(Minghui.org) Argentina is the second largest country in Latin America. Ten years ago, only a handful of Chinese immigrants from Taiwan and China lived there.
The Argentina Falun Dafa Association was established on April 16, 2002. Two years later, the Spanish edition of Zhuan Falun was first published. After the initial printing of 5,000 copies was sold out, a second printing was ordered, allowing even more people to study the teachings of Falun Dafa.
Chinese New Year Celebration--Banner Hung
Falun Gong practitioners participated in the annual Chinese New Year 2013 celebration in Buenos Aires.
2013 Chinese New Year celebration in Buenos Aires
The event was held in a large park two blocks away from Chinatown. The practitioners applied for and received an official permit to participate in the two-day celebration.
On the first day of the event, as soon as the practitioners hung up their yellow banner, a person dispatched by Chinese embassy and a man who appeared to be in charge of the event itself, came over and forcibly took down the banner.
That evening, practitioners gathered to share their understandings of the incident. They realized that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) should not be allowed to extend their persecution to Argentina, which is a free country. They also understood that the banner should not be taken down, as Falun Gong teaches Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
The next morning, practitioners re-hung up their banner. A few minutes later, the same event coordinator rushed over, said a few words to intimidate the practitioners, then again attempted to tear down the banner.
One practitioner firmly told him that the banner was going to stay just where it was. Another practitioner grabbed a megaphone to inform passerby about the incident, causing the event coordinator to quickly walk away.
Shortly after, the Chinese Embassy asked a city security guard to come over to the Falun Gong booth. Practitioners explained the facts to the guard and told him, “If you want to take down our banner you must be 100% sure that you have both the right and the authority to touch our property.” The security guard left without saying a word.
Spreading the Facts in Chinatown
The social and political environment in Argentina is very complex. The Chinese embassy colludes with local gangs and regularly interferes with practitioners' truth clarification efforts. For example, the free newspapers that practitioners place in supermarkets are often stolen, and some practitioners have even received death threats.
Falun Gong information booth in Chinatown
Undaunted by the CCP interference, the practitioners hung up a large Falun Dafa banner at a major intersection in Chinatown and placed information materials everywhere. Since many Chinese people have immigrated to Argentina, Chinatown is now extremely busy on the weekends. Practitioners can always be seen there, continuously clarifying the truth.
In the beginning, the Chinese embassy tried to prevent Falun Dafa banners from being hung up in Chinatown. However, after the practitioners applied to the city government for a one-year permit, there was nothing that the embassy could do.
The banner was taken down in 2012, when the city government turned the crossroad in Chinatown into a pedestrian walk. Thus, the practitioners wore yellow T-shirts with words “Falun Dafa” printed on them and stood in the middle of the pedestrian walk, practicing and teaching the Falun Gong exercises. After seeing the practitioners' determination, the police acquiesced and allowed them to re-hang their banner. Falun Gong is now an essential part of Chinatown, and many people have started cultivating as a result.
Many Argentina people who visit Chinatown learn about Falun Gong and the persecution. Now, whenever practitioners apply for a permit, the city approves it right away. Many Chinese people who just came to Argentina from China are surprised to see practitioners freely doing the exercises. They now see through the Chinese regime's propaganda and lies.
Falun Dafa Practitioners Participate in the City's Largest Book Fair
The annual Buenos Aires International Book Fair is one of the largest book fairs in the world. Every year, more than 400 publishers, bookstores, and NGOs attend the event to introduce their books and different cultures to the more than one million visitors.
Falun Gong practitioners attended the fair in 2004 for the first time. Book dealers in Mexico, Columbia, and Uruguay asked the practitioners how to promote the book Zhuan Falun in their respective countries. As a result, someone in Uruguay read the book then later set up a practice site in their home city.
Practitioners demonstrate the exercises at the Buenos Aires International Book Fair
Falun Gong booth at the Buenos Aires International Book Fair
The Epoch Times newspaper in Argentina attended the book fair in 2006 for the first time and promoted the Spanish version of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. This has allowed local people to learn the true nature of the Chinese regime, and their actions over the past sixty years, especially as it relates to the organ harvesting of living Falun Gong practitioners.
Every year, the Chinese embassy tries to force local authorities to exclude Falun Gong practitioners from the book fair. It initially asked the Argentina Ministry of Culture to intercede, but the Ministry said that the book fair was a non-governmental event, so it could not do anything. The Chinese embassy then threatened to withdraw from the book fair if the organizers of the event did not cancel the practitioners' booth application. After the embassy's unreasonable request was rejected, the Chinese embassy cancelled its scheduled cultural seminars and withdrew from the fair.
One organizer told the Epoch Times that the Chinese embassy had exerted enormous pressure on the fair organizers, demanding that they exclude Falun Gong from the event. The embassy said that it would not participate if Falun Gong practitioners were given a booth. The organizers did not cave into the embassy's demands because they know that all organizations in Argentina enjoy freedom of speech. The organizer congratulated the Epoch Times , saying that it was an excellent newspaper.
Now that the Chinese embassy has withdrawn from the event, people no longer have to view the Party's blood-red flag, listen to its warped ideology, or read its propaganda-filled books.
The Film, Free China, Now Plays in Local Universities
Teachers and students watch the documentary, Free China
The timely documentary, Free China , highlights China's unfair trade practices with the West, organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience, and the widespread use of forced slave labor in China. Argentina practitioners have successfully promoted the film at numerous universities.
After viewing the film, students often asked a lot of questions. Seeing this, one university asked the local Falun Dafa Association to conduct a six week Chinese culture workshop. In order to encourage more students to participate, the university offered credit for taking the course.
