Candlelit Vigil in Rome, Italy

At 9pm on 25th September, practitioners from all over the world gathered at Piazzi di Spagna [Trinita dei Monti Steps] in Rome. A candlelit vigil was held in memory of the 280 fellow practitioners killed in police custody in China. The gathering was to expose the evil persecution towards Falun Gong practitioners in China by the Jiang Zemin regime, and to call for the righteous help from the kind Italian people.

The Piazzi is one of the famous sightseeing spots in Rome. Many tourists as well as local residents come to the Piazza. Occasionally there are also small group musical performances. On this particular evening, many Falun Gong practitioners gathered together there.

On the middle of the steps of the piazza a wreath of flowers was placed in memory of the dead practitioners and a huge "SOS" banner. Practitioners were holding pictures of the dead, carrying light sticks and sitting between tourists on the steps. The candlelit vigil ceremony started with the Falun Gong music of "Pudu" and "Jishi".

Such a scene attracted many people around. Some practitioners handed out leaflets and chatted to people to clarify the truth. Other practitioners were performing the exercises. Many local people wanted to learn the exercises right away. Practitioners from Italy started the teaching workshops. There were also some Chinese people that came to us to ask for more information on Falun Gong. They said that the Chinese government's fabricated propaganda was simply shocking. They expressed that they would use their own analysis to determine between the true and the false.

It was an important day because it was the first time that a major Falun Dafa activity had been held in Italy, with some great support from the Italian government. Practitioners were able to show "Zhen Shan Ren" [Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance] to the Italian people. The nation and its kind people were very favourable towards Falun Dafa.

Reported from Italy

Translated from Yuanming.net, 10-18-2001