France: Supporting Falun Gong with Roses

Beginning on March 27th, 2008, Amnesty International French Youth Group held three days of activities in the Centre Pompidou Paris to call on the Chinese regime to respect the Olympic spirit and improve its human rights situation. The French Falun Gong Association and the French Branch of the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG) were invited to participate in these activities.

Falun Gong practitioners distributed flyers to passers-by to expose the Chinese Communist regime’s various atrocities against Falun Gong practitioners such as cruel torture, killing and in particular, harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. In the meantime, the CIPFG was promoting the Global One Million Signatures Campaign to urge the Chinese regime to stop the persecution against Falun Gong before the 2008 Olympic Games.

Supporting Falun Gong by presenting roses to Falun Gong practitioners

During the activities, Amnesty International rented a double-decker bus for two Falun Gong practitioners who live in France to share with passers-by their personal experiences of being illegally imprisoned and persecuted. The cruel persecution they had suffered and the great compassion and tolerance they had demonstrated touched many kind hearted French people.

Two practitioners in the front row give an account of the cruel persecution they personally suffered in China

Two French youths were deeply moved by the stories mentioned by the Falun Gong practitioners. During the session, they asked leave for ten minutes. Afterwards, they brought back two bunches of roses and presented them to the practitioners.

Two youths pose with two Falun Gong practitioners.

When interviewed later on, they expressed that though the persecution occurred afar, the atrocities touched the bottom of their hearts and they believed that the sorrow could be felt by people around the world.

People are shocked by the Chinese Communist regime’s persecution of Falun Gong

These two lads added that since attending primary school, they have come to know of the Chinese regime’s serious persecution of its people. However, they used to think that the persecution was simply against freedom for journalists, freedom of thought and freedom of speech and they had never known that over 100 million people have suffered such atrocious persecution because of their belief. They also said that they have sensed that it was time they took action to help those being persecuted.

People come to sign the petition prepared by Amnesty International and the CIPFG

Nacer and Arnaud said that after realising the seriousness of the Communist regime’s persecution against Falun Gong and based on the notion that France is a nation of human rights, it should set an impeccable example for the world as a whole, as it is unacceptable to see people suffer persecution because of their belief.