Dijon, France: Exposing the Chinese Regime's Atrocities and Marking 25 Years of Opposing the Persecution

(Minghui.org) The historic and cultural city of Dijon, listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, is about 300 kilometers (186 miles) southeast of Paris. It was once the capital of the Duchy of Burgundy. .

For more than a decade, Falun Dafa practitioners from Dijon and surrounding cities have held activities every year to expose the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution that began in 1999.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice based on Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Its practitioners in China are subject to the regime’s persecution, the most shocking of which is the CCP-sanctioned forced organ harvesting from living practitioners.

To raise awareness of this persecution that has been going on for 25 years, practitioners from Jura, Haut-Rhin, Paris, and even Switzerland gathered at Place de la République in Dijon on July 20, 2024, to inform people about the severity and pervasiveness of the persecution. Practitioners asked people to sign a petition to help end the persecution of practitioners in China. They also demonstrated the Falun Dafa exercises.

Practitioners set up an information booth and demonstrated the exercises at Place de la République in Dijon on July 20.

The all-day event received widespread attention, encouragement, and support. In particular, many people signed the petition initiated by DAFOH (Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting) and ETAC (The International Coalition to End Transplant Abuse in China) that calls for an end to forced organ harvesting in China.

When Martin and his friends signed the petition calling for an end to the CCP’s forced organ harvesting, Martin said that making the world aware of the CCP’s brutality was extremely important. He said that Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance were universal values that should be shared with all humanity.

Iraphe signed the petition to support practitioners’ efforts to end to the persecution.

As Iraphe signed the petition, she said that she was shocked to learn about the persecution of practitioners in China and described the forced organ harvesting as “appalling.” She said it was extremely unfair to be persecuted simply for practicing something that improves one’s health. She thought the practice and its universal values were extremely kind. She herself had thought about “wanting to learn to cultivate.” She called for more discussion about Falun Dafa in the media and on social networks.

Erwin from Dijon heard about the persecution for the first time. He said, “I’m not surprised that the Chinese government does this. It is immoral and disgusting. What’s even more worrying is that no one is doing anything to oppose it. It’s very important to let people know what’s happening in China.”

Pierre hopes that everyone hears about the persecution and actively responds.

After Pierre signed the petition, he said that the forced organ harvesting was “Horrible. We must stop it. We should discuss this issue as often as possible so that people find out about it and take actions to stop the persecution.”