United Kingdom: The Call from Thames River Bank — “Stop the Persecution and Rescue Falun Gong Practitioners' Orphans”

On Sunday the 24th of July, Falun Gong practitioners in the UK held activities in front of the Tate Modern Gallery by the side of the river Thames in London city. The event called for an immediate end to the persecution in China against innocent Falun Gong practitioners and promoted efforts to rescue the orphans of those practitioners who have been persecuted to death.

When the practitioners arrived around noon, it was drizzling but the weather did not deter them. Each went about preparation work straight away. Some hung banners, some set up photo exhibits, some put up tents and some moved sound equipment into position. Soon the stage was set.

As a result of the continuing rain, few people walked past the open-air spot. One practitioner suggested, “Let’s do the exercises.” With their raincoats on, the practitioners performed the exercises as normal. Cold wind mixed with rain hit their faces and the raindrops dripped into their jackets, yet the practitioners persisted. Gradually, the rain died down and finally stopped. The sun shone through the clouds. When the exercises were finished, more and more people passed by in the warmth of the sun.

Some practitioners distributed leaflets, answered questions, and told people about the human rights abuses against Falun Gong practitioners. Other practitioners started performances to call for rescuing the orphans of Falun Gong practitioners who have been persecuted to death. The performances alternated with exercise demonstrations.

On one side of the stage, practitioners in gold or white uniforms demonstrated exercises under the sunshine in slow, unhurried motions with a peaceful atmosphere. On the other side of the stage, a female practitioner was simulating a form of torture where she was imprisoned in a small cage, which is a familiar scene from any Chinese labour camp. Passers-by were attracted to the practice while shocked by the brutal persecution of the CCP. People could not make the connection between the two scenes in front of them.

A western lady watched the exercises for a long time. She could not understand why the CCP would crack down on such a good practice. When she was given a leaflet, she started asking what is Falun Gong, for what reasons do the CCP persecute, whether foreign governments or the United Nations helped stop the persecution, etc. Practitioners explained the miraculous healing power of Falun Gong’s principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance” and its high moral requirements for practitioners. Out of jealousy the former Chinese president, Jiang Zemin, utilised his power to start the persecution against Falun Gong. Practitioners also talked about various peculiarities in the “Tiananmen Square Self-immolation Incident” as well as the CCP and Jiang’s scheme of framing Falun Gong. Stunned, the lady wanted to learn more about Falun Gong. Practitioners promised to post her more material.

Three girls from Lithuania watched the exercise demonstrations and photo exhibits carefully. Practitioners told them about the persecution Falun Gong is suffering in China and the miserable predicament the orphans are in. Eyes filled with tears, one of the girls wanted to know more about the truth of Falun Gong and the persecution. Writing down the name of the prime instigator of persecution, Jiang Zemin, she promised to remember the criminal’s name and tell other people about him. The girl wanted to know what she could do to help stop the persecution. She was pleased to learn that she could sign a petition on the internet. Before leaving, she once again asked what more she could do to help. To this kind-hearted girl, practitioners proposed, “Let’s pray together in our hearts that the persecution will stop soon.” The girl promised that she would definitely do so.

During the whole afternoon and evening, many UK residents and tourists from all around the world signed the petition to call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. At first an English gentleman did not sign, saying he did not know what it was about. After seeing the photos and exhibits, he quietly returned to sign his name on the petition form. Another western gentleman told a practitioner, “I signed in California. I support you!”