France: Falun Dafa Practitioners Rally in Strasbourg to call on the European Union to oppose Article 23

On December 18 and 19, Falun Dafa practitioners from European countries, including France, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands, gathered in front of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France. They practised the Falun Gong exercises as a group and sent forth righteous thoughts [thinking strong, upright thoughts to purify oneself and one’s surroundings] to call upon the EU to oppose the enactment of Article 23 in Hong Kong.

Officials and visitors to the building were very impressed by the peaceful scene that confronted them as the practitioners did exercises and collected signatures against Article 23. The temperature in Strasbourg was always below freezing, yet practitioners persisted in their efforts to have people realise the true nature of Article 23.

Many parliamentarians could see the practitioners directly from the windows of their offices. Other practitioners were inside the building talking to Members of the European Parliament about Article 23 and how the Hong Kong authorities are being pressured by the Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin to enforce this legislation and allow him to export his persecution of innocent people to Hong Kong. The practitioners received encouragement and support from parliament members.

The European Falun Dafa Association held a press conference on the morning of December 19 in front of the European Parliament building to express determined opposition against Article 23. Mr. Roger Helmer, an MEP from Great Britain, made a speech at this press conference. He voiced his opposition against the implementation of Article 23, calling upon the Chinese government to respect human rights and stop persecuting Falun Gong practitioners.

Practitioners from Ireland, Hong Kong, Denmark, and the Netherlands spoke of the horrors that they and their families suffered in China. They stressed that persecution like this should not be extended to Hong Kong.

The European Parliament passed an urgent resolution on Hong Kong’s Article 23 legislation by a margin of 59 to one, with one abstaining, at 5:30 pm on the same day. These 59 votes represented 7 parties in the European Parliament.

If you would like to speak out for the freedom of people in Hong Kong, there is an online petition against Article 23 at
www.againstarticle23.org/en.

Translated from Chinese at http://yuanming.net/articles/200212/15447.html