Sweden: Peaceful Demonstration of Falun Gong Exercises Is Powerful Protest Against Persecution (Photo)

(Clearwisdom.net) On June 9, 2007, the head of the Chinese Communist regime visited Sweden and attended a ceremony marking the famous archaic sailing boat Gothenburg's return to its home port in Gothenburg. To raise awareness of the brutal persecution of Falun Gong and to help put an end to this atrocity, some Falun Gong practitioners gathered at the Gustaf Adolfs Square to demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises and distribute flyers. The peaceful and magnificent atmosphere caught the attention of many people. People came forward to express their support for Falun Gong after learning the facts of Falun Gong.

As Falun Gong practitioners practiced the meditation exercise or other sets of the exercises under the scorching sun, many people watched them attentively. Upon hearing the Dafa music come to an end, one man exclaimed loudly, "You had better drink some water and take a rest, but please keep playing the music. I've been to many places around the world, and have seen many magnificent things, but you are the most magnificent."

Prior to attending the ceremony marking the Gothenburg's return to its home port, Ms. Barbro quietly watched the practitioners' demonstration of the exercises for quite a while. After the ceremony ended, she specifically returned and said to the practitioners, "Your peaceful demonstration of the exercises is a powerful protest against the Chinese Communist regime's atrocious crimes."

Many tourists had their photos taken with the peaceful exercise demonstration scene in the photo. Many people also took pictures of the practitioners.

Prior to the Chinese head visiting Sweden, many people from various circles, through some major media, called on the Swedish government to directly bring up the issue regarding China's human rights situation to Hu. Swedish Foreign Minister, members of Parliament, mainstream mass media, human rights organizations and other organizations representing those persecuted by the Chinese Communist regime also openly criticized China's human rights situation.

On June 7, 2007, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt told the Swedish TT News Agency, "I plan to raise human rights issues with the Chinese leaders. As Swedish people are very concerned about this issue, we should get this message to the Chinese leaders. I discussed capital punishment issue with them from time to time, and it will be included in the agenda of the talks during their coming visit."

Swedish members of Parliament called on the Swedish government to condemn China's human rights records one after another. When attending the rally supporting human rights in China on June 7, 2007, Ms. Cecilia Wigstrom stated, "In China, the act of harvesting organs from human bodies is against modern civilization, and the Internet censorship system has limited people's freedom of thought. While the Chinese Communist regime's persecution against Falun Gong and other civic organizations is still going on, it also intimidates Taiwan with guided missiles. The Swedish government should help the Chinese people get rid of Internet censorship, so as to enjoy the right to freedom of thought." Her comments were echoed by many other members of Parliament.

Thirteen members of the Swedish Academy sent a joint statement to Hu Jintao, saying, "Many Chinese citizens have suffered various kinds of persecution, which is inconsistent with your saying that the society is stable. We are concerned about the Chinese people's legal rights and human rights, in particular the rights to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of belief and freedom of information. We call on president Hu to live up to your responsibility and put an end to the persecution as well as stop arresting political dissidents."

On behalf of the Falun Gong practitioners in China, which is the most severely persecuted group in China, the Swedish Falun Gong Association submitted a petition to the Swedish Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, respectively. The petition stated, "Tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners are missing. To date, it is confirmed that 3024 Falun Gong practitioners were tortured to death, and the actual number of death cases is much higher. Among others, the harvesting of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners is indicative of the Chinese Communist regime's intrinsic evil nature. The representative from the Swedish Falun Gong Association urged the Swedish government to take this occasion to condemn the Chinese Communist Regime's trampling of the Chinese people's human rights."