Stories from the Belgian Practitioners' Signature Collection Effort

When the Belgian practitioners learned that the Prime Minister of Belgium, Guy Verhofstadt, was going to visit China at the end of March, we planned a signature collection effort. Over the past two years, practitioners have tirelessly clarified the truth. Especially after theWestern practitioners returned from appealing in Tiananmen Square various major TV and radio stations and newspapers have covered Dafa positively. As a result, when this campaign to collect signatures began, many Belgians already knew about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Many kind and just Belgians signed their names. We also received many signatures from members of European parliament. Here, I would like to mention some of the stories that happened during the signature collection effort.

I didn't want to focus on how many signatures I could get, but to tell everyone what Falun Gong is, how popular it is around the world, why Falun Gong is persecuted in M

ainland China, and why we need to collect signatures. Almost everyone who listened to what I had to say signed.

A member of European parliament, after listening, said, "I have no reason not to sign, also the EU had met numerous times, and we have passed a resolution hoping that the Chinese government would reconsider their treatment of Falun Gong." I expressed my gratitude to him, and hoped that he would continue to support Falun Gong in the future.

An international pianist told me that she once had a personal performance in Beijing, and that she liked the people and the ancient culture there very much. I told her that is exactly where millions of people are being persecuted simply for believing in "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance," that they had been made homeless, many families were scattered, many were tortured to death and the number of deaths is still increasing. She said that it's difficult to believe all these things are happening in China. She signed her name and took Dafa materials with her.

A famous Belgian comic artist, also a long-time personal friend of mine, said after he signed, that Jiang's regime is simply too cruel and foolish. How can they force an individual to give up his faith? And how can they use such brutal methods against their own people? He said that even though his signature might not help much, he must sign the petition. I said, "Please believe in the power of justice and kindness."

A veteran policeman, who visited China last year and had various contacts with the Chinese government officials, said after reading the Dafa materials, "The 'Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance' that you practice is exactly what the Party won't allow. But I believe that very soon all of this will change."

An assistant director from France wanted to know why we are collecting signatures outside China for something that happens in China. I explained that the Party controls all the media in China. There is no media in China that can report truthfully on what the Falun Gong practitioners have to say. As a result, people are living under the lies of the government. Falun Gong is popular in more than 50 nations, and Falun Gong belongs to the world, not just China. He was weeping while he said that he's a Catholic, and that God would not want to see all these bad things happening in this earth.

During Zhang Cuiying's personal art exhibition, we had a few hundred people sign the petition every day. Among them there were lawyers, merchants, students, clerks, retirees, and other people from all walks of life. We have submitted our signature letters to the Prime Minister of Belgium.
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2002/3/31/27570.html

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