Bulgaria: Practitioners Appear on a National State-run TV Show and Expose the Persecution in China

On 7th January, two Bulgarian Falun Gong practitioners were guests on the morning programme of a newly established TV station in the Ministry of Defence. The TV is state-run and is broadcast to the whole country.

The TV presenter asked questions about Falun Gong and the similarities or differences when comparing it with other practices such as Yoga, Tai Chi and Buddhism. She asked about the effects of the exercises and if they can be done comfortably in the workplace. The practitioners talked about the principles of the practice and how Falun Dafa helps people become better persons.

The presenter asked why Falun Dafa is persecuted in China. The practitioners explained that after estimating the number of practitioners to be 70 to 100 million in 1999, the former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin personally ordered a campaign of persecution despite the disagreement of the other Politburo members. They revealed that there is information that the family members of all the Politburo politicians practised Falun Gong and that the wife of Jiang Zemin also learned the practice. Jiang’s reason for starting the persecution was because the practice grew in popularity so quickly in only 7 years. The practitioners went on to talk about how the Chinese Communist Party has never showed any regard for human life and has continually persecuted and oppressed the Chinese people since it came into power.

While the practitioners talked, the Falun Gong exercise music was playing in the background and the camera showed footage of practitioners in Bulgaria doing the exercises in a park together with the presenter of the TV programme.