Lithuania: Reporters not interested in China's propaganda

Prior to the Chinese president's recent visit to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, two groups of Falun Gong practitioners arrived for some advance preparation. They took on the responsibility of clarifying the truth about Falun Gong to the media and government.

Through the efforts of practitioners, many government employees learned the truth. They were very happy to offer their ideas, suggestions, and help to practitioners. Some NGOs also took the initiative to help practitioners. One government official said ebulliently, "The City of Vilnius is together with you all."

Although there was a language barrier, many Lithuanians showed their support by raising their thumbs up whenever they saw practitioners.

Falun Gong's press conference generated tremendous interest

On the morning of June 14th, Falun Gong practitioners held a news conference in Vilnius. About 15 reporters from 10 media organizations attended. The Falun Gong news conference was positively reported the same day in the evening news program of Lithuanian TV-1. The next day, the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China by Jiang Zemin and his political clique of scoundrels was reported in detail in major Lithuanian newspapers with photos of the news conference. Later on, in order to expose this evil suppression of innocent people and clarify the truth about Falun Gong from another perspective, practitioners held a second press conference.

Reporters not interested in China's propaganda

Jiang and his entourage held a press conference on June 17th when they were about to leave Lithuania. When asked if they would like to attend the Chinese president's press conference, reporters told practitioners, "No, we don't want to attend. We are not interested in China's propaganda. We are only interested in the peaceful protesters outside."

During Jiang's visit to Lithuania, there were daily reports about Falun Gong and other protesting groups but very little about Jiang's visit.

June 15th is the Independence Day of Lithuania. All flags were lowered to half-mast to remind people of the pain of losing freedom during the 1940 - 1991 Soviet occupation. Lithuanians showed their solidarity with practitioners when they learned about the persecution that is going on in China now. They used hand gestures to encourage practitioners to keep working hard for the freedom of belief and human rights.