Finland: People Learn About Falun Dafa at Health Expo in Helsinki

(Minghui.org) The 2025 “I Love Me” health expo held at the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Center in Finland October 17 to 19, 2025, showcased the latest trends in beauty, fashion, and wellness. Falun Dafa practitioners, who were invited to participate, told people about the benefits of practicing Falun Dafa and how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecutes the spiritual discipline. Many people stopped by their booth, and some learned the exercises at the event.

The 2025 “I Love Me” health expo at the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Center

Falun Dafa practitioners demonstrate the exercises at the health expo.

Visitors learn the Falun Dafa exercises.

People stopped to watch as practitioners demonstrated the Falun Dafa exercises, and many expressed an interest in learning them. Some took photos and information about the group practice site. Practitioners also distributed flyers and collected signatures on a petition to end the persecution.

People learn about Falun Dafa and sign the petition calling for an end to the persecution.

People Are Interested in Falun Dafa

When Jaakko visited the Falun Dafa booth, he said Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance were very good, and he wanted to learn the exercises. After doing them for an hour, he was pleasantly surprised at how good he felt. Although he’d never meditated before, he was able to sit for half an hour on his first try.

Jaakko

Jaakko was surprised to learn that Falun Dafa was banned in China and dismayed to hear about the CCP’s persecution and state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting. He said that many people today suffer from illness due to karma, and that forcibly harvesting organs from others would only exacerbate their karma and worsen their illnesses. He signed a petition calling for an end to the CCP’s persecution and took informational materials about Falun Dafa. He also purchased the Finnish language editions of Zhuan Falun and Falun Gong and said he would read them.

Lilja, a Finnish language teacher, signed the petition without hesitation. She said that one of her Chinese students had already told her about the persecution of Falun Dafa in China, and after seeing practitioners do the exercises, she was interested in learning them.

After she did the exercises, Lilja said, “These exercises are very interesting and calming. It’s a wonderful feeling.” She said that with her busy work schedule and pressure, she really needed this kind of practice to bring her balance and relaxation.

Ilona was also very interested in the exercises. She said the practice site was close to her home, so she took a photo of the address and said she would try to go.

A woman who stopped and read aloud the words “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” on a display board said she wanted to sign the petition. She said she studied traditional Chinese medicine and Qi energy, and found them very helpful. When a practitioner recommended the Falun Gong books to her, she took photos of the titles, wrote them down, and said, “I’ll find these books and read them.”

When a practitioners handed her an origami lotus flower with a small card that read “Falun Dafa” and “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” on it, she said, “I’m going to hang this in my window. So many people are losing themselves these days. I strongly believe in fate. Thank you for this pleasant exchange. I wish everyone all the best and I hope the persecution ends soon."

Condemning the Persecution

A woman who had already signed the petition brought a friend to learn about the persecution. Her friend was shocked to hear about the CCP’s state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting and condemned the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa.

Elina said she saw a Falun Dafa event in Helsinki five years ago. Practitioners told her their personal experiences of being persecuted in China, and she expressed her sympathy and concern: “Human rights are trampled in China, so what you are doing is very important.”

Another woman said she’d talked to practitioners in Helsinki and was given a Falun Dafa book. A practitioner told her that the victims of forced organ harvesting are no longer limited to Falun Dafa practitioners, but also ordinary Chinese citizens. Before she left the woman offered her encouragement: “Stay strong!”

A man recalled that he saw Falun Dafa practitioners doing the exercises outside the central train station over 20 years ago. He talked to them then and was happy to visit with them again at the exhibition.

A man from the Czech Republic said he often saw practitioners on Gambia Square and had joined them in parades and carried banners. A practitioner told him that Falun Dafa practitioners use all kinds of peaceful means to expose the persecution in China and address the CCP’s restrictions on free speech. He said that, as a Czech, he was well aware of the evils of communism and deeply identified with practitioners.

An elderly woman who came with a friend asked who paid for their booth. A practitioner explained, “We all have jobs and voluntarily contribute what’s needed to support the event.” The practitioner then told her about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa, which has caused many people to lose their jobs and families. The woman sincerely said, “I admire you so much.”