, on Kornhaus Platz in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. He took a photo and said, “I support them.”

Like Larry, many passersby stopped to watch men, women, and children of different ethnicities doing the Falun Dafa exercises to soothing music. People also listened to practitioners introduce Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) and learned the reason the event was held was to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the April 25 Peaceful Appeal. Some people took leaflets and asked practitioners for more information.

Practitioners held an event on the Kornhaus Platz in Bern, the capital of Switzerland, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the April 25 Peaceful Appeal.

Practitioners peacefully appealed outside the Chinese embassy and asked that the persecution of Falun Gong be stopped. In their letter they said they hoped the Chinese government officials would make the right choice.

Practitioners explained in their speeches what Falun Dafa is and that it teaches people to be good in accordance with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. However, 25 years ago, the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners in Tianjin after a long period of continuous harassment of the practitioners’ practice environments. Therefore on 25 April, approximately 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners went to the State Council Petition Office in Beijing to say a fair word and let the government know the benefits of Dafa, and to demand that the practitioners who were arrested for no reason be freed, and that they have a normal environment for cultivation, and that Falun Gong books be allowed to be published.

Practitioners introduce Falun Dafa and the peaceful petition 25 years ago.

Swiss: The Appeal Is Reasonable

Many Swiss people believe that everyone should have the freedom to express their opinions.

Raoul Ris, an artist, said of the rally and protest in Switzerland, “There are also many people in our Federation Square, sometimes 40,000 or 50,000 people, expressing their thoughts and opinions about the government, and there is no problem at all.”

For the Swiss, Bern’s Konhaus Platz is where people gather and shop.

Piano teacher Anne Gauci Maistre agreed, “This happens a lot in Switzerland, often to get more people to know, or to get signatures, or to make things better. Putting it into action is the only way to make things better.”

Letter of Support from Swiss Politicians

Three Swiss parliamentarians: Erich Vontobel, a member of the National Council, Hans Egli, a member of the canton of Zurich, and Eva Keller, a former member of the canton of St. Gallen, stated in their letter of support to Falun Gong practitioners: “Freedom of religion and freedom of expression are also the pillars of an enlightened society.”

Three legislators sent letters of support to Falun Gong practitioners. From left to right: Erich Vontobel, member of the National Council, Hans Egli, member of the Canton of Zurich and Eva Keller, former member of the Canton of St. Gallen.

They said that although the Chinese communist regime signed the United Nation’s Declaration of Human Rights, it still “neither protects nor respects human rights, which is a shame for China.”

They thanked Falun Gong practitioners for their efforts, “Thank you for your dedication to human rights and the rule of law, especially for Falun Gong. It is only when human rights violations are made public that a turnaround is possible. The worst thing is to forget the persecuted. Thank you for making this possible.”

“Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is Very Important to Us.”

People learn about Falun Gong.

People sign the petition to help end the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Hearing about Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, Yoette Gross, a young girl, said, “It’s very beautiful, it’s very, very important for our society.” Yoette Gross, who loves to read, took home the book, Minghui Report: Twenty Years of Persecution of Falun Gong in China, to learn more. She exclaimed, “It’s terrible there is still such persecution happening at the moment. It shouldn’t happen at all, there is no humanity, everyone should be able to live according to their own wishes.”

Hannelore Weber said, “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is of course very important, very important to us as human beings.”

Many passersby signed the petition in support of Falun Gong practitioners. Almost two years ago, Hannelore Weber signed a similar petition, and said, “I fully support Falun Dafa. The persecution is terrible, and I am very, very against it.” On the day of the event, she signed again, “Because I think it is very important to spread Falun Dafa. Because Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and Falun Dafa are good.” She also wished practitioners good luck.

Weber holds a sign to commemorate the April 25 peaceful petition.

Painter Raoul Ris said he hopes that through his signature, “Falun Gong practitioners can get as much support as possible to stop the violence [persecution] and organ harvesting against Falun Gong practitioners as soon as possible.”

                       
Painter Ris holds up a sign in support of Falun Gong practitioners, hoping that the violent persecution of practitioners and the crime of organ harvesting will end soon.

Anne Gauci Maistre, who practices yoga, is interested in Falun Gong and wrote down the contact information of local practitioners so she could learn the exercises. Seeing so many practitioners collecting signatures on Saturday afternoon, she said, “I believe they have good goals. I hope that through these signatures, more people will know that this exercise is being persecuted in China. Every signature will have a role to play.”

Piano teacher Maistre hopes that more people will become aware of the ongoing persecution of good people in China, and she believes that every signature can make a difference.

In the evening when Falun Gong practitioners finished their activities, there was applause among the people who were waiting for the bus at the event site.