Austria: Explaining the Persecution Facts at Vienna International Centre

Falun Gong practitioners raised awareness of the persecution in front of the Vienna International Centre in Austria on September 18, 2015. They held banners and set up posters to deliver their messages. Some practitioners demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises, some explained the facts of the persecution, and others collected signatures condemning the persecution.

Vienna International Centre hosts the United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV), a major UN site, along with those in New York, Geneva, and Nairobi. The UNOV includes the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and others. About five thousand people work at the centre.

Practitioners raise awareness about the persecution of Falun Gong

People sign the petition condemning China's live organ harvesting

Teacher Chantal signs petition

Many people heard for the first time about the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong, and the organ harvesting from living practitioners. Upon hearing the facts, most signed the petition condemning the persecution without hesitation.

Practitioner Katja gives informational materials to UNOV security inspector

The UNOV security inspector on duty stated he would send the materials and petition to the UN headquarters in New York.

The information Katja gave the inspector included an open letter from Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting (DAFOH) to the UN Human Rights Commissioner in December 2014, appealing for an end of the CCP's atrocity, signatures from the DAFOH petition in German and English, and updated investigation report from DAFOH on the CCP's live organ harvesting.

Mr. Sewkaei

Mr. Sewkaei, who works at UNOV in human rights, saw the practitioners' event when he stepped out for lunch. He accepted a flyer upon hearing that the European Parliament had passed a resolution opposing the CCP's live organ harvesting. After listening to a practitioner explain the facts of the persecution, he agreed that the CCP's live organ harvesting is a crime against humanity, and signed the petition.

Ms. Katia

Ms. Katja from Russia works at UNOV, and signed the petition. She said, “It is my first time to hear about Falun Gong. As I am from a former communist country, I fully understand why the CCP persecutes Falun Gong.” She commended the practitioners' efforts in raising awareness of the persecution.

Mr. Holleran

Mr. Holleran is from Ireland and works at the UNOV. He signed the petition condemning the CCP's live organ harvesting. He said, “Without a doubt, these people are a group of peaceful people. It is important to let others know about the persecution.”