The New Year had just passed when practitioners from Helsinki and other cities in Finland held a retreat from the 6th to the 8th of January 2005. The practitioners studied the Falun Gong teachings, shared experiences and insights, and practised the exercises together. At noon on the 7th, a peaceful appeal was held at the Chinese Embassy calling for an immediate end to the campaign of genocide against Falun Gong practitioners.

In the afternoon, practitioners held an activity to raise awareness about the persecution in the tube station. Many people stopped to read the display boards, talk with the practitioners and take leaflets so that they could find out more about Falun Gong and the human rights violations against people who practise in China.

A young Finnish boy, who practises Falun Gong with his mum, travelled all the way from central Finland to join the retreat. During the three days, he behaved like the older practitioners and strived forward to do the three things well: study the Falun Gong teachings, expose the persecution and send righteous thoughts. The 6th of January was his 11th birthday so everyone at the retreat sang happy birthday to him in Finnish, English and Chinese and happily celebrated his special day with him.