(Clearwisdom.net) UK Falun Gong practitioners were once again invited to take part in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which is held annually in August. The Festival originated in the 1940s and according to the organizing committee, this year's event attracted many tourists from all over the world.

On August 6, at the start of the festival, Falun Gong practitioners introduced the practice on Prince's Street and informed the public of the persecution in China. They demonstrated to people the five sets of Falun Gong exercises. Their peaceful and serene performance was in stark contrast to their display of the photos of the brutal persecution and torture taking place in China.

Signing petition in support of Falun Gong

Demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises

Practitioners talked to curious onlookers about the persecution. Some signed the petition to show their support and wished the practitioners good luck.

Falun Gong is also known as Falun Dafa. It is a high level cultivation practice of the Buddhist School and was introduced to the public in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Practitioners follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance to improve their mind-nature. The number of practitioners grew rapidly and prior to the beginning of the persecution in 1999, the Chinese media estimated that there were around one hundred million people practicing Falun Gong.

In 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the comprehensive, brutal persecution of Falun Gong. More than 2,700 practitioners have been persecuted to death according to human rights organizations.

Despite the persecution in Mainland China, Falun Gong has spread to more than seventy countries around the world and received more than one thousand awards from various governments and organizations. Its founder Mr. Li Hongzhi, was also nominated several times for the Nobel Peace prize.

The peaceful protests of Falun Gong practitioners have been noticed more and more by the world's people, media and governments. The CCP's persecution of Falun Gong has been widely condemned by human rights organizations around the world.

Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200508/28365.html