Colombia: People Express Support for Falun Dafa During Activities to Expose 25 Years of Persecution

(Minghui.org) Practitioners held activities on July 20, 2024, at Explora Park in Medellín to tell people about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 25-year-long persecution of Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) in China.

Practitioners demonstrate the exercises in Explora Park, Medellín, Columbia.

July 20th is a very important date in Columbia as it celebrates the beginning of the country’s struggle for independence in 1810. Many cities hold celebratory parades, which draw large crowds. 

For Falun Gong practitioners, however, July 20 marks the beginning of the persecution of their fellow practitioners in China. On July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officially launched its campaign of slander and suppression of Falun Gong, a persecution that still goes on today. 

One of the busiest places in Medellín is Explora Park, which is also an important tourist attraction. Falun Gong practitioners held their event there to inform the public about the persecution and what Falun Gong is. 

Practitioners demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises and gave informational materials to passersby. Many Colombians condemned the CCP’s violence against its own citizens and expressed an interest in learning more about Falun Gong. 

People learn about Falun Gong.

The Persecution of Falun Gong Is Very Wrong

Lilibeth supports Falun Gong.

Lilibeth sells fruit in the park and said she was very interested in the positive aspects of Falun Gong—especially its principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. She was pleased to hear how practicing Falun Gong is beneficial for mental health and stress control: “It’s a good thing that helps you meditate and learn many things, such as positive values.”

She also expressed her indignation when she learned that Falun Gong is persecuted in China. “It’s very wrong, because how can someone go to jail for simply meditating?” she said.

Teacher: Falun Gong Plays an Important Role in the World

Jaime said Falun Gong can have a positive impact on one’s physical and mental health. 

Jaime who is a teacher, echoed Lilibeth’s sentiments about the absurdity of the CCP’s persecution. “It’s unfortunate that countries governed by a regime or ideology seek to restrict these kinds of practices, especially free practices like Falun Gong,” he said. 

He considers the role of Falun Gong to be very important in the world because of its positive impact on physical and mental health, “This can allow for peaceful relationships with other people, as well as a harmonious development of body and mind. That is always going to be very important for anyone in the world where Falun Gong is practiced.”

A Venezuelan Architect Wants to Learn the Exercises

Nelson praises Falun Gong.

Nelson, an architect, was visiting Medellín and happened to walk through Explora Park on July 20. After understanding the basic principles of the practice and observing the exercises, he said that Falun Gong was a very interesting discipline. Although this was the first time he heard of Falun Gong, he wanted to practice it. 

The practitioners gave him information for a local Falun Gong practice site in Venezuela so that he could learn the exercises when he returned home.

About the persecution, Nelson said that it is quite unethical that there is something like this, although because people know the type of communist regime that exists in China he said this is not entirely surprising. He added that, “It bothers me a lot that a discipline that is as if it were yoga, meditation, is prohibited.” 

He said the practice’s good values and benefits are the reason it has spread throughout the world. “There are many people who are getting to know this practice, I am getting to know it and I think that it is great, in addition to giving it the visibility it deserves.” 

Gloria Nancy is a public space control official in Medellín who happened to be walking through the park and practitioners’ event. Upon learning about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and the CCP’s forced removal of organs, she said, “I think that’s horrible, I think it’s horrible for a government to do this,” adding that it was difficult to understand how a government could do this to its own people.

She also warned of the global influence this persecution can have. “Anything that appears worldwide has repercussions in all countries,” she said.