Denmark: Appealing Against Article 23 in Copenhagen (photos)

On Saturday December 21, Danish Dafa practitioners went to downtown Copenhagen to clarify the truth about Article 23. They urgently called on the general public to help stop the implementation of this ominous law in Hong Kong, which is being processed due to pressure from the Jiang regime in Beijing. Practitioners throughout Europe have mirrored the campaign organized by Danish practitioners after the European Parliament passed a resolution to oppose Hong Kong’s Article 23. They want people to know that Article 23 is actually the Chinese dictator’s attempt to export its persecution of innocent people to the free society of Hong Kong.

Since Danish practitioners have shared their opinions on the nature of Article 23 together, they have all come to a clear understanding that Article 23 will allow Jiang Zemin to directly persecute Dafa practitioners in Hong Kong, as well as other groups such as Christians and democrats. Therefore, practitioners have taken the initiative to personally speak to Members of the European Parliament, reveal the truth to local Chinese people, who have been very concerned about this incident and send letters of appeal to the Danish Government agencies, parliamentarians and foreign embassies in Denmark.

Due to the fact that it is easier for them to personally speak to parliamentarians, western practitioners have assumed much of the work in this regard. Right after returning from the European Parliament in Brussels, some of them overcame various difficulties and rushed to Strasbourg to speak in more detail with the Members of the European Parliament who were to vote on the resolution against Article 23. In this kind of circumstance, the western practitioners were the one’s who undertook the preparatory work.

The last Saturday before Christmas is the busiest time for Christmas shopping in Copenhagen. Danish practitioners arrived at the downtown Copenhagen around 1 p.m. Some practitioners demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises, whilst others talked to people about Article 23. They also collected signatures stating opposition to Article 23 and distributed materials in Danish, English and Chinese to the people of Copenhagen.

One Danish person said: “I’ve got to read the materials to see what’s going on before I sign.” A practitioner replied with smile: “No problem. The website is on the materials. You may visit the website and express your opinion there.” Another practitioner told him that the Chinese government originally promised that the “one country, two systems” would last for 50 years without change, but it’s been only 5 years since Hong Kong was handed back to China. They are breaking their agreement that they ratified with the British Government already to enact an ominous law depriving Hong Kong residents of their freedom. This person immediately stated, “I want to sign. They must keep their promise.”

Many people had already heard of Falun Dafa and the brutal persecution that practitioners in China are suffering. In spite of the chilly weather, many practitioners stood outdoors for several hours in a row. The freezing temperature hindered no one, and they took turns to do different tasks without complaint. Upon hearing about these activities, one practitioner rushed all the way from Sweden to join in. The activity lasted until 4 p.m. until it became dark.

After the activity was wrapped up, practitioners visited Chinese restaurants along the streets to distribute materials there and urge them to express their opposing opinions to the Hong Kong SAR government. One young Chinese man, who grew up in Denmark, asked if we had the materials in English so that he could ask his friends to join the campaign against Article 23.

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 the Chinese article at http://www.yuanming.net/articles/200212/15536.html