Switzerland: Dignitaries Attend Geneva Screening and Reception of “Letter from Masanjia”

Falun Dafa practitioners in French-speaking Switzerland held a film reception in Geneva to screen “Letter from Masanjia” on April 26, 2022. The documentary reveals the truth about the brutal persecution of practitioners in China. The film has won numerous awards and was screened at the Geneva Film Festival and the International Forum for Human Rights (FIFDH) in 2019.

The documentary candidly recorded Falun Dafa practitioner Sun Yi’s imprisonment in the notorious Masanjia Labor Camp, where he was forced to make cheap Halloween decorations. He hid about 20 letters detailing the atrocities committed at Masanjia in the finished packages. Julie Keith, a mother in Oregon, found one of the letters. Her discovery set off a chain of events that led to the shutdown of the entire labor camp system in China. The persecution of Falun Dafa didn’t stop, however, and Sun Yi had to escape from China.

Members of Federal Parliament, Mr. Francois Pointet and Mr. Nicolas Walder and several Members of Cantonal Parliament watched the film.

MP Nicolas Walder commented that he was really moved by Sun Yi’s courage. “He took these risks alone, making his story, a story that happened to thousands if not millions of believers, known to the outside world. I am really touched. I really am sympathetic to him.”

He said the ending of the film showed the world “the infiltration of ubiquitous Chinese agents” and that Swiss parliament had added a bill (Postulat) to understand what Chinese agents have done against Tibetans, Uyghurs, Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) and other groups on Swiss soil, and to what extent. “We know they are interfering, but obviously we need a report to understand the extent of the interference,” he said.

“This shows once again that this Chinese government is dangerous and that we must quickly reduce our economic dependence on it,” he added.

Representatives of the General Assembly of the Canton of Geneva, Patrick Dimier, André Pfeffer, and Daniel Sormanni, watched the documentary between meetings. They agreed that the story documented in the film is also happening to thousands even millions of Chinese, and it was the time to change this situation and to stop the persecution in China and anywhere else.

Many in the audience were touched by the film and said they saw the courage of Falun Dafa practitioners. Some said they wanted to know more about Falun Dafa and to learn the practice.