Switzerland: Davos Residents and Officials from the World Economic Forum Support Human Right for China's Persecuted Dafa Practitioners

At the end of January 2005, the annual World Economic Forum was held in the famous Swiss ski-resort, Davos. Many countries sent their top officials to attend. During the last two days of the meeting (29th and 30th) Dafa practitioners in Switzerland organised anti-torture exhibitions and activities to let people know about Falun Gong. Even though it was sunny on the 29th, a lot of snow remained on the ground from the previous two days of heavy snowfall. The temperature fell to below 20 Degrees Celsius. With the wish to let people know the facts about Falun Gong, Dafa practitioners in Switzerland came to Davos one after another. Some drove over 300 km and others travelled by train for five hours. In spite of feeling tired and cold on arrival, practitioners converted the city centre square into an open-air exhibition area for an anti-torture exhibition within only half an hour.

Davos Head of Police said: “I grant you special permission to hold the anti-torture exhibition.”

Each year during World Economic Forum meetings, there are many different kinds of appeals and protests. Falun Gong practitioners in Switzerland’s peaceful and rational appeals in the previous two years left a very good impression on local people and the Police Bureau. They know that Falun Gong is a cultivation group guided by the principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion & Forbearance.” Therefore even when many appeal activities were not granted permission this year, the Head of City Police Bureau said, “I grant Falun Gong special permission to hold a two-day anti-torture exhibition.” It was a one-off special kind of opportunity this year. As a result, Dafa practitioners treasured the two days, making the best use of their time to quickly reach as many people as possible with their activities to raise awareness.

A Davos city department director said: “Falun Gong is extraordinary!”

When a Dafa practitioner told the truth to someone who looked like an official, the gentleman said that he knew about Falun Gong. The practitioner asked him how he knew and he identified himself as the director of one of the city departments in Davos. He continued, “Falun Gong is extraordinary! You’ve done very well. I fully support you. Through five years of atrocious persecution, it is really commendable that you have not given up your beliefs. Your peaceful, rational method of appealing is very good. You can organise many activities for more people to learn the truth. You will succeed for sure.”

Many journalists interviewed practitioners

The anti-torture exhibition shocked the forum participants and the local public. The media covering the forum, including TV stations from Ireland, Mexico, Jordan and Brazil conducted live interviews with practitioners. The practitioners explained to them that the torture methods shown here, such as hanging, sitting on a tiger-bench, squatting in iron cages, etc. are only the tip of the iceberg. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Jiang’s regime use more than 100 torture methods to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. They do not even spare babies, the elderly and pregnant women. The crimes of the CCP and Jiang’s regime stunned the media and the public. A young lady from Canada said: “I’m shocked to learn that there is still such injustice in the world in this day and age. I really cannot understand how the Chinese Government treats its people like this. This is truly unreasonable. Justice is on your side. You will succeed for sure."

A chance meeting with a member of the Swiss Federal Council

A Dafa practitioner asked for directions from none other than a councillor on the seven-member Swiss Federal Council (seven people take turns to be the president of the Swiss Federal Government). Recognising him, the practitioner told him, “We came to Davos today to hold an anti-torture exhibition. We aimed for many more kind Swiss people to learn the truth. Meanwhile we call on China to stop the brutal persecution against Falun Gong and to defend basic human rights. We hope we can gain your support.” The gentleman nodded and took some materials from the practitioner, saying he would study them thoroughly.

Governor of the State of Colorado, USA, signed the petition form

For this event we prepared two types of petition forms for submission to proper authorities, calling for an end to the persecution against Falun Gong. One of these demanded the CCP and Jiang’s regime to immediately release Ms. Qiu Minghua, the mother of a Falun Gong practitioner in Switzerland. Swiss Dafa practitioner Wang Xiaoyang’s mother Qiu Minghua practised Falun Gong and became a better person by following the principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.” When they found out she was practising Falun Gong, the 6-10 Office of the CCP groundlessly and illegally arrested her. After her illegal capture, her elderly mother’s health deteriorated rapidly due to shock and worry and passed away soon afterwards. Her husband is also old and ailing. As a result, her daughter. who is studying in Switzerland, was put under a lot of pressure. Currently Dafa practitioners in Switzerland are collecting signatures to call for help from all walks of life. We demand the CCP and Jiang’s regime to immediately release Ms. Qiu Minghua.

A westerner passed our exhibition stand. After reading through our literature and watching the anti-torture exhibition, he immediately signed his support on the petition. He also gave us his name card. Only after reading the name card did the practitioners learn that he was the Governor of the State of Colorado in the USA.

A hot drink warmed our hearts

As Europe was hit by cold weather, temperatures in the whole of Switzerland suddenly dropped below zero. Located in a mountainous area, Davos’ temperature plummeted to 22-24 Degrees Celsius below after heavy snow. Seeing that we were thinly clad but stood outdoors in the snow for a long time, many local people were very touched. The practitioners who took part in the anti-torture exhibition sat motionlessly on the tiger-bench or curled up in the iron cage. The local public expressed support for us in various ways. One brought some hot coffee on a tray. She said, “You must be freezing. Please drink some hot coffee to warm up.” The practitioners expressed their heartfelt thanks to her. And explained “We do feel very cold. But our fellow practitioners in China are suffering through every conceivable means of torture by the evil police: Being stripped of their clothes in such cold weather and put outside to freeze, or having cold water poured over them. People are being tortured every single day. Currently there are still a large number of Dafa practitioners who are locked up in prison and suffering all kinds of persecution. The cold that we feel is nothing at all compared to what they are going through.” The lady widened her eyes after hearing this and exclaimed, “It’s unimaginable how they could trample on human rights to such a degree. They should be tried by the International Tribunal like Milosevic of Yugoslavia.”