UK: Dafa Practitioners Hold a Press Conference in Front of the London Chinese Embassy

On June 5th 2003, UK Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference opposite the Chinese Embassy in London. This day was the 1st anniversary of the permanent 24-hour peaceful vigil in front of the Embassy. The reasons for the press conference were to celebrate this historical day, to support the lawsuit against Jiang that has been filed in Chicago, and to call for the release of Dr. Charles Li, an American who is on hunger strike in a Chinese prison.

At noon, a practitioner announced the beginning of the press conference. Several speeches were given, including one by Lord Thurlow, who is a 90-year-old Falun Gong practitioner. In his speech, Lord Thurlow said that it is a remarkable contribution that, throughout an entire year, day and night, these people have continued such a vigil of protest here against four years of the most massive persecution in human history that has been perpetrated by the Chinese government against its own citizens. What crime have those citizens committed? In fact they have done nothing other than persist in a peaceful and non-violent practice. In conclusion, Lord Thurlow appealed: “We hereby call on everyone in this country to join in this protest and let more people understand about the evil that is being perpetrated in China”.

The last 365 days have been marred by wind and rain, trials and hardships in front of the Chinese Embassy. Falun Gong practitioners have continued to come here to peacefully practise the [Falun Gong] exercises, send forth righteous thoughts, explain the facts of Falun Gong to passers-by, and let British people understand Dafa’s goodness and harmonious nature further, as well as the facts of the brutal persecution in mainland China. UK Falun Gong practitioners have said that they will continue the 24-hour peaceful vigil until the end of this persecution.

Translated from Chinese at http://www.yuanming.net/articles/200306/21052.html