(Minghui.org) On Chinese New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day (January 21 and 22, 2023), large numbers of people flocked to London’s Chinatown to celebrate. Practitioners held an event to let people know about Falun Dafa and how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has persecuted it for 23 years. They demonstrated the exercises, distributed truth-clarification materials and collected signatures on a petition to end the persecution. Many people stopped to talk and learn more about Dafa and the persecution.
This year’s festivities were on the weekend, and there was a constant stream of people passing through the area. Many said they had heard about the persecution of Falun Dafa in China and the CCP’s crime of organ harvesting and signed the petition. People stopped to learn about the spiritual practice and the CCP’s brutality. The practitioners distributed small paper lotus flowers with the words “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” printed on them
Several security guards told a practitioner that they felt the energy when they were nearby. One said, “I can feel the energy—it feels like a wheel is turning!”
Practitioners send forth righteous thoughts.
People sign the petition calling for the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa to end.
People Condemn the Persecution
Lois and Jlsie heard about the persecution for the first time and quickly signed the petition to help stop it.
Jlsie was surprised that there was no coverage of the persecution in the British media. In particular, they said that the values of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are exactly what society needs. They took informational materials and planned to learn more about it when they returned home.
Lois (left) and Jlsie (right) listen to a practitioner’s explanation.
A couple from Turkey also stopped to chat with practitioners. Naim is the president of his own international trading company, and his fiancée, Gulay, is a social worker. Naim said that he had talked with practitioners before and knows what is happening in China and also about the persecution of the Uyghurs. He said, “In order to stay in power, the Chinese Communist Party has done a lot of bad things at all costs. But the other major countries have not stepped forward to stop China’s persecution of human rights, which will cause great harm in the future.
“Social media is a very important tool now, even more effective than mainstream media like the BBC,” said Naim. He planned to use social media to support the efforts against the persecution after returning home. He said, “One person’s power seems to be small, but when everyone unites, the power will be great.” Gulay agreed.
Naim agrees with Falun Dafa practitioners’ efforts to expose the persecution.
Richard from Madrid, Spain, asked for leaflets and information about the persecution. He said that he did not know much about Falun Dafa. Because of his work, he often saw practitioners’ stalls all over the world, and he usually just passed them by. But this time, he decided to take some information and learn about Falun Dafa. “As far as I know, Falun Dafa promotes health and brings people peace. I need to learn and understand it better.
“Falun Dafa is recognized all over the world,” he noted, “whether it’s in Madrid or the countries I’ve been to. I see a lot of people practicing Falun Dafa. Only the CCP suppresses it. But, typically, the CCP likes to suppress anything that promotes free thought—that goes against its thinking. People want to think for themselves and not be controlled by the government.”
He agreed with the values of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, saying, “Look at the events happening around the world, not only inChina, but even in Russia and the United States. I think if people all over the world can learn compassion and practice it, the world would be a better place.”
Joe S. Hutton and his friend David Reid also stopped to learn about the event. Joe said he only paid attention to small things in the past, but when it comes to live organ harvesting, “it’s professional-level cunning and bad.”
David said, “I just found out what is happening in China today. I hope this matter can be taken seriously. People should have the freedom of belief, which is very important to every country. As long as it is not harmful to people, such a freedom should be guaranteed.”
Joe (left) and David (right)
Praise for Falun Dafa
Olly (left) and his father Simon
Simon Pearson and his 14-year-old son Olly Pearson stopped to watch practitioners demonstrate the exercises. Olly learned Chinese in Singapore. Of all the languages he knows, Chinese is his favorite, and he spoke to practitioners in fluent Chinese.
Olly said that when he saw Shen Yun last year, he learned about Falun Dafa and the persecution. After that, he bought a copy of Zhuan Falun and now reads it at home. He also taught himself the five exercises. He supports Dafa practitioners in China.
Olly also expressed the hope that he also could go out to promote Falun Dafa. He said that his biggest change after reading Zhuan Falun was that, “I have become more mature, more confident, and no longer afraid. My mentality has completely changed.”
At the mention of Shen Yun, his father Simon said, “[Shen Yun] is great. I really like it. It is very inspiring. My son is proficient in Chinese and likes Chinese culture. This show is simply amazing.”
Speaking of last year’s Shen Yun, Olly said emotionally, “Everyone has a choice. The most important thing is the will. Don’t pay attention if others support it or not. As long as it is right, you must stick to it.”
Giulio Consoli is a social science student at University College London (UCL). He learned about the persecution of Falun Dafa by chance while searching for Hong Kong events on the Internet. In 2021, he published a report in Italian on the CCP’s persecution of human rights and Falun Dafa on a World Human Rights news website.
He said it was important to raise awareness of this matter, but he found that few people knew about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa. “Obviously, this must be stopped as soon as possible,” he said. “Falun Dafa is a spiritual way of life. It is shocking and sad that this persecution is still happening today.”
Giulio calls for an end to the persecution.
Background: What Is Falun Dafa and Why Is the CCP Persecuting It?
Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and have learned the five exercises have experienced improved health and well-being.
Jiang Zemin, former head of the CCP, perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the Party’s atheistic ideology, and on July 20, 1999, he issued an order to eradicate the practice.
Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organization with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.
Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 24 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. Countless practitioners have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.
There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply China’s organ transplant industry.
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