(Clearwisdom.net) On May 21, Falun Gong practitioners of California's bay area were invited to introduce Falun Gong and the true situation of the persecution at the Commonwealth Club. Their speeches were warmly welcomed by the audience.

The Commonwealth Club of California is a well-known public forum with a long history. Since its establishment in 1903, it has become known for high quality and influential forums. Many prestigious people have spoken at the club such as former president Roosevelt, civil rights activist Martin Luther King, and entrepreneur Bill Gates.

Dr. Zhang Xuerong, a Falun Gong practitioner, said that a director of the club, Ms. Alehan, happened to see a Falun Gong press conference in front of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco two months ago. Alehan said that other staff members had recommended inviting Falun Gong to speak at the club before, but since she did not know much about Falun Gong, the invitation was postponed.

Now, the opportunity arrived. Ms. Alehan gave Dr. Zhang a topic, "The story of Falun Gong: Who is listening?"

Dr. Zhang Xuerong first thanked the club for giving her the chance to let more people find out about Falun Gong.

Zhang started with explaining the tradition of ancient Chinese cultivation practice, and then introduced the principle of "Truthfulness Compassion Tolerance" and the five sets of Falun Gong exercises. She shared the history of Falun Gong with the audience, from the Chinese government's early support and awards to today's surveillance and persecution. She spoke of how Falun Gong has flourished in over 60 countries around the world. Next, she cited a report from the Wall Street Journal about Falun Gong practitioners Chen Zixiu and Zhao Xin, who were beaten to death for refusing to renounce Falun Gong.

To the audience, the most shocking information came when the practitioners showed the video program "False Fire", a program that analyzes the staged "self-immolation" incident, which was directed by the Chinese government to frame Falun Gong. Dr. Zhang let the audience see how Jiang's Regime utilized the state-controlled media to slander Falun Gong, create hatred against Falun Gong and deceive the Chinese people.

Dr. Zhang pointed out that in the past five years, though Falun Gong practitioners have been suffering cruel persecution, they clarified the truth to the society with compassion and have never resorted to violence.