Norway: Falun Gong Practitioners Hold Parade in Oslo to Support the 25 Million Withdrawals from CCP

On September 1st, 2007 Falun Gong practitioners held a grand parade in the Norwegian capital city of Oslo to celebrate 25 million people withdrawing from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its associated organizations. The graceful movements of the 'celestial maidens' and the vigorous drumming attracted a great number of passers-by. They stopped to watch the parade, take photos and read handouts about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Many of them frowned as they read the information and were greatly shocked by the CCP's organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners.

The parade started at around 2:00 p.m. in Oslo's city center. In the front was a big banner with words "Falun Dafa is Great" in both Chinese and English followed by a floral float. Some women Falun Gong practitioners in colorful Tang Dynasty costumes danced gracefully to the accompanying music. Behind them were the drummers in yellow costumes. The drum beats were crisp and loud, accompanied by the resounding song, "Falun Dafa is Great!" Strong messages were conveyed to the public with banners carrying words in Norwegian, Chinese and English: "Falun Dafa is Authentic Chinese Traditional Culture!" "The CCP Does Not Represent China!" "A New China is only Possible without the CCP" "Supporting 25 Million People Quitting the CCP."

Although it was drizzling, still a great number of people crowed along the roadside to watch the parade. Many of them took photos of the magnificent scene. Some people, after learning the facts of the persecution in China, asked for copies of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party to pass on to their Chinese friends.

Amongst the audience was a well-known TV host from Channel 4 in Britain. He told Falun Gong practitioners that their channel was the first in Britain to report organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners and said that in this fact alone, one could see what the human rights situation was like in China. This piece of news was representative.

One middle-aged Norwegian lady said, " I have just come back from a holiday in China. In cities like Shanghai, everyone is saying how modern China has become and how good China's economy is. But I also went to China's countryside, where I saw unbelievable poverty! The life of those peasants is really hard. For the sake of China's future, I hope you will keep up your efforts!"

A westerner asked a practitioner for some Chinese materials, in his not-very-fluent Chinese: "I also want some information in Chinese." The practitioner felt surprised and asked him, "Can you read Chinese?" Before he could answer, his girlfriend standing next to him said, "I can!" Everyone burst out laughing. It turned out that his girlfriend was from China. She had an out-going personality. When asked if she had quit the CCP or its associated organizations, she said with a bit of embarrassment that she had, but under a pseudonym. When practitioners told her it did not matter that she used a pseudonym, she smiled happily.

This young lady told practitioners, "I was deeply shocked when I saw display boards in Hong Kong, which were covered with information about the persecution and organ harvesting. I decided to quit the CCP's associated organization on the spot. Because of my work, I often travel abroad and have seen a lot. I feel there is more freedom of expression outside of China and there is more freedom in the air too. People are free to say what they want to say and see what they want to see. This is something that touched me deeply. In China, one's mind is put in shackles from childhood. You have to say whatever your teacher wants you to say or whatever your superior wants you to say. Even now in a free country, I still think carefully about what I say, to make sure that I have not stepped over the line. This has become a deep-rooted habit. I was dumbfounded when I learned all this shocking news. Suddenly I felt we have all been like toys that are kept in the dark."

"In China, we are rather ill-informed. I have many foreign friends back in China. They have a lot of problems accessing many Intent websites, and they thought that there was something wrong with their computer. I told them it was quite normal in China, because many websites were blocked and people were not allowed to access them. You have no way of knowing what is really going on around the world. What can you do? I also hope that more people can learn the facts, but there is a hand that covers up their eyes and forbids them to see. What can you do? It is very sad for the Chinese people, but more precisely, it is a retrogression in civilization."

Hearing what she said, Falun Gong practitioners expressed that they would continue with their efforts and help more Chinese people learn the facts and obtain information in the free world.

After the parade, Falun Gong practitioners also held a protest against the persecution in front of the Chinese Embassy in Norway.