France: Anti-Torture Exhibition in Clermont-Ferrand City and Support for China’s Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners

On November the 20th 2004, French Dafa practitioners went to Clermont Ferrand, a city in central France, to introduce Falun Gong to local residents. They held an anti-torture exhibition to expose former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin and his faction’s heinous crimes. Jiang has lead the persecution against Falun Gong since he launched it five years ago and people all over the world are now calling for him to be brought to justice in a court of law for his crimes against humanity. According to the Falun Dafa Information Centre, at least 1128 deaths through police abuse and torture have been confirmed; government sources inside China indicate that the actual number could be has high as 7,000 or more.

People who saw re-enactments of some of the torture methods used to force Falun Gong practitioners to renounce their beliefs in China were shocked and enraged by the atrocities happening there, saying, “We stand by you and we all support you!” One middle-aged woman said that she used to think that human rights in China were improving but has since realised that this is not the case. Human rights workers have documented over 38,000 specific cases of torture or severe abuse against Falun Gong practitioners in China. This lady hoped that more people can learn the facts about Falun Gong, so they are not deceived by the lies that Jiang uses to cover up his crimes. In the meantime, she encouraged practitioners to keep up the good work and said that she will tell her relatives and friends about the persecution.

Another person asked for plenty of leaflets from us, saying that she would send them to her children and friends. Many others asked a lot of questions and, after hearing the facts, they said that they want to help. Practitioners told them that the best way to help is to tell people about Falun Gong and the human rights abuses inflicted on people who practise Falun Gong in China.

Though the one-day activity soon came to an end, many local people had learned more about Falun Gong. They asked for information on their nearest practice site where they can learn the exercises for free.