Ukraine: Tourists in Svyartogorsk Learn about Falun Gong and the Persecution

On June 16th, 2007, Falun Gong practitioners went to Svyatogorsk a famous re-cuperation resort in East Ukraine. They raised awareness about Falun Gong to tourists there and revealed the Chinese Communist Party’s cruel persecution of Falun Gong in China and organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners for profit.

Svyatogorsk is one of the most well known re-cuperation resorts in Ukraine. Its special landscape attracs tourists from different parts of the country. The whole city is surrounded by forests and high mountains and the scenery is beautiful. There is a big outdoor bathing pool and a famous cloister was built in the mountains around the pool. As a result, every summer, tourists from different parts of the country would come here and most of them came to visit this cloister.

Ukrainian Falun Gong practitioners hold events in this city every summer. This year, before the event began they needed to get permission from the Mayor of the city. When they applied for the permission, the deputy Mayor met them. After hearing the truth, the deputy Mayor said he supported Falun Gong practitioners to hold an event in the city and he suggested practitioners sign a contract with the local environment authority. The deputy mayor said, ‘The first reason is that this contract can prove your event is legal and supported by the local government. The second reason is that it will be a permanent contract, that means you can have your events anytime you want in the city and do not need to apply for permission.’ The deputy Mayor expressed his support and he also recommended some venues with more tourists for practitioners to choose.

Practitioners chose to have their event at a venue in front of the cloister but not far from the bathing place. Many tourists resting on the sands were attracted by the Falun Gong exercise music and came over to see practitioners doing the exercises, read the posters and ask for leaflets. After knowing the truth, tourists signed their names on the petition against the persecution of Falun Gong and to condemn the CCP's crimes. The poster about Falun Gong’s spread across the world attracted many children. They watched the photos carefully and listened to explanations from practitioners. A young girl said, ‘I also want to sign the petition against the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners’.

A tourist said to practitioner, ‘I heard about Falun Gong, I read your newspapers. It is such a cruel practice to harvest organs from Falun Gong practitioners. It is a pity that China is still under the control of the Communist Party, just like we were ruled by Soviet Communist Party before, but I believe the Chinese Communist Party will finish soon and good luck with your fight against the persecution’.

During the event, a practitioner visited the cloister and wanted to talk to the people there. A staff member from the cloister met him and said, ‘We know the information given by the CCP is very biased and they dare not publicise the truth, we really want to know what is happening inside China now. Thank you for the material you bring to us’. This staff member asked for more material from the practitioner and said he would pass them to all the people in the cloister.