Finland: Practitioners Call for an End to the Persecution on the Sixth Anniversary of the April 25th Incident

On the morning of April 25th, a group of Finnish practitioners were just finishing activities outside the Chinese Embassy to call for an end to the persecution. They then proceeded to Helsinki city centre to hold a photo exhibition in memory of the sixth anniversary of the “4.25” incident when 10,000 practitioners peacefully went to the Appeals Office in Zhongnanhai to tell the Chinese authorities about the human rights abuses against Falun Gong.

Passers-by were pouring into the busy city centre. Many people's attention was attracted to the astonishing photos of the persecuted practitioners. Seeing the photos, the viewers had serious expressions. Some took a careful look; evidently they felt deeply shocked by the images of the tortured practitioners. The photos also caused some people to wonder what could make the persecuted practitioners so steadfast in their beliefs, even when threatened with death. Curiosity led them to take a careful look at the display boards and Falun Gong leaflets.

While looking at the display boards, a middle-aged woman was offered a leaflet. She accepted the leaflet with delight and asked for more information about Falun Gong. On her departure, she took two paper lotus flowers and admired their beauty. After seeing the shocking photos of the persecuted practitioners, one elderly person asked for a leaflet and read the information about the persecution twice. After understanding the facts, people signed the petition to express their objection to the persecution.

In the meantime, practitioners also met some Chinese people. A middle-aged man and a young girl kept turning to see our display boards, banners and exercise demonstration. They were amazed that western people practise Falun Gong and that many westerners were signing the petition to express their support. A practitioner seized the chance to tell them about Falun Gong and gave them Chinese leaflets. They promised to read them.

There was another young person from China on a one-week business trip to Helsinki. He had a long chat with a practitioner in front of the display boards. He said that he had practised other types of qigong and had some understanding of cultivation. He raised some tough questions. The Chinese practitioner talked to him patiently and at last the doubts in the young man’s mind were cleared away. He came to realize that Falun Gong really teaches people how to cultivate their heart and mind and be good people. With delight and sincerity, he said that he benefited a lot from his chat with the practitioners.