(Minghui.org) Practitioners held an event in Finland’s capital, Helsinki, on April 20 and a rally in front of the Chinese Embassy on April 25 to commemorate the April 25 peaceful appeal held in 1999.

On April 20, in the center of Helsinki, practitioners displayed portraits of fellow practitioners who were persecuted to death and with explanations for each one. The weather alternated between cloudy and sunny, and it snowed lightly, but many people still stopped to talk with practitioners and learn why the events were being held.

Practitioners held an event in the center of Helsinki on April 20, 2024.

Many people stopped to read the words on the portraits describing the practitioners’ experiences of being persecuted. Then they walked up to practitioners, received fliers which had information about Falun Gong, and learned about the brutal persecution by the Chinese Communist authorities. Many of them signed the petition to end the persecution to express their support.

People sign the petition to end the persecution.

Two tourists from the UK, James and Gina, stopped by the booth and read the flier. A practitioner asked them if they knew about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. James immediately said, “It’s all Jiang Zemin’s doing, right?”

James explained that his major is China Studies and he’s read a lot of information on human rights issues. Both James and Gina said they know the CCP is different from the Chinese people. Before leaving, they wished the practitioners good luck and said they were glad to meet them.

Matt, who is Finnish-British, said he could not imagine or tolerate any regime that ignored human rights, and therefore he supported all human rights activities and signed the petition form.

Ahul from Turkey signs a petition.

Practitioners held a rally in front of the Chinese Embassy in Helsinki on April 25 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the April 25 peaceful appeal.

Practitioners held a rally in front of the Chinese Embassy in Helsinki on April 25, 2024.

A local resident told a practitioner that she worked in China five years ago. She knew about the brutal organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party, and expressed concern about the current human rights situation there. She said, “Thank you for sharing so much important information, and thank you for your persistence! You have done a very important thing!”