On the evening of May 16, the Italian New Religion Research Center hosted a symposium in Turin regarding religions in China. The host from the center, Prof. Introvigne, first said that Falun Gong was a contentious issue in China. Then Father Politi, from the Catholic Mission Organization in Milan, documented the Chinese government's consistent policy on blocking and suppressing freedom of belief, using information and documents from the Chinese government. An Italian practitioner then introduced to the audience how he had benefited after he started practicing Falun Gong, and how the Chinese government's propaganda was deceptive and distorted the facts. Falun Gong spokesman Zhang Erping was invited and gave a speech at the symposium. He spoke on Falun Gong and Jiang Zemin government's illegal persecution of Falun Gong. The attendees all expressed their sympathy regarding Falun Gong after the symposium. The local media also reported the event positively. Chinese diplomats' attempts to stop the symposium were rebuffed.