Falun Gong practitioners in Finland held activities from June 6-8, 2006, in the pedestrian zone of central Kouvola, a city located in eastern Finland.

Practitioners displayed information boards and distributed flyers, exposing the facts of the persecution that the Chinese communist regime has been inflicting upon Falun Gong. Issues in the spotlight are the crimes of organ-harvesting from live Falun Gong practitioners in labor camps, prisons and hospitals, the sales of the organs for profit and the subsequent cremation of bodies to cover up. The inhuman atrocities committed by the Chinese communist regime aroused great sympathy from the compassionate local people toward Falun Gong. Many women shed tears after they learned the truth. People took fliers and signed their names to express their objection to the persecution.

Practitioners also demonstrated the peaceful Falun Gong exercises. A gentleman was deeply attracted and asked for a copy of Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Dafa, and collected a full set of fliers. He also scheduled with practitioners to learn the Falun Gong exercises in Kouvola on the following Wednesday. The Finnish gentleman was so excited that he informed his friends about the good news. He said there would be many people attending the exercise training the next Wednesday.

There were also many Finnish children who signed their names opposing the persecution after reading the information boards and fliers. Some requested extra copies of fliers, saying that they would forward the fliers to their classmates and friends.

During the three days when practitioners were in Kouvola, a Chinese opera group from Zhejiang Province also held a public show in the pedestrian area. Practitioners tried to deliver material to the members of the group. Whenever any member of the group was found to shy away or prohibited by his/her teammates from accepting the material, practitioners would try their very best to explain the truth to these countrymen and countrywomen, who have traveled here from afar.

We utilized the time slot when the group members were packing up after the opera performance completed, and a practitioner played audio tapes for the group members, including the announcement of establishing "The Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (CIPFG)." The practitioner noticed that all of the Chinese people on the scene were startled and listened quietly.

Another practitioner hung two information boards on himself and stepped onto the platform. Written on the boards were "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party has Driven 11 Million People to Withdraw from the CCP" and "Expose Organ-harvesting of the Chinese Communist Regime on Live Falun Gong practitioners in the Labor Camps." All of the members of the opera group saw the boards, including the actors standing on the platform.

A member of the opera group took the book Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, an editorial by The Epoch Times newspaper from a practitioner. When the practitioner told him the facts about Falun Gong and party-withdrawal, the Chinese people said he has had some understanding about these subjects. He also revealed that they received orders not to take information before they set off on the trip.

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In mid-June every year, the Art Festival held in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland attracts thousands upon thousands of citizens and tourists. On June 10-11, 2006, some practitioners from Scotland showed the serenity, peace, and grace of Dafa by means of offering workshops and demonstrations of the practice.

Clarifying the truth to tourists

Civilians sign the petition calling for an end to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) atrocities

On June 10, practitioners held a lecture in a library in Glasgow's west end, introducing Falun Gong and the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" to those who came. With their own personal experiences, several practitioners told how their bodies and characters had benefited from the cultivation of Falun Dafa. While practitioners were demonstrating five sets of exercises along with the music, visitors stared at their demonstration. Thereafter, when practitioners taught them the exercises, people learned them in earnest. Additionally, many people said that they would go to the practice site and learn the practice.

It is the third year that practitioners have held Falun Gong lectures here. Practitioners still remember the first year when the lecture was held. Librarians even asked practitioners not to tell about the persecution of Falun Gong happening in China, which they thought was "something political." And yet, after reading truth clarification materials, they agreed that the persecution of Falun Gong is an issue of human rights, not politics. Since then, for three years in a row, practitioners in Scotland have held lectures clarifying the truth about Falun Gong for the civilians of Glasgow, and exposed the CCP's genocide of Falun Gong during the Art Festivals at the western zone. Every year, the library also expresses their gratitude to practitioners for their contribution to the festival.

After this year's lectures, and upon learning that all Falun Gong practice sites offer free instruction of the exercises and Falun Gong practitioners use their own money to rent a place at the library as a practice site, a librarian was deeply moved. She gave the address of the coordinator of the General Library to practitioners and suggested we should negotiate a rent reduction when contacting the General Library. Two days later, when the practitioner went to the library and paid for the rent, the curator told the practitioner that as the librarian had briefly told the General Library about Falun Gong practitioners using their own money to run the class, etc. the General Library decided to reduce the rent by half.

On June 11, dozens of exhibition stalls were set up on the busiest street at the western zone of Glasgow. The organizer of the Festival arranged a bigger place for Falun Gong practitioners so that they could have enough space to demonstrate the five sets of exercises. Practitioners used two banners reading "The World Needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" and "Falun Dafa is Good" as the background of the exhibition stall. On the stall were posters exposing how the CCP cruelly persecutes Falun Gong practitioners. There were truth clarification materials exposing the facts that the CCP have removed organs from live Falun Gong practitioners for profit in forced labor camps and concentration camps. Some practitioners distributed leaflets and newspapers and explained the facts to tourists. Practitioners demonstrated the exercises, and the peaceful practice and energy field drew tourists in groups. Some tourists stood there looking at the exercises from the beginning to the end, and praised, "Very peaceful!" "Really relaxing!" and some learned the practice on site.

Practitioners distributing leaflets told people about the CCP's genocide of Falun Gong practitioners and its atrocities of the past seven years. People were shocked - "Too horrible!" "We can't believe such cruel incidents still exist in the world!" Many people also expressed that they had already known about the cruel deeds of the CCP's organ removal from death-row prisoners. Many people raised the same question, "Why does the CCP persecute such a peaceful group?" Falun Gong practitioners told people Falun Gong's principles "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" and exposed the CCP's evil nature in advocating "Fake, Ferocity and Cruelty." On hearing these explanations, many people nodded.

Many tourists signed the petition urging the Prime Minister and the government to support the investigation of the incident in order to stop the CCP from harvesting organs from live Falun Gong practitioners. Some tourists accepted leaflets and started reading while walking. On finishing reading the leaflets, they returned and asked to sign the petition. After signing, some went to other booths and asked their family members to sign the petition.

Some Chinese also came to the booth for truth clarification materials. One of them, after signing the petition, helped practitioners distribute leaflets. She said that she had already read the Nine commentaries on the Communist Party and knew very well about the evilness of the CCP. She also wished to stop the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners as soon as possible.

Some tourists still came to the booth to sign the petition when the activity was concluding. After signing the petition, a staff member working for the Festival took some truth-clarification materials and said that he would give the materials to his colleagues.

On June 17, 2006, Falun Gong practitioners held a rally in Chinatown again to support ten million withdrawals from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and call on all circles to pay attention to and stop the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong. On the venue were banners in both English and Chinese, and posters exposing the CCP's crimes.

Signing to support withdrawals from CCP and against persecution

The event started at 10:00 a.m. along a busy street in Chinatown. With loudspeaker, Falun Gong practitioners explained the facts to the public and exposed the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong and the CCP's brutal crimes of live organ removal. They also called on kind-hearted Chinese people to renounce the CCP and related organizations. Due to limited space, only a few members of the waist drum team were able to play to support the rally, but the drum beats caught the attention of passersby, who stopped to view the posters and banners. The street was the only way for the Chinese tourist groups to go to lunch. Falun Gong practitioners warmly explained the facts to them and distributed truth-clarification materials.

A western lady took photos of the banners and posters. From heavy baggage on her back, one could tell that she was a tourist from far away. She told a practitioner that she was from England and had visited many places. In Melbourne, she saw similar activities of Falun Gong practitioners, and learned some facts of the persecution of Falun Gong in China. She said, "In today's world, how can a regime more brutal than fascist Nazis exist?! Regarding such barbaric inhuman persecution, everyone should not keep silent, but stand up to stop it. I signed the petition in Melbourne. I shall tell my friends about the persecution and have all people condemn the CCP atrocities."

A practitioner saw that an older Chinese person watched for quite a while, and then talked to him to explain the facts. The Chinese gentleman said with emotion, "I drove by and saw your activity. I stopped to take a look. You are doing a great job. The CCP is bad, too bad. For several dozen years, the CCP conducted many movements, one after another, and made Chinese people always worry about the safety of their lives. Now the CCP persecutes Falun Gong. Such a brutal regime, heaven cannot tolerate! I hope that you conduct more such events to awaken those people deceived by the CCP. Everyone condemns the CCP. It is destined to collapse."

The event was scheduled to end at 1:30 p.m. Because many people wanted to sign the petition to express their support, the event was extended to 3:00 p.m.

From 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on June 19, 2006, Falun Gong practitioners held a seminar in a Parliament building conference room in Canberra, Australia. The practitioners introduced to the members of Parliament (MP) the widespread of Falun Dafa, the persecution in China and the recently disclosed live organ removal from Falun Gong practitioners orchestrated by the CCP.

Mr. John Deller of the Falun Dafa Association of Australia, spokesperson John Xiao of the Australia Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (CIPFG), Father Peter Caruana of Holy Family God Church, a member of CIPFG, and Ms. Frances Milne, former Chairman of United Church Caring Association delivered speeches and answered questions from the members of parliament and their assistants.

Spokesperson John Xiao of Australia CIPFG said that they carefully selected several dozen photos to show the widespread of Falun Dafa in China before July 20, 1999, and the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by Jiang's faction after July 20, 1999.

Many MPs said that they gained more understanding towards Falun Gong after the seminar, and they asked questions afterwards.

Father Peter Caruana of Holy Family God Church is a member of CIPFG. He said such seminars should be held in different cities and villages in Australia.

Spokesperson John Xiao of Australia CIPFG said, "Though this is the first time to have seminar in parliament, more details need improvement. This is good start. We will promote seminars and hearings in each region to have more of the world's people learn the facts and join the CIPFG."

More than a dozen religious people, lawyers, doctors, business people and former Chinese officials have joined the CIPFG.

On the same day, several hundred Falun Gong practitioners gathered in Canberra and held a rally in front of the Parliament building. They peacefully appealed the Australia Government and held a press conference. In the conference, an open letter from the Falun Dafa Association to Prime Minister Howard was read to media and the public. In the letter, practitioners called on the Prime Minister to face the evidence of the CCP's live organ removal from Falun Gong practitioners and urge CCP leader Hu Jintao to immediately allow third parties to conduct independent investigations into China's labor camps, concentration camps, hospitals, mental hospitals and related departments. The Australia Prime Minister will visit China this month.