Many people were intrigued by the slow, gentle exercise movements demonstrated by practitioners. They asked about Falun Dafa and some even learned the exercises at the booth.

Some groups invited practitioners to teach the exercises. One person said, “In times like this, due to the COVID pandemic, people have not been able to live a normal life for nearly two years. As moral values are declining in society, there are violent incidents daily such as shootings. People need to learn something like Falun Dafa that teaches one to be a good person guided by the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.”

Ed said a friend told him about Falun Gong a year ago. He finally had the opportunity to learn it today. He said he felt wonderful after doing the exercises. He is eager to go to a practice site to join group exercises.

Sally Ringe is a retired nurse. After learning the movements, she said, “It feels amazing!” Ms. Ringe said she practiced a qigong and Tai Chi before, so she is sensitive to the flow of qi and energy. She feels Falun Dafa is extraordinary, “It’s peaceful here even though we are in a noisy room.”

Lisa Winkler is a volunteer for a non profit organisation at the fair. During her break, she walked around visiting the various booths. She was attracted to Falun Dafa and came to find out more about it. She feels the exercises are peaceful and relaxing, “I think anything that helps one regain tranquility and relieve stress is a great thing.”

Lisa said she had heard about the persecution of practitioners in China by the Chinese Communist regime. However, she did not know much about the health benefits of practicing Falun Dafa. She said it was great to see the exercise demonstrations at the fair. She also said she sympathised with the plight of practitioners and supports them in resisting the persecution. She signed the petition to call for an end to the atrocities. She happily accepted the lotus flower practitioners gave her and a brochure and said she intends to learn more about it.

Background: What is Falun Dafa?

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide.

Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and learned the five gentle exercises, have experienced uplifted health and well-being.

Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology and on July 20, 1999, issued an order to ban the practice.

Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 22 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. More have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.

There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply the organ transplant industry.

Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organisation with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.