United Kingdom: Clarifying the Facts Outside the Scottish Parliament

When the organisers of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo invited the Chinese army, one of the main perpetrators of China’s human rights abuses, UK practitioners held a series of activities to clarify the facts about the persecution in China. Two weeks ago, when practitioners intoroduced Falun Dafa in the University of Glasgow, a passer-by who was working at the Scottish Parliament suggested that we could hold activities outside the Scottish Parliament when the parliament is in session. So, on the 16th of June, another practitioner and I went to the Scottish Parliament in the morning. We talked to the security personnel and were told that we were free to obtain petition signatures outside. We then began distributing materials about Falun Dafa and requesting signatures.

The pavement in front of the parliament was quite busy. Many passers-by were members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and parliament staff. Because the Chinese Tattoo invitation had been widely reported by the Scottish media, and because the parliament has discussed this issue, too, most people already knew something about it and were quick to express their sympathy and support for us. Several MSPs also signed our petition and talked to us.

Parliament workers were also very supportive. Some said, “Because I work for the government I am not allowed to sign any petition. But I do support you.” Some others felt stronger about this issue and did not care so much about such regulations. A lady turned her ID card over and signed the petition, saying, “I shouldn’t sign, but I will sign it for you anyway.”

On the following day, another practitioner came to Edinburgh from another city to support our petition. As a result, apart from distributing leaflets and talking to people, we could also do some exercise demonstrations. Many passers-by expressed their support, including tourists from the US, Spain and other countries. Some warm-hearted people even gave us suggestions on how to get more publicity. In the afternoon, two young ladies passed by. One of them had already signed our petition the day before. She stopped again to tell her friend about Falun Gong and the persecution in China. She was doing a good job. Obviously she had read our materials very carefully. I realised only now that her friend, the other girl, was blind. Having heard what our petition was about, the blind girl held the pen in one hand, pressed the other hand against the petition book and signed her name with quite some difficulty. It was quite a touching scene.

A few days before, the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee had refused to interfere with the invitation of the Chinese army, citing limited remit. It looked like a setback. However, our truth-clarification activities in front of the Scottish Parliament indicated that, though there was a lot of interference, many politicians still insisted on their righteous positions. We should not be deceived by those illusions on the surface, and should continue our effort in clarifying the facts to the government. Another point worth noting is that we found many people already knew the truth behind the invitation of the Chinese army and had made a correct judgment and choice for themselves. We came to further realise the importance of clarifying the facts to the media.