(Clearwisdom.net) Practitioners in Spain held an activity on the afternoon of May 28, 2011, at the square in front of City Hall in Santander in northern Spain. They told visitors and locals about Falun Gong and also about the brutal persecution of practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in China.

Practitioners expose the brutality of the CCP at the square in front of Santander City Hall.

People sign the petition to support practitioners' efforts to protest the persecution.

People sign the petition.

Young girls learning to do the Falun Gong exercises

It was early summer, but blazing hot in the square. People in twos or threes sat in the shade, and there were not many people on the street.

Practitioners set up display boards documenting the persecution, which grabbed people's attention. They walked up to find out what the display was about. When they learned that signing the petition could help stop the persecution, many citizens and tourists signed their names.

Many people hadn't heard about Falun Gong or the persecution. When they learned that Falun Gong is a traditional cultivation school that enables people to elevate their moral standards and better their physical health, but that the Chinese Communist autocratic regime has carried out a brutal persecution against it, they were shocked.

An older man said that he had never seen such a signature collection to support human rights in Santander. He thought it was great to hold such an activity.

One day ahead of the event, a local radio station interviewed practitioners and announced the time and venue of the signature collection activity. A lady heard the announcement and especially brought her son with her. She said that she had heard about the CCP's atrocities, but she wanted to learn more about it. Seeing the display, she said, “The CCP is crueler that what I have heard. I especially brought my son with me today, so that he can be aware of how evil and barbaric the CCP is.”

Many young people attentively read the truth clarification flyers and asked for more details about Falun Gong. They signed the petition to show their support.

A Chinese man who had just immigrated to Spain not long ago passed by and was surprised to see a huge banner with characters in Chinese that read, “Disintegrate the CCP, Stop the Persecution.” When a practitioner told him about what was happening, he said, “I hadn't realized that people could freely express themselves this way outside of China; it would be absolutely unimaginable in China.” When the practitioner gave him a truth clarification DVD, he noticed a Falun badge that the practitioner wore. He told the practitioner that his aunt is a Falun Gong practitioner and he had learned the facts from her. He said before leaving, “I'm very grateful for all the things you have done.”

The largest local newspaper, EL DIARIO, and two radio stations interviewed practitioners and covered the activity. EL DIARIO published a report entitled, “Signature Collection to Protest the CCP Persecution.” It stated, “Yesterday, a signature collection activity aiming at expressing support for Falun Gong human rights was held at the square in front of the city hall in Santander. Falun Gong is a cultivation practice with a long history. It enables practitioners to better their health, teaches people to be kind, and elevates people's moral standards, but the CCP persecutes it in China... According to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, there are 36 concentration camps in China where thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been held. Their organs were harvested and sold for profit by the CCP agents....”

Practitioners do the exercises in a park on Sunday.

Practitioners did the exercises and continued their efforts to introduce Falun Gong on Sunday in a park. The five peaceful and gentle exercises attracted the attention of people visiting the park. A group of tourists stopped to watch for more than ten minutes. A man and several ladies passed by. The man saw practitioners doing the sitting meditation on the lawn. The peaceful scene drew him to stop and watch, but when he turned around, his companions had walked far away, and he had to hurry to catch up with them. Shortly after, he returned with his friends to watch the practitioners finish the exercises. Some people stood among the practitioners to learn to practice at the event.