New Zealand: Introducing Falun Dafa and Exposing the Persecution at the Auckland "New Spirit Festival"

On February 13, 2005, New Zealand practitioners participated in the "New Spirit Festival" in Auckland. Practitioners decorated their booth with lotus flowers, balloons, paintings and banners, making it beautiful in order to attract interest from passersby. Falun Dafa books, exercise instruction VCDs, exercise music cassettes, and leaflets were displayed, as well as a petition book to call for an end to the persecution.

Exercise demo	A young practitioner distributing fliers	The Falun Gong booth

Practitioners coordinated very well during the event. Everyone took their role seriously: some collected signatures, some distributed fliers and answered questions, others demonstrated the exercises, etc. A western practitioner sat at the booth to patiently answer visitors' questions about Falun Gong and the ongoing persecution. A 7-year-old from the Chinese Minghui School distributed fliers.

Several practitioners repeatedly demonstrated the 5 sets of exercises. The peaceful music and the smooth and graceful exercises attracted many visitors. Some asked where local practice sites are and when they could learn. An elderly lady sincerely praised practitioners' exercise demonstration and repeatedly said that she could sense practitioners' mighty energy.

The beauty of Falun Dafa cast a dramatic contrast with the evil nature of the persecution. People who have learned the truth expressed their condemnation of the persecution and their sympathy to practitioners persecuted in China. Many visitors took the initiative to sign the practitioners' petition, and one lady took a petition form with her to collect signatures from her friends who live far away.

In the afternoon, a group of TV reporters came to cover the festival. When they noticed the practitioners' booth and exercise demo, the reporters showed great interest. They videotaped the demo and a reporter then came to ask a practitioner to provide details of the persecution.