My Experience Attending the General Election Open Debates in the UK

UK Practitioner

On 7th June there will be a general election in the UK. I attended a couple of open debates in my area. I found the time before and after debates can be used to tell candidates and residents/voters about Dafa and the current situation in China. I had the badge "I Support Falun Dafa" on. It drew people's attention. Some of them even thought I support a candidate from Falun Dafa! Then people approached me and asked "What is Falun Dafa?" which gave me opportunities to talk to them and give our newspapers and leaflets away. At the debates, reporters from the Evening Standard (the most widely read newspaper in London) and local newspapers turned up. They interviewed not only candidates but also residents/voters. I was interviewed by them. They also took pictures of candidates and me (with my Falun Dafa badge on) together. During the question time, I found that it is quite important to wait until a relevant subject (such as refugees, foreign policy, Human Rights etc.) comes up and to make sure that you can be seen by the Chair when you raise your hand. For instance, at one of the debates, I did not ask a question at the very beginning but waited until the Conservative candidate raised the issue of the treatment of British protesters when Jiang Zemin visited the UK. Then I raised my hand and talked about my personal story (my visa for China was rejected and I was deported from Hong Kong, etc.). After I said that I would like to appeal to the new MP and government to protect British citizens' rights of freedom of belief and freedom of expression, people clapped.

From these open debates, I understand that the opportunities are there already - we simply need to show up and speak! If it is a big debate, it would be better for 2 or 3 practitioners to attend and talk to people.

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