Russia: Introducing Falun Gong in the Far East and Exposing the Persecution (3)

Clarifying the truth in the train station in Grodekovo

After we said goodbye, we had to hurry on the way because we were short of time. Because it was Sunday, there were few people and no cars on the road. There were only some farm dogs on the road barking at us sometimes. We began to worry and then a minibus stopped. After talking with the owner of the minibus, he drove us to the train station.

There were many tourist buses at the train station. They were all Chinese tourists. It turned out that the station in Grodekovo was only some steps away from China. The other side of the station is China. Through the rails, we could see the Chinese trains stopping on the other side. Because the train to Ussurisk that we wanted to take had not arrived, we distributed Chinese information materials to the Chinese tourists. At first, they refused to take them. So, we explained the truth loudly to them, so more people would hear it.

We told them, “There are one hundred million people practising Falun Gong since the spread of Dafa began in 1992 to the start of the persecution in 1999. There are people in more than sixty countries practising Falun Gong. It is legal all over the world. All people can practise Falun Gong freely. The Self-immolation was a fake created by the Chinese government. More than 1,000 people have been persecuted to death through cruel punishments in China in the last five years. They were persecuted to death only because they insisted on their belief in ‘Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.’

Falun Gong not only helped millions of the Chinese people to have healthy bodies, but also helps them to elevate their morality. The reason Jiang started the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners is only because there were so many people practising Falun Gong. The number of the practitioners exceeded that of the Communist Party, which could not be endured by them. Please don’t believe the media propaganda about Falun Gong in China. Chinese people have gone through political movements many times. You must be able to understand that the ones who are harmed are always the common people. For five years, we have been peacefully telling people the truth that Falun Gong practitioners did not burn themselves and they did not commit suicide. Falun Gong practitioners all over the world are telling the truth. These materials are copied at our own expense that we saved with difficulty. We do it only for the conscience of the Chinese people and for telling them the truth. Please carefully read them….”

Gradually, people started to gather round and listen to us. Some people took leaflets, but most people were only watching us. Some people walked near and told us,“We are tourists from the government. Please speak in other places. There are still many Chinese people there.” We kept on distributing materials to everyone. Many people preferred not to take them. Some people quietly approached practitioners who were buying train tickets at the ticket window in the hall to take the materials and Video-CDs. They secretly hid them in their bags. I heard some reports that the Chinese tourists had to attend some “specialised education classes", which taught them not to receive any information about Falun Gong, before they went abroad. There were even special people who oversaw them in every tourist group. But I could never imagine that they were really so afraid that they dared not even take a flyer.

We thought that even if they did not take our materials, we wanted them to hear the truth and to clear their poisoned thoughts after hearing the media in China attacking Dafa everyday for five years. So we kept on telling the truth, and other practitioners supported by sending forth righteous thoughts. We could sense that they were actually waiting to hear the truth. They all hoped that we could tell them more. From their responses, we sensed that we had to keep on telling them, and telling them more. Meanwhile, a practitioner got permission from the police to practise the exercises in the small square in front of the station. We started to practise the exercises by forming a circle. After the music started, the Chinese people around us were watching us intently. They could not publicly see Falun Gong exercises in China, but they were displayed in a small border town in Russia near Chinese border. Maybe this difference could help them to reflect upon it.

Practising the exercises at the train station

After we practised all five sets of exercises, it was time for our train to approach the station. However, because there were few people going to Ussurisk City on Sunday, the train was delayed. Because the Chinese tourists had not taken the train either, we spread a big banner reading “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” beside the building across from the square of the train station when waiting for the train. At that moment, it seemed that all we wanted to say to the one hundred Chinese tourists in front of us was on the banner. Every one was quietly sending fourth righteous thoughts. How much we wanted them to know the truth, and not be cheated by the lies. We sang “Coming for You” together. Our song spread to every one of them. Some approached near us in order to listen to it more clearly. All the people’s eyes fell on us again. When they entered the platform, they passed us two by two. Almost everyone entered the platform with their bodies and eyes turning to us.

After the Chinese tourists went away, the Russian people around us also curiously asked what we were doing. We told them about the spread of Falun Gong in the world and the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. One girl wanted to know more about Falun Gong after learning the truth. We gave her Dafa books and exchanged addresses.

Displaying a banner reading “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” to Chinese tourists

We met a Chinese man on the train. He was going to Ussurisk City, too. We gave him many Chinese materials. It took us two hours to get to Ussurisk. He seriously read the materials and asked us some questions. He expressed his sympathy for Falun Gong practitioners in China. We gave him a Video-CD. He said that he would watch it when he got back. When we got to Ussurisk, it was evening. We planned to explain the facts to the city government and some organisations the next day.

(To be continued)