On the 1st of February, Falun Gong practitioners from the Czech Republic visited the city of Zlin and held an activity in the Square of Peace. Falun Gong music accompanied the sunshine and gentle snow spreading over the square as practitioners demonstrated the exercises. Many people in Zlin were interested in learning to practise Falun Gong.

People passing the posters outlining the persecution against Falun Gong in China and the torture methods used to force practitioners to renounce their beliefs often stopped to read them all. One elderly man read the posters and signed the petition calling for an end to the persecution before approaching practitioners to tell them that about the importance of what they are doing. A lady who read the posters said, “In a totalitarian regime, even people who didn’t do anything bad are being jailed. They were just telling the truth.”

Demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises on the Square of Peace in Zlin

Signing a petition to call for an end to the persecution	Journalists talk to a practitioner

Journalists from three newspapers attended the appeal and interviewed practitioners. Below are two of the reports that they published.

Report from Czech News PRAVO about Falun Gong activities in Zlin

Published in PRAVO on 2nd February 2005

Meditation on the square: For several hours on Tuesday, a group of people were on the Square of Peace in Zlin performing the ancient Chinese meditative exercises of Falun Gong. The posters and boards displayed in front of them informed the public about human rights abuses in China. “Tens of thousands of practitioners were sent to prison where they were tortured just because they would not give up their belief in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance,“ explained one participant in this event.

By Jiri Novacek
Published in Zlinske Listy on 1st February 2005

Zlin – For six hours today, in snow and freezing weather, practitioners of Falun Gong demonstrated the five exercises on the Square of Peace in Zlin. They were raising awareness of the persecution against Falun Gong in China.

“Six years ago, former Chinese President Jiang Zemin banned the Falun Gong practice in China. At that time, he was the leader of China and he instigated the persecution against its practitioners,” said the organiser of this event.

According to him, Falun Gong is an ancient practice for improving mind and body with many practitioners from all walks of life and different ages around the world. “We try to live altruistic and harmonious lives, which is in line with the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.“

He added that in the Czech Republic there are over fifty practitioners. “An Important part of Falun Gong is the set of five exercises which helps to improve health, relieves stress and opens energy channels in the body. These exercises are suitable for everybody, no matter what their ages are. Many people have already found that this practice brings good results with regard to improving health,” he said.

This practice was introduced to China in 1992 by Chinese citizen Li Hongzhi. Nowadays, there are over 100 million people from different parts of the world practising it.

“It is not a religion and there are no rituals in Falun Gong; we have no political ambitions or membership structures in this practice. All activities are done by volunteers and are free.“ He added that the Chinese authorities felt uncomfortable when they found out the popularity of Falun Gong in China had exceeded the popularity of the Chinese Communist Party.

Citizens of Znojmo who were passing by supported these activities by signing the petition calling for an end to this persecution. “During the first two hours about sixty people signed the petition,“ noted the organiser of the protest.