(Minghui.org) “I signed a petition 10 years ago, right here, in Bern’s city center. I support you!” Neyia a retired dance teacher said as she took a pen and signed her name on a petition that calls on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to stop persecuting Falun Gong and harvesting practitioners’ organs.
Practitioners held activities at Kornhaus Platz in Bern on July 18, 2026 to inform people about the persecution of Falun Gong. (Minghui.org)
Bern: Supporting Those Who Do the Right Thing
When Neyia signed the petition at Kornhaus Platz on July 18, 2026, practitioners in Switzerland were making preparations for activities to protest the persecution: some organized materials to hand out, others had hung banners in the pedestrian area. Some tested the sound system used in making speeches while others began doing the exercises. Flyers in various languages, the petition board, and books on Falun Gong were already neatly arranged on the table.
After she signing the petition Neyia recounted the first time she heard of Falun Gong, “Many people wearing bright yellow T-shirts were meditating and I wondered what is this about. I read your materials and reports online, I also saw you doing the exercises at the rose garden [a local attraction], it was so beautiful.”
She praised the events to expose the persecution of Falun Gong and said, “I thought this is very important. It shows another side of China, China is a country with traditional spiritual beliefs, not just communism. China has deep spirituality.”
She pointed to practitioners and said, “Look, there are young people among them, as well as elderly women like me. I see Swiss and Asians, it’s great.”
The scene also reminded practitioners that before the persecution began elderly and children, farmers as well as lecturers gathered together in the morning to do the exercises, and the media reported on Falun Gong’s growing popularity. The CCP began persecuting practitioners who conduct themselves according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in July 1999.
Not only does the CCP brutally torture practitioners, the regime even steals their organs for transplant, killing them in the process. Neyia said, “This is horrifying, absolute evil, taking people’s organs without consent.” She explained why she signed the petition, “I hope to give detained practitioners courage. This can protect Chinese people.”
She felt these activities not only help practitioners gain support, “People also need to see these activities so they’ll be informed. Everyone is making a contribution by signing the petition.” She added, “The most important thing is to support those who do the right thing. Kindness is more powerful and justice will become stronger.”
Practitioners do the exercises in Bern’s rose garden every weekend. (Minghui.org)
Passersby learn about the persecution. (Minghui.org)
Zurich: Former Elected Official Express Respect for Falun Gong Practitioners’ Conviction
Practitioners demonstrate the exercises as a part of their activities in Zurich. (Minghui.org)
Former St. Gallen state representative Dr. Eva Keller participated in the practitioners’ activities in Zurich on July 25, 2026. She previously wrote letters of support for years to lend her voice to practitioners’ protests against the persecution every July.
She had a deeper understanding of the spiritual practice through chatting with practitioners. For example when she learned that practitioners held protests outside the Chinese Embassy in London 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for over two decades to call for an end to the persecution, she said, “Activities like this are great, remarkable, I have utmost respect.”
In her speech, former St. Gallen state representative Dr. Eva Keller expressed concern for the persecution suffered by Falun Gong practitioners and thanked them for helping more people learn the facts on the human rights abuses. (Minghui.org)
She said in her speech: “Today, we remember practitioners who are persecuted. The persecution they suffered at the hands of the state [those in power] is countless. What shocks me even more is that this persecution has even transcended national borders. So, where can the persecuted find refuge?”
She thanked everyone present: “Thank you for your dedication to human rights and the rule of law especially for Falun Gong. Only when human rights abuses are exposed can there be any hope of change. The worst thing is forgetting the persecuted; thank you for preventing this.”
In an interview, Dr. Keller said she values human rights very much and is willing to speak out for human rights. She also believes that everyone’s efforts against the persecution will be effective but this requires “everyone to work together, opposite of the top-down brainwashing tactics of the dictators. It requires different people and different ideas.”
To her, people can freely express and obtain information in a free country: “We can listen to different opinions then form our own views.” Therefore she thinks Swiss people should: “...find out information when given the opportunity then keep thinking and pay attention.” Politicians should: “...realize what is happening in China. Perhaps speak out more proactively to safeguard human rights on issues involving China.”
We Cannot Ignore Brutalities
People in Zurich sign the petition to stop the persecution. (Minghui.org)
Practitioners’ speeches to introduce Falun Gong and expose the CCP’s brutalities caught Abdelkader Ignou’s attention. He has a car rental business and is a president of an organization. “Even today, there are cases of live organ harvesting, innocent people are killed, these things make me very sad,” he said. “Sometimes people choose to shut their eyes in the face of brutal acts happening in the world right now, but we cannot ignore such things. This [persecution] should not be happening.
“The woman spoke very well,” he said. “I think it is great that you speak out here, and people are paying attention.” He added, “Everyone who stops to speak out, or signs the petition is remarkable. Only by doing this can we truly bring change, we must stop this massacre.”
Although it was the first time he heard of Falun Dafa, he said, “Everyone has the right to life. We should not persecute people because of their religious belief or kill them by taking their organs.”
He said that by signing the petition people can, “Make your voice heard, help people find dignity. I feel extremely proud to be able to make clear my stance here.”
Vesna Tavic, a nurse shared the same sentiments. She thought Falun Gong practitioners were great to go to the streets to uphold justice. She took a flyer and said she would share the information with friends: “I hope to support them [Falun Gong practitioners], and let people know what is the truth, what is right.”
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