Finland: Practitioners Introduce Falun Dafa at National Education Exhibition

On January 26 and 27, 2024, Falun Dafa practitioners participated in an education exhibition (Educa Messu) in Helsinki. This annual countrywide event for the education sector is held at the exhibition center in Finland’s capital city. This year, the event drew nearly 15,800 professional educators.

Practitioners gave out information about Falun Dafa, demonstrated the exercises and collected signatures on a petition to call for an end to the 24-year persecution in China. Many teachers said they agreed with Dafa’s universal principles – Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance. Some affirmed, “Kindness is humans’ innate nature,” while others said, “We need this – Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance,” and, “We agree with your viewpoints.” 

“I Sincerely Hope China Will Become a Free Country”

Daniel is currently teaching at the International School of Vantaa in Helsinki. He shared his views on the Communist regime with practitioners. “Falun Dafa is a group with spiritual beliefs,” he said, “yet it is persecuted in China. I am absolutely against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) persecuting Falun Dafa.”

He smiled and pointed at the three words: “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance” on the poster and said, “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance are important values in our daily lives. They help people maintain tranquility and growth.”

He also said, “The CCP is terrible. They persecute everyone in the world and commit crimes of genocide. They have been suppressing minority groups in China for a long time. They also persecute Vietnamese people, people in Kazakhstan, and so on. This should end at once.

“Some countries proclaim that they are a democratic country, yet topics discussing human rights in China and Falun Dafa are limited. Some government officials and media are bribed by the Chinese government and avoid talking about Falun Dafa. This is terrible.”

Teachers Interested in Falun Dafa

Three teachers from Portugal watched practitioners as they did the exercises and followed along with them to learn the movements. When they learned that practitioners in China are brutally tortured and face the risk of forced organ harvesting, they shook their heads in disbelief. They signed the petition to end the persecution and also took information on online classes so they can learn Falun Dafa in Portugal.

Marita teaches at Pälkäne Junior High School. The school is 150 km from Helsinki, around a two-hour drive. When she learned that practicing Falun Dafa can improve one’s health, she left her contact information and said she hopes practitioners will come to her school and give classes. She was delighted to receive information on online classes and said she is keen to sign up.

Ari, a teacher in Helsinki, stopped in front of the Falun Dafa display and was eager to find out more about the practice. When he learned about the persecution in China, he told practitioners that for many years, he has told his students about the human rights problems in China. He said he’d heard of the Uyghurs being victims of persecution but this was the first time he heard the CCP also persecutes Falun Dafa. He was astounded to learn of the CCP’s organ harvesting crimes.

Before leaving, he thanked practitioners for their efforts over the years in helping people learn about the persecution in China and he wished them good luck.