(Minghui.org) Practitioners held a series of activities in Italy’s capital, Rome, from July 21 to 24, 2023 to protest the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 24-year-long persecution. People who were aware of the persecution expressed solidarity and support for practitioners.
Rome is the political, economic, and cultural centre of Italy. It is also a world-famous historical and cultural ancient city, a historic hub of Mediterranean civilisation, and the birthplace of the Roman civilisation. The city is known for the Roman Colosseum and Venice Square. The majestic ruins show the magnificence of the Roman Empire.
At 9:00 a.m. on July 21, 2023, practitioners held a peaceful protest outside the Chinese Embassy in Rome and told people about the CCP’s 24-year-long brutal persecution. They called on people to follow their conscience and work together to end the persecution.
The Italian Falun Dafa Association representative made a speech and demanded that the CCP immediately end the persecution.
Practitioners did the exercises in Orange Garden, which is located on a hill in the center of Rome, on the morning of July 22, 2023. From there, one can see the Tiber River. The soothing exercise music and practitioners’ slow, graceful movements drew many tourists.
That afternoon and evening, practitioners did the exercises on the famous Via dei fori imperiali in Rome, which connects the Colosseum and the Piazza Venezia. They told people what Falun Dafa is and how the CCP persecutes it, as well as its crime of harvesting organs from practitioners for profit. Some passersby stopped and took photos with their mobile phones, while others stopped in front of the display boards and carefully read the information.
An elderly Italian woman said, “I think you are really brave. Facing such persecution, you stand up peacefully and rationally to uphold your rights.”
Spanish Tourist: Such Evil Deeds Should Be Made Public
Practitioners held a candlelight vigil in the evening to commemorate practitioners who were tortured to death in China.
A Spanish-speaking tourist stopped to watch the practitioners’ candlelight vigil. After carefully reading the leaflet, she said, “It’s shocking that such cruel things are still happening in the world today. Such evil deeds should be made public.”
The practitioners went to Largo Giovanni XXIII on July 24, 2023. The location is between Castel Sant’Angelo and the Vatican, an area where pedestrians must walk through. There was an endless stream of tourists from all over the world. Some practitioners demonstrated the exercises, while others introduced Falun Dafa and told people about the CCP’s persecution.
Background: What Is Falun Dafa and Why Is the CCP Persecuting It?
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 have learned the five exercises, have experienced improved 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, he issued an order to eradicate the practice.
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.
Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners due to persecution over the past 24 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. Countless practitioners 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 China’s organ transplant industry.
Chinese version available
(Clearwisdom)