By a practitioner from Finland

(Clearwisdom.net) On April 21, 2007, Falun Gong practitioners from Helsinki held an activity at the central railway station to commemorate the "April 25 Appeal" and to clarify the truth. One of the important aspects of this activity was to appeal for the rescue of Zhang Weijie, a practitioner from Wuhan, who has been missing for many days.

The winter cold air lingers on in Helsinki, yet many passersby stopped and read the banners, regardless of the cold wind. The pictures on the banners told of hundreds of tortures that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has used on Falun Gong practitioners to force them give up their faith. People were shocked by the bloody persecution taking place in China. Others were amazed at the diligence of Falun Gong practitioners to persevere in this cold weather. Many people to the initiative to ask for flyers. Some stopped to ask whether these stories of persecution were true, and said that they felt very sad about the persecution. They hoped that the persecution will be stopped as soon as possible.

One older Finnish man talked with a Western practitioner for a long time, and showed great attention to the persecution.

A group of tourists from Thailand were crowed around the banners. They were eager to know what was really happening in a country that is quite near to theirs.

A young man from Italy asked whether the Falun Gong exercises are similar Tai chi. Practitioners answered him yes, and told him that apart from the exercises, Falun Gong also includes profound teachings about "Truthfulness-Compassions-Forbearance." They explained that Falun Gong is a high-level cultivation practice. The young man showed great interest, and asked for the Finnish Falun Gong website. He said that he had already heard about the persecution in China, and wished the practitioners good luck.

One young lady asked about Falun Gong and why it is being persecuted. When she heard that Falun Gong practitioners were totally innocent, yet were persecuted only because they followed the principle of "Truthfulness-Compassions-Forbearance," she showed much sadness. She said that the CCP was completely wrong. The practitioners also told her that, under the CCP's control, people absolutely do not have their own thoughts and free spirits. The CCP wants to control everyone's mind. She said that she understands this because she herself had been in a country governed by the communist party. When she heard that eighty million Chinese citizens were killed in a period of just several decades, she was again greatly saddened. She asked how to help Falun Gong practitioners, and signed the petition against the persecution.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2007/4/22/153265.html