(Minghui.org) The Turkish Society of Canada hosted the annual International Children’s Day at Nathan Phillips Square on April 23, 2023. This is a traditional holiday in Turkey. According to Turkish traditions, children and parents representing diverse cultures come together and celebrate the event with shows, dances and music. Many tents were set up and each tent represented a different country’s culture.

Practitioners were invited to participate in the festival and introduce Falun Dafa, an ancient Chinese cultivation method. Many festival attendees were interested and learned the exercises during the event. Many people said they felt good after practicing the movements.

Festival Board Member: The Principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Are Important

Emine Gizmen, board member of the Turkish Society of Canada, said, “I performed on stage during this festival when I was young. I would see young Falun Dafa practitioners every year. They showcased traditional Chinese culture every year and I truly enjoyed watching it!”

Emine welcomed Falun Dafa practitioners to the festival

Emine knew that practitioners have been participating in this festival and teaching Falun Dafa’s five exercises for more than twelve years and said, “I believe that Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are of great importance in today’s society because people are no longer compassionate. The principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance will change the world. This is especially true when we raise children with such principles.”

Locals Experience Falun Dafa

Stephanie is Italian and her husband is Turkish. Their daughter performed a Turkish dance on stage. They passed by practitioners’ booth and Stephanie said immediately, “I am interested in the practice. I want to learn it.”

Stephanie learned the standing exercises.

She said after learning the first Falun Dafa exercise, “I am searching for this kind of practice. The exercises make me feel comfortable and the movements are also elegant. I am usually very tense and anxious. I felt very relaxed after doing the exercises. I will practice and remember how to do the exercises once I get home. I like this practice a lot.”

Alison came to the booth and asked a lot of questions about Falun Dafa and asked practitioners to teach her the exercises. She said after practicing the first exercise, “The movements make me feel very comfortable.”

Alison learns the second standing exercise.

She continued, “People need principles like Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I will start reading Falun Dafa books and continue to practice the exercises once I get home.”

Mahuva attended the festival with her eight-year-old daughter. She told practitioners, “I practiced Chinese qigong in the past because my body was weak.”

Mahuva learns the Falun Dafa exercises.

“I feel really good after practicing the Falun Dafa exercises. I’ve been going through a lot of stress recently and my health isn’t that good either. I feel much better after practicing the exercises for five minutes.”

Locals Praise the Principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and Condemn the Chinese Communist Party’s Persecution

Robin and Sagar, students from the University of York, are video bloggers with over 30,000 subscribers. They came to the practitioners’ booth and asked for permission to video record them. Practitioners agreed and they began introducing Falun Dafa in front of their camera.

Robin and Sagar, students from the University of York, took a picture with a Falun Dafa practitioner.

Robin said, “Chinese civilization is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. There is a reason why Chinese medicine and acupuncture are passed down and preserved from generation to generation. This knowledge is passed down because it is beneficial to people. I feel relaxed watching practitioners demonstrating and introducing an ancient Chinese practice. I would like to live a life like Falun Dafa practitioners too. I will learn how to do the meditation practice.”

Sagar said, “I also think that the meditation practice is beneficial. Practitioners look very focused.”

Alison saw a picture of a Falun Dafa practitioner in China holding a Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance banner while a uniformed police officer is running towards her. She said, “I do not agree with the narrow-mindedness of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). The persecution of Falun Dafa is too violent and brutal.”

Noah is a photographer and his booth is right across from the practitioners’. He took out his camera and photographed the practitioners. He said, “I meditate for an hour every day. Meditating has made me more calm and humble.”

“I like the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It is extremely important for people to be truthful and compassionate. Speaking of ‘Forbearance’, there always seems to be intense conflicts in my culture. We are so used to fighting evil with evil. I now realize that being tolerant and having forgiveness is more effective in dealing with problems.”

Noah praises the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.

He said, “I am interested and curious about human morals and cultivation. I will go back and read Falun Dafa lecture books.”

Amin, a representative of the Pakistan Society, participated in the festival. His booth was next to the practitioners’ and he was interested in learning about Falun Dafa.

Amin, a representative of the Pakistan Society, learns about Falun Dafa.

He said, “I am interested in Falun Dafa because I think it is important to have good mental and physical health. Falun Dafa’s melodious music calmed my soul. I like listening to it. I think the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are very crucial. If your heart is not at peace, it will be directly reflected in your daily life.”

“I think that the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa is a mistake. Why do you have to stop people from following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and meditation exercises? Society is benefiting from practitioners! Children nowadays are doing meditation practices at school. I am unable to understand why the CCP is persecuting Falun Dafa.”

Background: What Is Falun Dafa and Why Is the CCP Persecuting It?

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and have learned the five exercises have experienced improved health and well-being.

Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology, and on July 20, 1999, he issued an order to eradicate the practice.

Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organization with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.

Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 23 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. Countless practitioners have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.

There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply China’s organ transplant industry.