Sweden: Not Missing Any Chance to Explain the Truth about Falun Gong

One night at work I was listening to a radio program that was has an audience of approximately 500,000 listeners. During the program, the host announced that they would give listeners the chance to call in and talk about matters that concerned them.

Immediately, I realised that this was a good opportunity to explain the facts of Falun Gong to the Swedish people. I made a call to the show and the radio staff asked me what I wanted to talk about. I said that I wanted to talk about Falun Gong. She asked, “Isn’t that the one that is forbidden in China”. I told her that it was: “That is what I want to talk about. I have been practising Falun Gong for about five years and I can tell you that it is as a matter of fact a qigong practice that is guided by the principle of ‘Truth-Compassion-Forbearance.’” She replied, “I shall consider this and get back to you.”

After about 20 minutes my phone rang and the lady said to me that I would hear some music and then the host would introduce me and I would be live on the radio. After a while the host introduced me:

Host [H]: Well, you want to talk about Falun Gong. What can you tell us about Falun Gong?

Me [M]: I feel that the ban of Falun Gong in China has confused many people, so I wanted to straighten some things out.

H: Ok, what is Falun Gong?

M: Let me ask you that instead. What do you know about Falun Gong?

H: I’ve heard that Falun Gong is peaceful and that practitioners are persecuted in China.

M: You got that right! As a matter of fact, in the beginning Falun Gong was really appreciated all over China. Not until 1998, after a survey was made by the Communist Party which estimated that the number of practitioners far exceeded the number of registered Party members, did Jiang Zemin decided to ban the practice [...].

H: In a country like China, is it wrong to assume that everything that can attract so many people is considered a threat?

M: I guess you can assume that. I do some voluntary work with a website that informs about this, and I get the chance to read a lot of eye-witness reports from China, about practitioners getting tortured and even killed. Today we have confirmed 564 deaths, resulting from torture in police custody, in prison or in forced labour camps.

H: Can you describe for the listeners how Falun Gong has changed your life?

M: Let me tell you how I came to know about Falun Gong. A friend of mine called me and asked if I wanted to meet his brother who came here all the way from Switzerland to teach him the Falun Gong exercises, since he felt that it is such a good thing. I thought to myself that it could be interesting so I said agreed. When I did the exercises I felt that my entire body was light and I could sense a kind of purity coming from within. The exercises were really powerful. It wasn’t like other qigong practices that charge a lot of money or teach exercises that do not seem to have any effect. Not just that, this one was for free and it felt upright from the very beginning.

H: What changes have you experienced?

M: The first thing I noticed, not counting the exercises, was that I didn’t want to smoke as it felt, how should I put it... dirty.

H: What about your friends? What do they think about this?

M: Well, after I started practising Falun Gong I got married and we have a child. That makes one’s life quite different. So I don’t have the same relationships with my old friends.

H: Your wife, is she a practitioner?

M: She has read the book, Zhuan Falun, that is compiled based upon lecture sessions held by Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong, where he speaks about Falun Gong’s cultivation principles. Cultivation methods date far back in Chinese history and are part of Chinese culture. Falun Gong is a method that focuses on Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. There is a saying that man’s eye sees outwards. Cultivation is a process of looking inwards and to think of others before oneself. As I said, she read the book and understands me. But she is not as enthusiastic as I am.

H: Is there a chance that one might become so enthusiastic that other people might not understand you?

M: There is, but that would be a problem then. After all, what’s the point if it only makes problems surface?

H: We have heard [name omitted] talking about Falun Gong. Is there anything more you would like to say?

M: I feel well, I sleep well – I can really recommend this.

H: Thank you for telling us about Falun Gong.