(Minghui.org) Tourists visiting Freedom Square in Taipei, Taiwan, were amazed by a large Law Wheel pattern and the Chinese characters “The Law Wheel Turns Unceasingly” formed by 6,300 Falun Gong practitioners on November 28.
The Law Wheel (Falun emblem) pattern and four Chinese characters reading “The Law Wheel Turns Unceasingly” formed by more than 6,000 Falun Gong practitioners on Freedom Square, Taipei, November 28, 2015
The stately event, held from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., was part of a series of Falun Gong activities held in the lead-up to the 2015 Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference in Taiwan. Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa) is an ancient Chinese cultivation practice for mind and body, based upon the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Practitioners also sent an early New Year's greeting to Master Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong. After the character forming event, practitioners demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises.
Group exercises on Freedom Square in Taipei. The banner reads “Falun Dafa is good.”
Over 6,000 practitioners do the Falun Gong exercises together. The banner reads “Happy New Year, Master.”
Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners meditate together on Freedom Square.
After several days of cloudy and rainy weather, the sky was blue and sunny on November 28. Practitioners set up display boards along the sides of the square, introducing Falun Gong and exposing the brutal persecution of the practice in China. Numerous tourists watched the character-forming, read the materials, and videotaped the event.
Large-scale character-forming has become an annual Falun Gong activity since 2000. The organizer of the day's event shared, “We want to express our appreciation to Master Li Hongzhi through this activity, and also bring the beauty of Falun Gong to the public.”
This year, the Law Wheel (Falun Emblem) measured 270 x 270 feet, and was formed by practitioners ranging in age from 5 years old to 70 years.
Many tourists, including visitors from China, expressed how amazed and happy they were to see this large-scale Falun Gong activity in Taipei, a scene that sadly cannot be seen in its home country of China. Many Chinese people were horrified to learn about the brutal 16-year persecution, especially the state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience, the majority of whom are Falun Gong practitioners. Numerous visitors were very interested in the recent wave of lawsuits against Jiang Zemin, the former Chinese head who launched and directed the persecution.
People taking in the character-forming event.
High-ranking communist party official: “I am glad that Falun Gong enjoys freedom in Taiwan”
“Falun Gong practitioners freely do exercises on Freedom Square! This is great,” said Mr. Du, a former high-ranking government official from China.
He and six friends carefully read the materials exposing the persecution of Falun Gong, including information about high-ranking Chinese officials who have fallen from power within the last two years. “I thought that they were arrested because of corruption. I didn't know that all of them were involved in persecuting Falun Gong,” said Mr. Du, adding, “I'm surprised that so many people practice Falun Gong in Taiwan. I am glad that they can enjoy freedom here!”
Du then asked about the lawsuits against Jiang Zemin. When told that more than 180,000 practitioners have filed criminal complaints against the former dictator, Mr. Du praised practitioners for their courage. “We should bring him to justice,” he said.
Mr. Du and his wife both announced their resignation from the Chinese Communist Party at the event.
Visitors to Freedom Square read materials about Falun Gong and the persecution in China.
Chinese businessman: “What Falun Gong said is all true”
Mr. Lin and his wife were excited to see the Falun Gong activity on Freedom Square. “We often go to Australia to visit our child, where we have read some Falun Gong materials, and learned about the persecution. It's so brutal and inhuman,” Mr. Lin said. “We've also read about the Taiwanese character-forming activities, but this is our first time to actually see it. It is really magnificent.”
Mr. Lin added, “I know a few Chinese students in Australia who don't believe that so many Taiwanese are practicing Falun Gong. Today, I took a lot of photos and video footage of the event. I'll show them, and tell them that everything that Falun Gong [practitioners] said is true.”
Mr. Lin condemned the brutal persecution in China. “The world needs peace, and people should care about each other. We need more peaceful groups like this. Keep up the good work, Falun Gong!”
Stacy McKenzie from San Francisco
Stacy McKenzie from San Francisco was attracted to the beauty of the character-forming. “Everybody is so peaceful and focused. I believe that all the tourists here were attracted to the event. I even wanted to join them!”
Italian tourists: “Very peaceful and harmonious, yet very strong and powerful”
Massimo Frigerio and his wife Carla from Italy wanted to know more about Falun Gong.
“We know that the persecution and organ harvesting are still going on. We want to know more about it all, and we are also wondering what we can do to help,” they asked.
As he watched the character-formation, Massimo had some deep thoughts. “I'm trying to figure out the message they want to convey to the public. It is not only the beautiful imagery at the surface level. Deep down, it invokes some serious thinking about life,” he mused.
“Living in a free country, all of our freedoms seem normal for us. But many people in other countries cannot enjoy this,” Carla added. “Freedom is the basic feature of human nature. It reflects love. What we see today here is a peaceful revolution. Very peaceful and harmonious, yet very strong and powerful.”
The Frigerios praised the teaching of Falun Gong—Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance. “Life would be more wonderful if one could live by such a principle,” Massimo said.
Many tourists gained a better understanding of Falun Gong as a result of the event, and a number expressed an interest in learning the practice.
Ms. Zhan from Neili, Taiwan, said, “I often see Falun Gong activities on my way to work, but never had a chance to stop and learn more. Today's experience makes me want to join them. I will look for more information online, and will read Zhuan Falun (the main book of Falun Gong).”
