Switzerland: The Protests Will Continue until the Persecution Ends

On July 17, 2010, in the business centre of the small town of Amriswil, Switzerland, shoppers saw for the first time an information table set up by Falun Gong practitioners. On one side of the poster were photos showing peaceful meditators, and on the other side were photos exposing the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. On the spot there were also Falun Gong practitioners peacefully demonstrating the exercises.

Reading posters about the persecution of Falun Gong.

"What's this about?" Some pedestrians would ask the practitioners who distributed informational materials. "Falun Gong, a traditional qigong practice from China, teaches people to be good according to Truth-Compassion-Forbearance and makes people healthy both physically and mentally. From the time when Falun Gong was made public in 1992, millions of people benefited, and Falun Gong has spread to over a hundred countries around the world." A Falun gong practitioner pointed to fellow practitioners doing the exercises and said, "However, eleven years ago, the CCP began its persecution of Falun Gong, because it does not allow people to follow Truth-Compassion- Forbearance. If people practice these exercises like this in China, they would be sent to labour camps and brutally tortured. These photos just show the situations of a few practitioners after they were tortured."

After some people received the reply, they also accepted a newspaper introducing Falun Gong and explaining why the CCP persecutes Falun Gong. Upon finding out that they could sign petitions against the persecution, many people immediately signed in support of Falun Gong, and some even asked where they could learn the practice. Mr. Neza came from Macedonia. After seeing the photos of Falun Gong practitioners suffering from persecution, he immediately asked how he could help. He signed the petition. He told the correspondent in German that he had experienced the rule of the communist party and war. He said, "Upon seeing these display boards, I feel that the persecution is terrible. This sort of persecution must immediately stop."

When a Swedish aviation pilot received the newspaper introducing Falun Gong in the morning, he came once again to the stall in the afternoon. He told a practitioner that he was very moved by the efforts of Falun Gong practitioners and he would like to help. He even put forward that he himself could demonstrate a sort of martial arts using a baton to help attract pedestrians and let them learn about the persecution. He also signed the petition in support of Falun Gong.

A woman told a practitioner that she had read some books about Falun Gong before, and felt that Falun Gong was not a religion and just taught people to be good according to Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. So she didn't understand why the CCP wanted to persecute Falun Gong. A Falun Gong practitioner told her, " It is because Falun Gong practitioners believe in Truth-Compassion-Forbearance, whereas the CCP regime is based on lies and violence. Actually, the CCP regime knows very well that Falun Gong practitioners won't fight for power against them, but more and more people were living according to Truth-Compassion-Forbearance, and so the CCP's lies and violence had no forum any more. The CCP regime has been feeling panic because of this. Hence, the CCP wants to persecute Falun Gong practitioners, trying to make people give up their belief in Truth-Compassion-Forbearance." When this woman heard this, she repeatedly nodded her head.

She felt that the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners was really terrible, but also felt that she herself was powerless against it. A Falun Gong practitioner told her, "If we all each do a few things, then the CCP will feel afraid. Moreover the CCP's existence is not only dangerous to China, but also to the whole world." She replied, "It is indeed like this, because the world is one body, we cannot be partitioned into pieces, and we have to do something."

Patrick (On the right) hopes that the CCP's persecution ends soon

Falun Gong practitioner Patrick also hopes that this persecution will end soon. He contacted the manger of the shopping centre to see if he could get permission to hold the information day activities. By means of email, phone calls and face to face talking, he explained the facts to the manager. Upon understanding the facts, the manager of the shopping centre not only gave him permission, but also came to understand why Falun Gong practitioners held their information day.

Patrick began to learn Falun Gong over a year and a half ago after being introduced by a practitioner friend. He said, "The first time I practised Falun Gong, I had a beautiful feeling, and felt energy. At that time I felt that I would continue with it." When he read the Falun Gong newspaper, he came to know about the persecution happening in China. "I was very stirred by the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, and it made me feel very upset." He wanted to do something to stop the persecution, because he benefited so much from practising Falun Gong. Patrick's family and friends said to him that after practising Falun Gong, his entire personality had a tremendous change, and that he became more confident and tranquil.

He believes that he can support Falun Gong practitioners from his country and help to put an end to the persecution. He hopes to enable more people to come to know what Falun Gong is and why Falun Gong is being persecuted in China. The more people know the true situation of the persecution, the sooner the persecution will end.