(Minghui.org) About 1,500 Falun Dafa practitioners from 37 countries gathered in Prague, the capital of Czech Republic, on September 29 for the 2018 European Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference.

The following day, outdoor activities were held to raise awareness about this ancient mind/body practice and the persecution that its practitioners in China have endured under the communist regime since 1999.

Conference attendees perform the exercises together in Prague.

Passersby stop to learn about Falun Dafa.

Marie Kordova (left) stopped to learn more about Falun Dafa and the persecution.

Marie Kordova, a dentist, stopped to watch the exercises and talked to a Falun Dafa practitioner for a long time. She was appalled to learn that peaceful Falun Dafa meditators are brutally persecuted in China.

Kordova was very interested in meditation and purchased a copy of Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa. “I'll start reading this today!” she said.

Sylvie Gorry (left) and Genevieve Dardenne from France

Sylvie Gorry and her friend, Genevieve Dardenne, were vacationing in Prague and saw hundreds of Falun Dafa practitioners meditating in the park. They said they felt a sense of peace and calm while watching the exercises.

They said they were not surprised that this spiritual practice is persecuted in China, since the communist regime tries to control people's thoughts.

Chinese Spectators Renounce the CCP

Among the crowds of tourists, there were many Chinese visitors. Many of them saw the various Falun Dafa activities surrounding the conference, including a large-scale march.

Several Chinese spectators decided to take a stance against the persecution by withdrawing their memberships in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). One of them was a young man from Beijing, in his 30s. He agreed to quit the Party after a practitioner explained to him how brutally the Party persecutes Falun Dafa.

Two young Chinese men standing nearby at the time said to the practitioner, “We are members of the CCP and governmental employees. We know that the Party is not good, but we have to make a living. What can we do? How can we make money after quitting the Party?”

The practitioner told them, “The CCP has committed many crimes. If you do not quit, you are a member of it and will shoulder its crimes, as you pledged your life to it when you joined.” The two young men then agreed to use aliases to declare their withdrawal from the CCP and its affiliated organizations.

Related article in Chinese: Falun Gong practitioners gather in Prague.