Czech Republic: Thirty-Six Hour Vigil at the Chinese Embassy in Prague Marks Five Years of Persecution Against Falun Gong in China (Photos)
(Clearwisdom.net) The 20th of July 2004 marked exactly five years since
the Chinese regime, then under the leadership of Jiang Zemin, began a systematic
persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China to destroy their belief in the
values of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. Practitioners from the Czech
Republic marked this date with a thirty-six hour peaceful protest including
meditation and exercises in front of the Chinese Embassy in Prague.
The vigil began on Friday July 23 at 8 a.m. with the Czech media present, and
continued through the night until Saturday evening. Over twenty practitioners
from different regions of the Czech Republic took shifts to maintain a strong
presence during the vigil.
Practitioners were interviewed by the media about the reasons for the
persecution, its five-year development in China and how Jiang has attempted to
export the persecution to other countries.
These interviews were broadcast by State Television and the regional media.
Photographers from CTK (the main Czech press agency) and from the national daily
Lidove Noviny took pictures which later appeared in the papers.
As in other countries where Chinese officials have tried to block
demonstrations and stop Falun Gong practitioners from revealing the facts of the
persecution, the Chinese Embassy in Prague also attempted some underhanded
dealings. At first they contacted the Foreign Ministry of the Czech Republic and
insisted that the vigil should not be allowed. They were firmly rejected.
Later when the vigil started, Chinese Embassy officials called the police and
asked them to forbid the vigil. The reason given was that the practitioners were
too noisy. As the Embassy is located in the Diplomatic Protected Area, the
police had to investigate their complaint. When they arrived, they found several
practitioners meditating along with the quiet Dafa music. Soon they understood
and laughed at the malevolent attempt of the Chinese Embassy to disrupt the
vigil.
The practitioners did not allow the interference from the Chinese Embassy nor
the high temperatures of the summer heat wave to disturb them, and quietly
continued their meditation and exercises. Passers-by stopped to study with
interest the information display about the persecution in China. Some showed
their support by signing the petition to condemn the persecution. One woman even
supported the practitioners by bringing a pack of water bottles to help them in
the very hot weather.
In the afternoon, some passers-by mentioned that they had learned about the
vigil from the morning program shown on State Television. After the vigil
finished peacefully, practitioners cleaned up the street and headed to their
homes in different parts of the Republic.
Peaceful appeal
Handing out leaflets to passers-by
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/8/15/81799.html
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