UK: Some Stories from the Twenty-Four Hour Appeal at the Chinese Embassy in London

The twenty-four hour peaceful appeal at the Chinese Embassy in London by UK Dafa practitioners has lasted more than seven hundred days now. During these trying days, we have personally experienced the change in the surrounding environment as our cultivation progresses. The following stories tell the change in people’s hearts after they learnt the facts about Falun Gong.

We still remember one day just after our twenty-four hour peaceful appeal first began two years ago, an old western gentleman approached us and said that he worked in Shanghai Navy base when he was young, and that we should not be here because our appeal makes China lose face. Upon hearing this, one of the practitioners became a bit emotional and retorted, "Why can’t we Chinese have freedom of belief?" This old gentleman didn’t agree with the view and walked away. We saw him pass by frequently since then and he didn’t come to talk to us. About six months later, this gentleman willingly came to the practitioner who talked to him that day and said, "You are right!" He went on to say that he always saw the practitioners meditating, sitting still like pieces of sculpture, and said that it was extremely moving.

One lady we met was a visiting scholar from Beijing University. When she first came to the Chinese Embassy to register, she saw us there under the baking sun and thought we were very silly. What is the use of this? During her stay in the UK, she learned many facts that are unknown in China. By the end of her stay in the UK she specifically came to tell us that she does not think we are silly any more. "What you are doing will be effective like Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi; you will succeed!" She carefully signed the petition calling for an end to the persecution.

One day a western person stood in front of our exhibition board for a long time. A practitioner went to talk to him. He was a delivery man and he passed by our appeal a few times every day. He said, "To be honest your banner saying “Falun Dafa is Good” makes me laugh, this must be Chinese English." He continued, "I don’t want you to be here because it affects my profit: when you are here, the police are here and I have to stop when traffic lights become red. Otherwise I would just hurry through and make more deliveries everyday." The practitioner thought this guy was really selfish after hearing this, but quickly realised she could not talk to people with an emotional attachment. She told him caringly, "We do need to follow the traffic rules because these rules are good for us; if you have an accident, it harms yourself and other people. Falun Gong teaches us to think of other people first when doing things, then society will become better." This fellow listened carefully and nodded, "Yes, Falun Dafa is good!"

Another time, a practitioner was meditating. A western gentleman said to her, "I am sorry to interrupt you but I really want to tell you what I did today." He had received a Dafa leaflet from a friend before and he also often passed by the Embassy and saw our banner reading "The World Needs Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance", which he thought was really true. Today as he crossed the road, he saw an old lady trying to cross the road with difficulty. He remembered the sentence in our banner and went to help her. He really felt great. Before he only thought about smoking, drinking and playing cards. Now he wanted to be a good person by following the principle of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.

One evening last winter it was really cold. A middle-aged woman came over, took off her cotton waistcoat and wanted a practitioner to wear it. She said she lives nearby and us often sees us. She wanted to give this waistcoat to the practitioner as a gift. Another evening, an old lady who lives nearby came to us and said, "You are remarkable. I could never do what you are doing. You are magnificent - you must keep it up!"

There was another story related to a staff member who works in the Royal Institute of Building and Architecture building directly behind the Falun Gong appeal. Every time we changed our exhibition boards, he would carefully read through and say hello to us. The day before Christmas in 2003, he brought his mother with him and wanted practitioners to specifically tell her the story of Falun Gong. Before she left, she collected many leaflets and said she wanted people in their building to read it. She also took a few petitions to collect signatures for us.

There are many stories from in front of the Chinese Embassy that constantly remind us of our responsibilities and honour as Dafa practitioners. We will continue to strive to do a better job in spreading and validating Dafa here. We will not let down our Teacher and fellow practitioners.