Switzerland: "We Want to Learn Falun Gong Right Now"

"I did the first set (Falun Gong) exercise and felt very well. It was fantastic. I will go to the practice site at 7:30 p.m. on Friday to learn the rest of the exercises," said Monika. She was in front of the Falun Gong information booth in Romanshorn, Switzerland, asking how she could learn Falun Gong on October 31, 2009. She then did the first exercise together with the practitioners there, and asked for information about a local practice site. She said that she would like to continue learning Falun Gong.

Practitioners set up an information booth in Romansharn, Switzerland, to introduce Falun Gong

Many passersby take a newspaper containing Falun Gong information

After reading the article introducing Falun Gong in the newspaper, Monika came to learn the exercises

Monika read an article in the local newspaper, Seeblick, which introduced Falun Gong as a Chinese traditional practice for health improvement. Falun Gong has five sets of gentle, smooth and slow exercises, and teaches people how to live in line with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and also helps relieve stress. The article said that by practising Falun Gong one could obtain not only physical health, but also a peaceful heart. She said, "As soon as I read the article about Falun Gong in the newspaper, I decided to come to the information booth today."

After learning that Falun Gong practitioners are being persecuted by the CCP, Monika signed the petition immediately, in support of stopping the persecution

Having never heard about Falun Gong before, she learned at the information booth that the persecution of the Falun Gong practitioners had lasted for more than ten years. She expressed sadness for the ongoing persecution. She said, "I think the persecution is very cruel and breaks my heart." She signed the petition in support of stopping the persecution immediately and expressed her wishes that the Falun Gong practitioners in China regain the freedom to practise.

Peter, who lives nearby also wanted to learn the Falun Gong exercises. When he came out of the large supermarket that morning he saw the Falun Gong practitioners demonstrating the exercises across the street, and he stopped to watch. A Falun Gong practitioner handed him newspaper with information about Falun Gong, and he asked for information about a practice site in Romanshorn and said he would come to learn Falun Gong.

In the afternoon, he came to the information booth again and signed the petition supporting a stop to the persecution. He said to the correspondent, "I read the newspaper. It was very good. I signed the petition. The persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the CCP is a violation of human nature. The persecution has lasted for so many years. The CCP keeps suppressing the Chinese people. I see scenes like this on TV every day. This is totally violating the human nature. I wish that our Ministry of Foreign Affairs could do something for it. The international pressure would be helpful."

We want to learn Falun Gong immediately

There were many passersby who were attracted by the exercise demonstration across from the large supermarket. Some asked for the location of the practice site and said that they wanted to learn the exercises. When primary school students Beat, Ali, and Edulid saw the exercise demonstration, they liked it. One of them said, "The exercises look relaxing. We want to give it a try. We think they are fantastic exercises."

They learned the exercises seriously right then, and afterward said with joy, "I had a wonderful feeling," "It's very relaxing. I was very comfortable and felt the energy inside my body," "We're not accustom to standing like this yet but the feeling was so wonderful. It's very relaxing indeed." The students all said that they would go to the practice site.

Beat, Ali and Edulid are primary school students. After signing the petition, they expressed their wishes that practitioners their age in China would no longer be subjected to persecution

When they were about to leave they saw the petition form and asked what that was. When they learned that many children their ages in China were not allowed to go to school because of the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, and some even became orphans because their parents were tortured to death, they signed the petition seriously. They wished they could help the Falun Gong practitioners to regain freedom.

After watching the peaceful exercise demonstration, many people couldn't understand why the CCP wants to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. The Falun Gong practitioners at the booth explained, "Falun Gong teaches people to be good persons, while the CCP wants to control peoples' minds by instigating hatred, violence, distrust and deception among the people. So they don't want people to be good persons in accordance with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and they don't want people to think for themselves in distinguishing good from bad. That's why the CCP persecutes Falun Gong."

Matina signed the petition and said that she saw a report about Falun Gong on TV and that she knew that many people practice outdoors. She said, "I signed the petition because many practitioners are locked up in prisons due to their belief. I think this is very bad. People should be able to continue practising it. This is a traditional practice."