Bulgaria: Exposing the Persecution of Falun Gong in the City of Shumen

Bulgarian practitioners held a photo exhibition and poster display to promote Falun Gong practice and expose the persecution in the city of Shumen. The activity took place in the city centre on August the 17th with the permission of the Shumen municipality.

The practitioners performed the Falun Gong exercises, handed out leaflets with information about the practice, and revealed the facts about the continuing seven year persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese communist regime.

The passers-by were shocked by the atrocities of the Chinese regime, and many said that this was the first time they had heard about the persecution. Many have understood the reason behind the persecution because they have lived under the shadow of communism themselves. Some said that the communist ideology has brought about only calamities and it is not good.

Many were left shocked by the atrocities of the Chinese communist regime	Journalists from Shumen published information about Falun Gong for two days

Almost everyone who stopped to read the display boards signed the petition to call for an end to the persecution in China. Many young people wanted to give their signature in support of the efforts to stop the atrocities of the communist regime without even knowing the details in depth. Many of them said that are against the torture of any kind and signed the petition with the hope that this would help.

Some elderly people, who lived during the time of communist Bulgaria, shared that even in Bulgaria at that time, people’s human rights were violated and everyone who expressed different thoughts or ideas was persecuted.

Many people wanted to learn the five sets of Falun Gong exercises and read the main teaching of the practice, the book Zhuan Falun, which presents the principles of Truth, Compassion and Benevolence.

A Bulgarian woman who lives in Holland, said that she already started to do the exercises and read “Zhuan Falun”, and was really happy that she could buy the book in Bulgarian.

A cyclist stopped after seeing the poster boards about organ harvesting and said that he is aware of the practitioners’ efforts, since he lives in the USA where on numerous occasions he had seen similar events to raise awareness.

After making a report for the evening news, journalists from Shumen TV signed the petition	With interest people were looking at the poster boards and talking to practitioners

People had positive attitudes and with interest listened to the truth of the persecution and the practice of Falun Gong. For two days the media in Shumen reported on the event.

A Journalist from Radio Shumen conducted two interviews. He was shocked by the torture methods used in the Chinese labour camps and prisons, and by the news of organ harvesting from live Falun Gong practitioners. Another local radio station called “Forte” conducted a fifteen-minute interview about this activity, Falun Gong practice and the persecution in China.

On the day of the activity the national radio station “Darik” also reported about the event and the persecution. The newspaper Shumen Ray wrote twice about the practitioners and published a short interview about the effect of the practice of Falun Gong.

During the evening news, the Shumen TV channel “Varian 6” featured detailed coverage from the place of the activity as well as including an interview with the practitioners. All journalists who covered the activity signed the petition to stop the persecution and expressed their solidarity and hope that practitioners’ efforts to stop this persecution by the Chinese communist regime will be successful.