Swedish Practitioners Build Good Relations with Police in Stockholm

For a long time, Stockholm practitioners have appointed one practitioner to be responsible for staying in contact with the police, applying for permissions for hongfa activities, etc. This made things easier for the police department, and it is now clear that they warmly appreciated it. They always know who to turn to in case of unforeseen changes. We now have very good relations with the police department in Stockholm as you will see from the following stories:

Parade During the EU Summit Meeting in Stockholm, March 23, 2001 Photo report: http://www.clearwisdom.net/eng/2001/Apr/04/PFW040401_2.html

When I first told the police department that we would like to arrange a parade through Stockholm City Centre at lunchtime during the day of the EU Summit Meeting, they said that it would probably be very difficult because the City Centre would be too crowded for this and above all, the Summit Meeting would make it even more of a problem. But hand in the application form and we will see, they finally said. And so we did.

About a week later, the police called to say that our application had been approved, and that we could go through with the parade. They commented that normally they would absolutely not allow a parade in the City Centre on a day like this, but since the Falun Gong practitioners had conducted themselves so well during earlier activities, they would make an exception for us. So around 100 practitioners from Sweden and other countries gathered in an area outside the Chinese Embassy. I went up to the policemen and introduced myself and we went through the parade route together. When we were done they warmly wished us Good luck! The parade left the area around the Embassy with a police bus in front and two policemen walking behind. When we walked halfway, the policemen asked if it was okay if they left us, since they where needed someplace else where there was some trouble. We said of course, and off they went. The parade passed through the main roads of Stockholm City Centre. We stopped to do the four standing exercises and to hand out information in one of the parks in the Centre. Then the parade continued to Sergels Torg, a main meeting point and a high traffic area in Stockholm. Here we stopped for about an hour to demonstrate the exercises, hand out information, and talk to people. We noticed that the loud speaker made people stop and take the time to listen. Many of them also asked questions. Besides briefly introducing Falun Gong, we also talked about what is happening in China and how it affects practitioners in the West. Professor Zhang Kunlun from Canada and Zhang Cuiying from Australia, who were visiting Stockholm at the time, recounted their experiences, which were highly noted by the people passing by. We appealed to everybody to help stop the evil forces.

Hongfa Outside the Chinese Embassy In Stockholm.

Recently, the Stockholm practitioners have been doing hongfa activities every Sunday on a beautiful walkway near the Chinese Embassy. We need police permission for this, and two policemen are supposed to be on the spot. The first time, two policemen came to check everything. They frequently came out of their car to talk to us and ask for information. We gave them the material we had (folders and flyers) and they read them with interest. They also clearly expressed their support for our efforts to stop the persecution in China. They always asked both us and each other why they had to sit and monitor us when everything was going so calmly. Now they only come in the beginning to check how many practitioners we have, and then they leave. On one occasion we arrived late and the policemen said, you should try to be on time. There are so many people passing by, you might miss informing some of them. We took this as a sign from the Master that we should always be on time.

I think these two events illustrate that we have very good relations with the police, and that they believe we are good people with high moral standards who try to follow law and order by all means. When they see the good in us, it is impossible for them to believe in the terrible propaganda that the Chinese Embassy hands out regarding Falun Gong.

This shows us how important it is that we exhibit high moral standards in our dealings with all people, and that we should try to act according to Zhen Shan Ren in all situations. If we do, everybody will know that we are good people.

A practitioner in Stockholm, Sweden.