France: Explaining the Facts about Falun Gong in Marseilles and Commemorating Fellow Practitioners who have been Persecuted to Death

On June the 5th 2004, at the invitation of the French Marseilles International Amnesty Organisation, French practitioners joined the signature collection and other activities held by Amnesty. During the activities, practitioners were also required to narrate their experiences of the persecution that they had been subjected to.

When collecting signatures at the harbour during the day, a lot of photos and boards of information were displayed. Many passersby and tourists stopped to look and sign the petition. They wanted to take action to stop the persecution. Some of them asked us for quite a lot of leaflets and other materials as they wanted to distribute them for us.

At night, practitioners held a candlelit vigil at the Chinese Embassy to commemorate all fellow practitioners who have died in this persecution. Practitioners were invited to narrate their experience of being persecuted. Ms Ying Chen, who is currently studying in France, narrated details of the persecution that she was subjected to when she visited her family in Beijing. She was unlawfully arrested and detained, during which time she was subjected to brutal torture and mental harassment, as well as psychiatric abuse. Her account of her experiences made people who were present cry. Hearing what Chen had been through, people realised the extent of the persecution against Falun Gong in China. They called on others to pay close attention to the trampling of human rights in China, and to adopt an effective approach to end the persecution.

After viewing the display boards and the photos of those who died in the persecution, a lot of passersby came to ask us about the truth, send their sympathy and support and said they would like to pass on the truth to more people.

After learning the truth, a couple said, ‘It is really inconceivable, we cannot imagine how this kind of oppressive torture and persecution could take place in this era!" They also showed their respect and support, encouraged us to keep it up, and presented a symbolic candle lamp to all 980 practitioners who lost their lives in the persecution. The vigil lasted until midnight. We have felt that people are longing to know the truth and want to form a connection with Dafa every time we hold this kind of activity. It reminds us that we needed to do a quicker and more thorough job of clarifying the truth to people.