Finland: Falun Gong Practitioners Gain Support at Events Marking 22 Years of Persecution

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners in Finland held activities outside the Chinese Embassy and in downtown Helsinki to mark the 22nd year of persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on July 15 and 17, 2021. They called for an immediate end to the persecution of Falun Gong.

On July 15 they demonstrated the Falun Dafa exercises in front of the Chinese embassy in Helsinki, calling for an end to the communist regime’s brutal persecution of Falun Gong that has gone on for 22 years. They carried banners that read “Falun Dafa Is Good” and “Disintegrate the Chinese Communist Party,” and “Stop Persecuting Falun Gong.”

Practitioners in front of the Chinese embassy in Helsinki

A senior Chinese gentleman commented, “The Communist Party has ruled China for decades. It is the time for it to be eliminated.” Another echoed, “Falun Gong practitioners are very kind. The persecution is brutal. Many practitioners have disappeared.” He said that he had seen similar events in Berlin and that Falun Gong is “everywhere in the world.” He told his friend, “The Communist Party is a state propaganda machine. It is very easy for it to lie.”

Practitioners held a rally at Helsinki’s Kamppi shopping mall square on Saturday, July 17 to condemn the CCP’s atrocities. Some of them held portraits of practitioners killed in the persecution, accompanied by a mournful guitar that drew pedestrians to stop and watch, many of whom signed the petition in support of Falun Gong.

The rally at Helsinki's Kamppi shopping mall square on Saturday

People sign the petition calling for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong.

Rauno, who is retired, took a stack of fliers to help pass out after learning the truth of the persecution. He invited passersby to stop and sign the petition in support of Falun Gong practitioners to stop the persecution. He handed out fliers for three hours—until the event ended.

Karoliina went straight to the table to sign the petition. “What I learned about prison slaves in the media was really disgusting,” she said. “It seems to me that persecution should be stopped immediately and not be allowed to continue.”

She has been following reports about Falun Gong and described the Party’s forced organ harvesting as “incredibly evil.” She sincerely hoped that the Chinese would gain more courage, human rights, and freedom.

Karoliina signs the petition in support of Falun Gong.

Irannez heard for the first time about Falun Gong. He did not understand why the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecutes it. After a practitioner explained, he said, “The Party just wants to keep you silent.”

After signing the petition, he took a practitioner to his father and sister in the hope that they would also sign the petition. Towards the end of the event, he came over and said to the practitioners, “I’ve been watching here for a long time. I will try my best to get the message out. You are a good group of people.”

“I am a witness to events on Tiananmen Square.”

Kim, a Finnish citizen, told the practitioners that in 2001, he went to China for the first time.

“I have seen with my own eyes the evils of the Communist Party. I was on Tiananmen Square and saw a lot of people running with banners and shouting something. There were a lot of policemen. After a few moments, someone started running with a banner. I didn’t know what was going on, but I wanted to take pictures of it. Suddenly a lot of police officers surrounded me to see if I was filming the scene.”

Kim: “I am a witness to events on Tiananmen Square.”

One of the practitioners told Kim, “Today is the 22nd anniversary of Falun Gong practitioners’ efforts to end the persecution.” She held a portrait of her mother who died because of the persecution.

Kim, eyes wet with tears, said, “It was very touching.” The practitioner told him that the Finnish Falun Dafa Association would hold a month-long “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Art Exhibition” beginning July 20 and that several of the paintings depicted events on Tiananmen Square. He said he would visit.