(Minghui.org) The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta was held in Ashton Park on August 11-22, 2024. Practitioners participated in the popular three-day event to introduce Falun Dafa and raise awareness of the ongoing persecution in China. Many visitors agreed with Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Practitioners set up a booth to teach people the exercises for free. They also collected signatures on a petition to end the ongoing persecution of Falun Dafa in China. Festival-goers said they enjoyed the dragon dance practitioners performed the last day of the event.
The festival was first held in 1979 and this year attracted over half a million visitors. With over 140 participatants this year, colorful hot air balloons filled the sky over Bristol and the surrounding countryside.
Chinese Woman Quits the Chinese Communist Party
When a Chinese couple stopped at the Falun Dafa booth, the wife listened carefully as a practitioner told her about the ongoing persecution in China. She understood that the self-immolation on Tiananmen Square in 2000 was staged by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to slander Falun Dafa and that she should renounce the oath she made to “devote her life to communism” so she wouldn’t be implicated in the CCP’s crimes. She agreed to the practitioner’s suggestion and quit the CCP organizations she’d joined. She thanked the practitioner for telling her the true situation.
Mr. Chao from Hong Kong arrived in England six months ago. As soon as he saw practitioners, he came over and commended them for their unyielding courage over the past 25 years. He signed the petition to show his support. “The CCP is uncivilized but practitioners are peaceful. I came to England because I can freely express my views here. Everyone should have a voice and get along,” he said.
Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Is Wonderful
A practitioner told William that the CCP not only persecutes practitioners in China but also their families and children. William, who works in the security industry, said, “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is a wonderful belief. If everyone in England learned and followed these values, there would be less street violence, we would be peaceful, and our communities would be safe.”
After a practitioner told Michelle what practitioners in China are enduring in the persecution, she was shocked. As a lawyer, she said that, in England, legal procedures must be followed before someone is arrested, and the police cannot arrest tens of thousands of people arbitrarily. “This is terrible. Falun Dafa doesn’t hurt anyone. On the contrary, meditation helps people relax. How could it be wrong to practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance? In fact, these principles should be part of our lives,” she said. She said that most people in England may not know about the persecution, and she wanted to help spread the truth.
Edward came to the booth with his wife and daughter. He said that he lived in China for two and a half years and that the June Fourth protests and massacre [the CCP massacred students on Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989] is a sad part of history. After listening to the practitioner describe the persecution, he thanked her and said he wanted to learn more about Falun Dafa. He said the values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance were amazing and would benefit British society. The couple complimented the practitioners for what they were doing to help humanity.
Falun Dafa Has Great Energy
Azy, her husband, daughter, and son-in-law came from London to attend the festival. They were very curious about meditation and learned the Falun Dafa exercises. Azy said it was a great experience and that she could feel the energy running from her head to her toes, and she felt relaxed. “People nowadays like technology. They don’t connect with their souls. Meditation connects one to their soul,” she said. She told the practitioner that she’d find a Falun Dafa practice site in London and continue doing the exercises.
When Bita saw practitioners demonstrate the exercises, she wanted to learn them. “I support you because I see you standing up for peace. Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are so important. Please don’t stop. You must continue to promote the values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. I hope more people can benefit from this good ideology,” she told practitioners. She took additional fliers to share with her friends.
Many visitors were interested in the Falun Dafa books and sympathized with the practitioners’ suffering. After reading the banners, many people lined up to sign the petition and were pleased to accept the lotus flower keepsakes the practitioners gave them.
Staff Member Corrects Chinese Student
Jacy was one of the staff members at the event. After she learned about Falun Dafa and the details of the persecution, she told practitioners, “You’ve done a good job in promoting the true situation and I’ve learned some great values. I hope you collect more signatures.” She said she would find out more about the teachings of Falun Dafa after she went home because she thought that Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance were supreme values.
While Jacy was talking to the practitioner, a Chinese man behind her tried to interrupt. She said the man was a student from China who’d been brainwashed by the CCP’s lies and he said many things that were not true. She and her coworker talked with the man and explained that no country other than China would persecute people who believe in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance and harvest its citizens’ organs to profit from their sales.
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