(Clearwisdom.net) On July 19, Falun Gong practitioners set up a booth in the west Cornish town of St. Just. Every July, the granite streets of St. Just are filled with color and music on Lafrowda Day, a celebration of community arts in the area.
Practitioners set up a table with information and demonstrated the peaceful exercises of Falun Gong. Locals were pleased to accept free folded paper lotus flowers as well as leaflets about local exercise classes and the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong in China. Many people stopped and watched a practitioner who was bathed in sunlight and demonstrating the gentle exercises. After learning what Falun Gong is, many found it hard to come to terms with the persecution in China. Several remarked, "Why do they ban such a peaceful practice that has nothing to do with politics?"
A talk organized by Amnesty International was held in a secondary school in the area earlier in the week. The children had a chance to learn about the human rights abuses in China, including the persecution of Falun Gong. Some children from the school came over to sign the petition and get more information.
One passerby was a teacher in a neighboring town. He remarked that he once showed his students, some of whom are Chinese boarding at the independent school, a web search of Falun Gong on the Internet to illustrate Internet censorship. The Chinese pupils saw the websites showing that Falun Gong is a peaceful practice and were astonished--they hadn't known that the Internet they used had filtered out this information. He went on to say, "All of the parents of these Chinese students are government officials or have connections to the government in China, otherwise they would not be able to afford to come here."
Locals in the remote village, as well as tourists in the area, were receptive to practitioners' efforts. A local radio reporter saw the booth and asked for a future interview about the practice and the persecution to help raise awareness and reach more people. A lady organizing a different event in Cornwall approached with a booking form in hand to offer practitioners a free booth at the event. A man on holiday in Cornwall came over and instantly signed the petition saying, "I used to do a lot of coverage of this when I worked for the BBC."
A practitioner at the booth said, "I was touched by the people's pure hearts. Everyone that heard our explanation about what is going on in China signed the petition and expressed great concern. They are such good people here." The word "Lafrowda" is derived from the old Cornish name for St. Just. It means "sacred enclosure."
Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200807/45369.html
Category: Rallies & Protests
