(Clearwisdom.net) On July 31 2005, the Vietnamese Community of St. Louis had a picnic in Tower Grove Park and invited local practitioners to demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises.

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Practitioner Kim introduces Falun Gong to the audience

The host of the event placed the 30-minute Falun Gong exercise demonstration second on the day's agenda. Practitioner Kim used the Vietnamese language to introduce Falun Gong and the persecution in China. Next, the peaceful and elegant exercise demonstration attracted the attention of everyone.

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Falun Gong exercise demonstration
High Resolution Picture
Falun Gong exercise demonstration

Before the practitioners left, the president of the Vietnamese Community, Mr. Thuc said, "You come here to demonstrate Falun Gong. It is very good, very beautiful. I think Falun Gong is very good. It helps improve health, improve moral standards. Not-so-good people will become good, good people will be better." Later he emphasized again, "Falun Gong comes here to show us the exercises. It is very good. I believe Falun Gong not only improves people's health and moral levels, making everyone a good person, but also it will change society. It will make the community better, the country better, and so forth. The human society will be better."

When he was asked about the persecution of Falun Gong in China, he said, "I knew. I saw it on TV, other media, VCD and video tapes. Falun Gong will grow in America and other countries, and become more and more popular. The people from other countries will support Falun Gong. When it returns to China, the Chinese government must accept it."

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People reading truth-clarifying materials
High Resolution Picture
People reading truth-clarifying materials

Kim said that they began to promote Falun Dafa in the Vietnamese community two years ago. Because she was from the Vietnamese community, she attended the parties and told people the beauty of Falun Dafa. Last year, practitioners went to a health center to promote Falun Dafa and the people liked it very much.

This summer, some Vietnamese immigrants came to Kim and said they wanted to continue the exercises. She subsequently arranged group practices in the park every Monday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. There are about 15 to 20 people who regularly attend.

Later, a group of Vietnamese "senior citizens" heard about the exercises and asked for a demonstration. Soon, a new group practice site was established in the park. This group meets every Friday morning from 10:00 a.m. to noon. There are about 30 people in this group. The weekly group practice has been going on for about two months. Kim continued, "I have a job, so I will come whenever I have time. Another practitioner, Corrina, will come to teach the exercises every week."

Mr. Hau, a Vietnamese immigrant said, "I have practiced Falun Gong for about one month. Kim taught me Falun Gong. I downloaded Zhuan Falun from the Internet. Before learning the Falun Gong exercises, I practiced meditation for many years. At the beginning, I compared the two different systems and I couldn't fully accept Falun Gong. But after I practiced Falun Gong, I felt my health improve a lot."

He continued, "I know of the persecution of Falun Gong in China. The Communist Party doesn't like Falun Gong. But I thought there must be good things in Falun Gong as there are so many people who practice it. This was my reason to practice Falun Gong." In the end he said, "I have only practiced it for one month. My health has improved obviously so I will continue the exercises. Thank you for giving me the chance to express my opinion. Thank you."

Mr. Vinh is also a Vietnamese. He said, "I believe Falun Gong is very good. If we continue the practice, we will have very healthy bodies." As for the persecution in China, he said, "I heard about it. The persecution of Falun Gong is very irrational. Falun Gong helps people to have good health. I saw the persecution of Falun Gong on a VCD. I am very angry at the Chinese Communist Party's behavior."

Kim said that almost all the Vietnamese knew about the persecution of Falun Gong through different channels. They don't agree with the Chinese Communist Party's ridiculous suppression. They think it is totally irrational.