(Clearwisdom.net, March 17, 2004) In order to clarify the truth further, Dafa practitioners in Scotland decided to meet with various human rights organizations face to face. From the 11th to the 20th of February, we participated in 6 conferences by invitation, met with Scotland's Member of Parliament in charge of human rights affairs, as well as other parliament members, and were interviewed by two media outlets.
Aberdeen Amnesty International
Aberdeen is the third largest city in Scotland. On the evening of February 11, we attended a routine conference of Aberdeen's Amnesty International. A Falun Dafa practitioner from London took an hour to speak on his experience of being persecuted in China and then answered people's questions. As he had to rush to another city that night, he left the meeting before it ended. After the he left, members of the International Amnesty remained immersed in his story. They concluded other matters hastily and returned to the topic of Falun Gong and kept questioning a Western practitioner. The Western practitioner said he had never seen people so moved before.
Glasgow Amnesty International
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland. On February 12, the city's Amnesty International group held a meeting focused entirely on Falun Gong. More than twenty people attended.
A Western practitioner first gave a brief introduction of Falun Gong, and then the London practitioner spoke about his experience of being persecuted. Other practitioners also talked about the overseas extension of the persecution. A film was then played, revealing the facts about Falun Dafa. People were shocked to see the pictures of Falun Dafa practitioners who had been badly tortured. During the question and answer session, practitioners told meeting attendees about Falun Dafa's wide spread in more than sixty countries and passed around a photo collection of Falun Dafa activities over the past nine years. People could not wait to see it. They gathered around the album and looked at it intently.
After the meeting ended, a woman came to give us hugs. In her broken Chinese, she said, "I support you. I love China."
Edinburgh Harmony and Justice Organization
On the evening of February 15, the Edinburgh Harmony and Justice Organization invited practitioners to discuss the persecution of Falun Gong in China. We had been told that some members of this organization had been influenced by the slanderous propaganda of Jiang's regime and had many misunderstandings about Falun Gong. Practitioners were determined to let them know the truth because everyone has the right to know the truth.
That night, before our program started, there were only 6-7 people in the room. They were having drinks, reading newspapers and didn't look ready for our topic of persecution. However, by the time a Western practitioner started to tell the extraordinary story of Falun Dafa, more than 30 people had already filled the room. Every one of them had a copy of truth clarification material in hand and read through it quickly while listening to the speech. After the introduction, we used a big screen to play a film about Dafa. Everyone was touched by the magnificent feat of Falun Gong practitioners at Tiananmen Square and their sincere calls, "Falun Dafa is great." The audience was immersed in a solemn and respectful atmosphere.
The London practitioner delivered an outstanding narration, outlining his own and his younger brother's experiences of being persecuted in China for practicing Falun Gong. People listened intently and were touched. The question and answer session began. A practitioner asked the audience if they had heard from the propaganda by Jiang's regime. One person raised his hand and said, "I have, but I don't believe it at all. I have practiced Falun Gong myself." The question and answer session was very smooth and peaceful.
A Dafa practitioner told the audience about his personal experience: An editor had written a report against Falun Gong without knowing the truth. The practitioner didn't speak English well, but he still wrote to the editor and told him the facts about Falun Gong. The editor was deeply moved and wrote back to him. At the end of his letter, he said, "Let us stop this persecution together." The audience warmly applauded the practitioner.
Finally, people signed on the petition forms in a line. Postcards promoting the campaign to rescue UK practitioners' friends and family members who are unjustly imprisoned in China were quickly given out. Some people still wanted more postcards. They kept asking, "What else can we do for you?"
Edinburgh Amnesty International
We had been trying to contact Edinburgh Amnesty International, but they seemed not to be very responsive. They planned a routine meeting on February 16. Although we didn't received their invitation, we still decided to go, because they should learn about the persecution of Falun Gong as an international human right organization.
Unexpectedly, we were given almost an hour to speak at their meeting. We introduced Falun Gong and the persecution in China. They were deeply moved and signed to support the rescue of Falun Gong practitioners.
Glasgow Student Branch of Amnesty International
This organization has been in touch with Falun Gong practitioners and has been very supportive. About a year ago when we collected signatures to rescue Falun Gong practitioners' family members, they distributed signature collection forms to every organization member. They collected signatures from every department, copied them and sent them to the Chinese Embassy in the U.K. and three jails in China.
This time, they made advertising posters and placed them throughout the university after they invited us to give an introduction on Falun Gong. Consequently, 30 to 40 people attended the meeting on the evening of February 17. Many of them were not members of the organization but wanted to join the organization. The practitioner from London told his experience of being persecuted in China. Students listened quietly and were shocked by the cruel facts of the persecution. These things were beyond the imagination of the students living in a free society.
During the question and answer session, a student told us that he had read a report of Falun Gong by the Chinese government, but he didn't believe it. After the meeting, some students were reluctant to leave and followed us to another place, where they raised questions for another half an hour. One student asked us for even more information on Dafa so that he could use this to write a letter to his Member of Parliament, asking him to support Falun Gong. Some others asked for contact information so that they could learn Falun Gong.
Before we left, the chair of the group told us that he would graduate soon, but he would send us the name of the new chair in a couple of months. We were very moved by his strong sense of justice. In an interview with the media earlier, he said, "We will help Falun Gong until the last day of the persecution!"
Durham Student Branch of Amnesty International
Durham is located in northern England. When we arrived from Scotland by car on the 18th of February, the organizer told us in embarrassment that there may not be many people attending the meeting although we had come such a long way. Perhaps there would only be about five attendees. We told her that even if there were only one person, it was worthwhile for us to come. We could see she was very touched. Eventually, over twenty people came to listen to us that night. The room was packed. A Chinese English girl greeted us and told us she would only be able to stay for 15 minutes, but she ended up staying for more than half an hour.
The students were very active. After watching the video and listening to the speeches made by practitioners, they asked many questions. They were interested in the facts about the persecution, and they also wanted to know about the practice itself. Only one Taiwanese student kept silent. He was the only one in the group who could speak Chinese. He finally asked us how to explain an article on a flyer. It was an ancient prophesy. Falun Gong practitioners said it was what ancient people saw a few hundred years ago. They wrote it down to warn people in the future. Many prophesies about this age exist and have proved to be true. Three practitioners offered explanations from different views. He nodded to show his acceptance.
All of the students signed to support Falun Gong. Everyone took a postcard promoting the "Rescue Our Family Members" campaign. The 2-hour meeting ended with a demonstration of the five sets of Falun Gong exercise movements. The Taiwanese student shook hands with us with a smile. He said, "I hope you will succeed!"
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/3/2/68975.html and http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/3/3/68974.html
Source: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200403/18446.html
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Category: Rallies & Protests
