Finland: Falun Gong Event in Front of Parliament and Chinese Embassy Warmly Received

Falun Dafa practitioners peacefully protested in front of the Chinese Embassy on September 28 to call for an end to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 21-year-long persecution of their faith. They set up large banners and collected signatures.

Practitioners peacefully protested in front of the Chinese Embassy on September 28, 2020.

A Chinese slowly drove by and gave the practitioners a thumbs up to show his approval. When a young woman and her friends came out of the embassy, a practitioner talked with them. The woman agreed to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations.

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Practitioners appeal in front of the Finnish parliament building.
Passersby sign the petition to condemn the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

Practitioners called on members of the Finnish parliament to pay attention to the brutal persecution in China, especially the CCP’s state-sanctioned organ harvesting from living practitioners. They also called on more Members of Parliament (MP) to sign the global joint statement of elected officials against the persecution.

The parliament is located at one of Helsinki's busiest intersections. The train station, bus terminal and shopping centres are all located nearby, and practitioners' eye-catching twenty-meter banners were seen by many people.

MP Mikko Kärnä, who signed the joint statement, came to the practitioners' booth and said, “This is the right thing to do. Your issue is very important. I wish your event success.”

Another MP talked with practitioners and learned about Falun Dafa and why the CCP is persecuting the group. A practitioner pointed at several others and told the MP, “They survived the persecution.”

As he told the MP what tortures they were subjected to, the MP was moved and took a copy of the joint statement and a magazine. He said he appreciated the practitioners' efforts.

When the event concluded, the MP and his assistant came back to the parliament building. He pressed his hands in front of his chest and said, “You are doing a great thing.” He said he would read the joint statement.

Karolina

Karolina stopped by the practitioners’ event, carefully read the posters, and talked with a practitioner for quite a while. She was moved to tears by the persecution in China. “I am a photographer,” she said. “Contact me if you have any events. I can take photos for you.”

When the practitioner said she hopes more people will let others know of the persecution, Karolina took photos with her smartphone and shared them on her social media. She left comments on a Falun Dafa social media page and asked for the link to the online petition. She said she would encourage more people to sign.

Irina, an entrepreneur, signed the petition and said she had heard of the persecution. She said only a totalitarian government would treat people like that and that more governments and media organizations needed to speak out for Falun Dafa.

“I stand with you,” said Pertti, a photographer, as he stopped his bicycle near the practitioners’ display. He said he still remembers the scene of practitioners holding banners calling for an end to the persecution when CCP chief Xi Jinping visited Finland in 2017.

Sydney is an American living in Finland. Holding her baby, she walked around reading the information and looking at the practitioners' display. She said she was shocked to hear about the live organ harvesting in China and appreciated practitioners telling people such important information.