Kandy, Sri Lanka: Tourists and Sri Lankans Sign Petition to Stop the Persecution of Falun Dafa

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners from Sri Lanka gathered at the Sahas Uyana Premise in Kandy on July 20, 2024. They told people about Falun Dafa and collected signatures on a petition asking for help to stop the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 25-year-long persecution perpetrated by the Chinese regime.

Group practice at the Sahas Uyana Premise in Kandy on July 20, 2024

People are informed about Falun Dafa by practitioners.

Kandy is the second largest city in Sri Lanka, and a popular historical destination. Both Sri Lankans and foreign tourists frequent the city. During the day-long event, the practitioners did the five exercises of Falun Dafa in public and spoke with passersby about Falun Gong and the CCP’s brutality which is ongoing in China.

After learning about Falun Gong and the persecution, some people said they want to learn Falun Gong, and even purchased Falun Gong Dafa books while there. Some foreigners were also drawn to the exercise demonstrations by the practitioners and inquired about Falun Gong. Practitioners gave out the contact information of local practice sites to the interested passersby.

People sign the petition calling for an end to the persecution.

Lourence and Doceiol are French tourists who were visiting Kandy. When they heard about the exercises, they were intrigued by the movements and came to ask practitioners for more information.

They said that this was the first time they had heard about Falun Gong. They were interested in learning the exercises. The Sri Lankan practitioners helped them find the contact information of the French practice site so that they could learn once they returned home.

When the practitioners told the two about the 25-year-long persecution, Lourence and Doceiol were sympathetic to the experiences of practitioners in China. Both signed the practitioners’ petition.

Lourence and Doceiol speak to practitioners and sign the petition.

Sri Lankans Stand Together With Practitioners in China

Kalana listens to the practitioners' explanation about Falun Gong and signs the petition.

Kalana and his mother were visiting Kandy when they accepted a Falun Gong flier from a practitioner. He wanted to learn more about the practice, as he used to practice a different type of qigong.

The practitioners introduced the practice and explained the reason why they were here—they want to raise awareness of its persecution in China. Both Kalana and his mother were shocked to learn about the violence committed against innocent practitioners, and how former CCP leader Jiang Zemin launched the persecution because he perceived the practice to be a threat to his own power.

“A person’s desire for power banned a good practice,” said Kalana. He signed the practitioners' petition as well.

Senazath passed by the practitioners’ event and stopped to find out more about the cultivation practice after the practitioner handed him a flier. After the practitioner told him about the cultivation, he said he felt that this was a good practice and wanted to learn it. However, there was no Falun Gong practice site in his town. The practitioners arranged an online class for him to learn the practice. Before leaving, he signed the petition.

Candlelight vigil

Practitioners organized a candlelight vigil at the evening session of the program to memorialize the practitioners who have died because of the brutal persecution in China. According to the Minghui website, over 5,000 practitioners who were tortured to death are documented, with many other cases left unaccounted for.