UK: Activities at the UK's largest Contemporary Biennial Arts Festival in Liverpool

On Saturday 12th October Falun Dafa practitioners from the North-West, Midlands and East of England came to the city of Liverpool to take part in the UK's largest contemporary biennial Arts Festival. As practitioners were driving to Liverpool from the Midlands, the weather was rainy and windy. However, one of them had a wish in her heart that the skies would be clear in Liverpool - and so it was! Practitioners were graced with a fine day and demonstrated the exercises outside in the heart of the city centre, often attracting a large audience of passers-by. Members of the public were transfixed by the simplicity and serenity of the Falun Gong exercises and were eager to take leaflets; 2000 leaflets were distributed to the public in the space of a few short hours. There was interest in the local class too. Many local Chinese people were happy to take Chinese booklets and VCD's [Video Cdrom’s].

Later on a group of Chinese and Western female practitioners went to a nearby hotel to prepare to take part in the Arts Festival. They were given a warm welcome by the organisers and an area in the hotel in which to rehearse. This was particularly supportive in the light of the fact that permission to take part in the Festival had only been given three days before, well after the official programme had been set. A very devoted and active Friend of Falun Gong [a none profit organisation dedicated to ending the persecution of Falun Gong in China. For more information, visit www.fofg.org] had promoted Falun Dafa and requested that it be included in the Arts Festival.

The practitioners, beautifully dressed in traditional Chinese costumes of red and gold, with flowers in their hair, went onto the street and performed a traditional Chinese fan dance. Each of the ladies, including little practitioners, made graceful movements with two pink fans and danced in two lines to the lovely song of "Falun Dafa Hao" (Falun Dafa is good). Many shoppers stopped and watched the dancers, applauding them enthusiastically.

The ladies then went back to the hotel and gave a performance of the Falun Gong exercises and the fan dance to prominent people in the Arts world, who were attending the Festival. A practitioner then gave a lively and interesting presentation on Falun Gong, outlining the benefits of the practice, the history and the persecution in China and then answered questions from the audience. The theme of the Arts Festival was the use of and exploration of space. The practitioner pointed out that Falun Gong also makes use of the space around the physical body, where there are energy channels, in order to open them up to facilitate deep healing and energising of the physical body. He likened the process to acupuncture, although healing naturally occurs through the practice of Falun Gong, without the use of needles. A Friend of Falun Gong, and member of the House of Lords, who has given tremendous support and made public declarations of his outrage of the persecution of Falun Gong in China also gave a speech.

A journalist from the “Independant Eye”, a local newspaper, attended the event and interviewed a practitioner, whilst avidly taking notes. She was interested to hear about the story about his relative who had spent one year in a labour camp in China solely for practising Falun Gong.

There was a warm response from the audience, which resulted in the ladies performing the fan dance a second time for them.