Holland: "Falun Dafa! I Really Admire You"

On September 2nd, 2006, Falun Gong practitioners participated in the annual national cultural festival at Maastricht, an ancient border city of the Netherlands, where the practitioners exhibited photos, demonstrated the five exercises and taught people how to make paper lotus flowers. They brought Falun Gong to the ancient city, adding colour to the festival.

In recent years, the truth of Falun Gong has spread around the world through media coverage. People in the city knew a little bit about Falun Gong. Many visitors come to the stand to learn more about Falun Gong and the persecution in China.

Upon receiving leaflets from a practitioner, a young scholar was surprised, “Falun Dafa!” As it turned out, he learned the truth about Falun Gong while vacationing in Canada. He said emotionally, “It never crossed my mind that I would hear about Falun Gong in such a remote small town. I am impressed!”

An elderly lady told her companions the truth of Falun Gong. She said she learned about the CCP’s atrocities of organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners on TV. They were reminded of the World War II era, which sent chills down their spines. One of them said, “Never again? Here we go again!”

Folding paper lotus flowers attracted many children and their parents. When they learned to make the flowers, a practitioner told them a story, “In China many children whose parents were persecuted to death by the CCP for practising Falun Gong became orphans. Some did not have beautiful clothes while others could not go to school. Loneliness was their only companion. When a little girl in Sweden learned about this, she dreamed one night a beautiful wish. If she could fold one thousand paper lotus flowers, the CCP’s persecution would be stopped and the orphans would have beautiful clothes and be able to go to school. Since then she started to make lotus flowers with all her heart. Many children all around the world like to learn folding lotus flowers. They hope the little flowers can bring some happiness to the persecuted children, who will no longer feel lonely because little friends from all over the world are paying attention to them.” A baby asked mummy innocently, “Will they know?” Mummy reassured her, “Of course, as long as you put your heart in to it.”

The gentle Falun Gong exercises attracted many people. The city’s TV crew recorded this precious scene. When the event was drawing to an end, the Mayor also came to the stand. After talking with practitioners, he happily accepted leaflets and the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party (an editorial published by The Epoch Times newspaper) in Dutch. He promised he would learn more facts about Falun Gong when he gets a chance.