(Clearwisdom.net) Today, the four of us set off on our three-day "Canada, Let's Keep Up Our Efforts!" car tour journey. Along the route, we passed by cities and towns including Parry Sound, North Bay, Sudbury, and Timmins. Ours is the northern route of the car tour. We first arrived in Parry Sound, 235 kilometers north of Toronto. We then drove two hours to reach North Bay. In both cities, we met the Mayors, Members of Provincial Parliament, legislative assistants for Members of Parliament, and the media. We asked them to encourage the Canadian government to sponsor a resolution at the upcoming UNCHR in Geneva to condemn the Chinese government's persecution of Falun Gong. We received great support.
What impressed us the most was our visit to North Bay. Although we did not have an appointment with the Mayor, Mr. Jack Burrows, he still personally received us and chatted with us for 45 minutes. Mayor Burrows had never heard of the persecution of Falun Gong before. When he learned about it, he expressed his deep concern that the practitioners in China still suffer persecution. He suggested that we visit the local MP and said that he would contact the MP the next day and see what he could do to better support us.
At the gate of the City Hall, we ran into Arnie Hakala, a reporter from a major local newspaper who heard the news and came over to meet us. When he learned that we were hurrying up to visit the MP and other provincial assemblymen, he warm-heartedly said, "I'll take you there." We were a little surprised and deeply moved. In the cold weather, with temperatures as low as minus 20 Celsius, we encountered such a warm-hearted reporter. Perhaps this was predestined.
After we delivered the truth-clarifying materials, Arnie took us to his office, where we chatted for more than an hour. Arnie told us that he had so many questions that two or three days might not be adequate for him to ask us. So he asked us to start from the very beginning. We spoke of how Falun Dafa has flourished around the world, and introduced the persecution and the support we have received from international society and world governments. He carefully recorded all of these. Arnie told us with regret that because of the required limited length for his article, he would not be able to write all he had recorded, but he truly wanted to learn more about Dafa. So he started chatting with Mrs. Wang. The Canadian government's rescue efforts helped her husband and son to receive early release from their illegal sentences in forced labor camps. Mrs. Wang said sadly, "I had a happy family, but now my family is torn apart by the Jiang regime's persecution. They deprived us of our freedom to believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." When Arnie asked how Mrs. Wang felt in her heart, Mrs. Wang felt so sad that she shed tears. She said, "Whenever I practice the exercises, I think of my husband and son. In China, they don't even have the right to freely practice the exercises." At that point, all in attendance were moved to tears.
Arnie told us that his family was from Finland. Previously Finland was also influenced by the Soviet government. His grandmother's family believed the Party, while his grandfather's family did not. Three days before his grandmother passed away, her family members found a copy of the Bible under her pillow. Arnie sighed and said, in fact, people are still longing for God in their hearts.
He expressed that he is willing to collect signatures for the petition. Before we left, he carefully drew a map for us and gave us direction to the next city. He also told us again and again to be careful. In the end, he said to us sincerely, "I will use my way to pray for you and bless you."
While writing, we could not help but remember a touching story from our journey. Our fellow practitioners set up display boards at a city hall and waited for the media to arrive. A passerby stopped and stood in the cold wind and snow, and carefully read the content of the posters. He asked many questions. When he heard that the old lady whose photo displayed on the poster was sentenced to four years in jail in China simply because she practices Falun Gong, he asked us if there was a petition that he could sign. After he signed the petition letter, he said, "Please wait for a moment, I'll ask my friends in the car to sign it as well!" Looking at him running back and forth in the wind and snow and his frozen hands, we were deeply moved and truly happy for his kindness.
Category: April 25 Events
