Sweden: Exposing the Persecution Against Falun Gong in Gothenburg City Centre

Between the 17th and19th of December, Falun Gong practitioners from the Gothenburg area held activities in the centre of Gothenburg, which is the second largest city in Sweden. They informed the public about Falun Gong and raised awareness of the brutal persecution that is happening in China. It was near Christmas, so there were many people out doing their Christmas shopping.

While Falun Gong practitioners were busy demonstrating the five sets of exercises, distributing flyers and answering questions about Falun Gong and the persecution China, a lot of people’s attention was attracted by display boards showing pictures of practitioners who were tortured to death. After finding out that over 1,100 Falun Gong practitioners have lost their lives in the five-year campaign of genocide happening in China, many people came forward on their own initiative to sign the petition calling for an end to these human rights abuses. A woman who had never heard of Falun Gong before said that she was shocked by the persecution; she thought it was great that practitioners held this activity to raise awareness.

As well as the usual flyer introducing Falun Gong and outlining the genocide against practitioners in China, a second flyer was distributed detailing some recent important events. One subject discussed was how the Chinese Consulate in Gothenburg pressured the Swedish authorities to remove the practitioners who were peacefully appealing for an end to the persecution outside and move them to a place far away from the Consulate. The flyer talked about overseas Chinese embassies and consulates spreading hate propaganda in western countries to try to turn people against Falun Gong. The flyer also talked about the legal action taken against Chinese officials who have been involved in the persecution. A lot of these flyers were distributed over the three days.

Many people offered positive messages of support and encouragement to the practitioners. Christmas and its preparations are a time filled with happiness and excitement for many people in Sweden. For the Falun Gong practitioners who live outside of China, although they will enjoy the Christmas celebrations they will not forget the suffering in China and they will not slow down in their efforts to restore justice and freedom for their persecuted fellow practitioners.