(Clearwisdom.net) Dubbed the "Venice of the North," Stockholm was bustling in late July 2007. Following a large sailing vessel regatta in Stockholm Bay on July 30th, all the ships participating in the Tall Ships' Races 2007 would leave Stockholm for the Baltic Sea to take part in the race. There were 116 tall ships from 19 countries, with a record high number participating. It was expected that one million people would come to Stockholm to view the event.
During the period from July 28 to 29, 2007, when the race was underway, a banner reading, "Stop persecuting Falun Gong" was held up in the square in the central area of Stockholm. In addition, display boards introducing Falun Gong's popularity around the world and information exposing the Chinese Communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong were displayed. Practitioners handed out truth-clarification materials in several different languages to visitors from around the world, while other practitioners demonstrated the five sets of Falun Gong exercises. Falun Gong's gentle and peaceful exercises, along with beautiful music attracted a lot of visitors. They stopped to view the demonstration and asked for more information about the practice. Falun Gong practitioners patiently talked to them about topics ranging from the Chinese regime's persecution of Falun Gong to the inside stories of the regime's harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners in forced labor camps. They also discussed the intrinsically evil nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the necessity for people of conscience to call for an end to this persecution. Many people signed the petition condemning the Chinese Communist regime's atrocities.
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One man told practitioners, "The reason for the Chinese Communist regime's harvesting organs from living human beings is the intrinsically evil nature of the CCP. You've done the right thing. It is important to let more people know about the CCP's evil nature. I'll support you."
During these two days, there was an especially large number of Chinese tourists visiting the square. It is most people's feeling that there have been a lot of changes in the attitude of the tourists from China this year. More and more Chinese tourists are willing to accept the Epoch Times, the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and other truth-clarification materials. Some would stand in front of the banners and display boards to attentively read the truth-clarification materials and others took the initiative to talk to practitioners. One couple, after accepting a newspaper, carefully returned it to the practitioners and earnestly told them, "As we've got the software for breaking through the Chinese Communist regime's Internet blockade, we have access to all the information available. We know that your materials are very precious. We had better leave it to other Chinese people, as they really need it." When talking about the big wave of withdrawals from the CCP and its affiliated organizations, the man said pleasantly, "We declared our withdrawals from the CCP quite some time ago. I think the campaign initiated by the Epoch Times for the Chinese people to declare their withdrawal from the CCP is very suitable for people like us who are faced with the adverse situation in China. Wonderful! Thank you very much. Please rest assured that I know what I should do for my relatives and friends in China now."
Among the crowd was an elderly woman who was very excited to receive the Nine Commentaries and other materials in Chinese. She stated that she would definitely read them thoroughly. When it came to the CCP's atrocities, she said: "The CCP's atrocities have existed not only for one or two days. I'm in my seventies and I know the CCP's intrinsic nature more than others. My son was illegally arrested and put into jail just because he supported the "June 4th Tiananmen pro-democracy movement." Due to persecution, he was forced to leave behind his family and eventually escaped to Sweden. I should have been entitled to full retirement benefits, but affected by my son's status as a dissident, I only receive a pension of about 600 yuan each month."
She continued, "One day, if nobody dreaded the CCP anymore, it would collapse right away, and I believe this day is not far away from now. As a matter of fact, the most pitiful persons are the Chinese people who have been deceived by the CCP. Back then, if I had truly feared the CCP, I would not have been able to come overseas." Since this woman didn't have access to the Internet, she was very pleased to learn that the Epoch Times is available in printed form every week. She said, "I really need it. Since I have nothing to do at home at present, I have asked my son to get me some prepaid telephone cards, so that I am able to chat with my old friends in my hometown over the telephone. With the newspaper, it would be much easier for me to explain the situation in the outside world to them." She expressed her appreciation to the practitioners repeatedly and left happily.
When another young man from China passed the square and saw the activities held by Falun Gong practitioners, he approached them and said: "You are really remarkable. I will always support you." As a practitioner talked to him about the great wave of Chinese people withdrawing from the CCP, he was pleased to say that he had already declared his statement of quitting the CCP. He held up his cell phone and told the practitioner with a smile that the number of the certificate of his withdrawing from the CCP is stored in it.
After the two-day activity came to and end, the practitioners were moved by the successful result. A western practitioner summed it up with these words, "The Chinese Communist regime's eight-year persecution against Falun Gong practitioners who believe in 'Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance' has helped more people around the world understand the CCP's atrocities. Over the past eight years, Falun Gong practitioners around the world have persistently introduced the magnificence of Falun Gong and exposed the Chinese regime's evil lies to the sentient beings. So far, there have been over twenty-four million Chinese people quitting the CCP and its affiliated organizations after they realized the intrinsically evil nature of the CCP. More and more sentient who were deceived by the Chinese Communist regime have awakened. The strength of justice has clearly become more and more powerful. We need to persistently explain the facts about the persecution to more people and expose the evil of the CCP to them, so as to save more people deceived by the Chinese Communist regime's lies."
