Speech of Council delegate on Stockholm Falun Dafa Day

Speech of Lotta Edholm, Municipal Council delegate.
Stockholm Falun Dafa Day - May 13, 2002.

Today is ten years since the public got to know about Falun Gong. Until then, the movement was unknown for most of us. Unfortunately, my knowledge of Falun Gong is based on the persecution the Chinese government subjects it to. And that is incomparably unbelievable. How can a movement that is founded on Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance become such a threat that people are murdered so that it can be stopped?

On July 20, 1999, China decided to prohibit all practising of Falun Gong. Lots of resources were put in to crush this movement and the systematic state terror against the movement began. Many people have since then been murdered, tortured, put in re-education camps, and persecuted. Why?

50’000 are imprisoned without trial and sentence. Thousands have been forced into mental hospitals, and among them many have been subjected to forced medical injections. Journalists from the free western press have been restrained from reporting about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Why?

It is impossible with any decent, human argument to explain the Chinese regime’s action. What we do know is of historical experience that freedom of cultural expression is a threat towards a totalitarian state. It gathers people who become strong together – so strong that power is removed, kingdoms become ruins, and freedom appears. Culture might change history and send it in a completely new direction. I think that Falun Gong is precisely such an expression.

Falun Gong is an advanced qigong system and an ancient tradition. The body is to be strengthened and the soul is to be cultivated. Many practitioners worldwide have seen harmony in their lives due to Falun Gong. 70-100 million people now practise Falun Gong.

Today there are no signs that Communist leaders in China are going to change their attitude against the adherents of Falun Gong. What we need, I think, is strong international pressure upon China to change the situation. The fact that we meet here in Kungsträdgården is a way to create such a pressure.

Additionally, the situation right now is very sensitive for the Chinese regime. The country will soon be a host for the summer Olympics and this extraordinary attention-grabber can not, of course, be soiled due to people all over the world accusing the country of crimes against human rights. Ironically, the protests against the regime in China might actually have their biggest impact right now.

Human rights are violated on a daily basis in China. Individual people are hurt, persecuted, and even killed. This happens despite China having pledged to respect basic freedom and having ratified the declaration regarding human rights. To live up to these proud declarations many changes are necessary. The first must be to immediately stop the violence against and the persecution of Falun Gong practioners.

Falun Gong is a movement of harmony and peace. Only a dictatorship can experience it as threatening. If China wants to be seen as a reputable nation that people feel respect for, this attitude must change. It is time to stop the persecution of dissenters. It is time to stop murdering people for their opinions. It is time for democracy and respect for human rights in China.