Finland: Spreading the Truth in the Global Village

On May 26 and 27, 2012, Falun Gong practitioners in Finland participated in a large event held in the "global village" of Helsinki. The event is the largest annual multicultural event in the country, and has been going on for seventeen years. The two-day event included a variety of ethnic music, dance, skits, literature and food. Local practitioners had a booth in a large tent, and some demonstrated the exercises at the entrance. Often, people passing by would stop to accept materials or listen to introductions by practitioners.

A practitioner talks to a passer-by about Falun gong

Exercise demonstration draws the interest of many passers-by	People sign a petition in support of the practitioners' efforts to end the persecution

An older Finnish man told a practitioner that he had been to China, where he had asked some local Chinese people:"Why is Falun Gong said to be so bad here? Have Falun Gong practitioners been persecuted here?" The local people told him that they actually did not know much about it, because the government banned the practice. The practitioner told him: “Before the persecution, Falun Gong was very popular, but the Communist Party thinks that Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the universal and traditional values Falun Gong, was a threat to them. That is why they have been brutally persecuting Falun Gong practitioners for such a long time.” After talking with the practitioner, the man signed the petition.

Having seen a television program called MOT, which talked about how the CCP persecutes Falun Gong practitioners in Finland, a teacher told practitioners that the Chinese Consulate posted English articles attacking Falun Gong on their website. The teacher was upset by the Chinese Consulate's behaviour and was came to sign the petition. She thought that one should not keep silent when such an unfair thing is happening. She told the practitioner: “From many things, I can see how nasty the CCP is.” She also invited her colleagues to sign the petition.

After signing the petition, many people told the practitioners that they supported the practice. An older woman asked if a practitioner could go to her area to teach the practice. The practitioner readily agreed.

One person said: “I have read the whole book of Zhuan Falun. From the beginning of the book to the end, you cannot find anything wrong. What is wrong is the persecution." He also added: “I have been concerned about what has happened in China.”

A young girl quietly watched practitioners demonstrating the exercises for a while and then left. Soon, she was back with her three family members, and all of them signed the petition.

Led by their teachers, a group of students came to the global village and watched the practitioners. A girl from the group told a practitioner: “I am a student from China and feel very pleased to see Falun Gong here.” She talked to her classmates about Falun Gong, and left with a big smile and a thumbs-up.