(Minghui.org) On September 13, 2014, Falun Gong practitioners took part in the "Culture Night Festival," Sweden's largest cultural event of its kind, with presentations, films, and arts performances that go on all day and into the evening.
Held every year in downtown Uppsala on the second Saturday in September, this event not only draws many local residents, but also artists and tourists from other regions.
The Falun Gong group demonstrated the exercises and set up a display to introduce the practice, including its ancient roots, its massive popularity in China in the mid-1990s, and subsequent brutal suppression by the Communist regime, which continues today.
Practitioners demonstrate the exercises at Uppsala's annual "Culture Night Festival," on September 13, 2014.A practitioner talks with visitors about Falun Gong.People stop to read display boards to learn about Falun Gong and the persecution in China.
While many people stopped to ask about Falun Gong and where in they could learn the practice, for some it was a shock to learn that this peaceful meditation practice has been brutally persecuted in China for the past 15 years.
A couple from India, both of whom had come to the university to pursue graduate degrees, was appalled when they learned about the Chinese regime's organ harvesting atrocities. The woman, an M.D. candidate, said, “This is outrageous!” She then signed the petition calling to end the persecution and stop forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China.
"Falun Gong is almost everywhere,” said a visiting scholar from China who has encountered Falun Gong activities in Taiwan, Switzerland, and other countries.
After talking with the practitioners for a long time, he said he gained a better understanding of the severity of the persecution and why practitioners have been raising awareness worldwide. “The CCP is so vicious, and everyone needs to be aware of such brutal crimes that are happening, even in modern times.” In response to the information on the CCP's live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners, he decided to take action. He declared his withdrawal from CCP organizations, joining the grassroots movement among Chinese citizens to renounce and condemn the Party for its crimes against humanity.
Many Chinese students and local Chinese residents stopped at the Falun Gong display and accepted literature. Ms. Hua, a practitioner who participated in the event, said that she helped twelve Chinese people renounce the Party that day, including tourists and college students.
“Once these Chinese learned about the vicious deeds of the CCP, they readily agreed to quit the Party. They don't want to be a part of it any more. I believe they will be blessed with a better future,” said Ms. Hua.