France: Concert Held in Paris During the Mid-Autumn Festival to Rescue the Orphaned Children of Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners

An old Chinese saying goes, “On festive occasions more than ever one thinks of one's dear ones far away.” Falun Gong practitioners in Paris held a benefit performance and signature-gathering activities in the renowned Human Rights Square in Paris to get support for rescuing orphans of Falun Gong practitioners who were persecuted to death in China, and aiming to express overseas Falun Gong practitioners’ greetings and best wishes to the practitioners in Mainland China. By doing so, they hoped to holistically put an end to this brutal persecution.

On September 18th, 2005, under the clear autumn sky, the air was crisp and the sun was shining. Falun Gong practitioners took advantage of this opportunity to disseminate the magnificence of Falun Gong to the public with artistic performances, and to expose the inhumane persecution against good people who believe in “Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance” that has now lasted for six years. Not only has this persecution lead to the death of nearly three thousand practitioners, but it also caused many children to become homeless, drop out of school and even become orphans.

Practitioners erected banners reading “Falun Gong” and “Rescue the Orphans of Falun Gong Practitioners in China” to urge the public to rescue the orphans who lost their fathers, mothers or even both their parents due to the Chinese Communist regime’s atrocities. Three tables were also arranged by practitioners. One was for displaying Falun Gong leaflets and petition forms; one was for practitioners to write the Chinese characters “Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance” and “Falun Gong is Good,” etc. with brush pens for members of the public. Another table was for practitioners to fold paper Lotus Flowers. Some young practitioners produced beautiful Lotus Flowers and gave them to those who came over to sign the petition.

As tourists from all over the world came to the plaza in droves, our activities drew much attention amidst the hustle and bustle. Flute recitals, a "Fairy Dance" and singing performances, as well as demonstrations of the Falun Gong exercises were watched by many tourists. Many stopped stopped to appreciate our performances. Upon learning that the objective of the benefit performance was to rescue the innocent orphans of Falun Gong practitioners persecuted to death in China, many of them asked for more information and signed the petition to support Falun Gong. Many children also signed their names on the petition in a sincere manner after hearing explanations from their parents.

On several sheets of white fabric, labelled with the words “Rescue the orphans of Falun Gong practitioners in China,” many tourists wrote down their condemnation of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners as well as their concerns and sympathy for the orphans of Falun Gong practitioners. In the meantime, many tourists, including children, folded paper Lotus Flowers together with Falun Gong practitioners to express their wishes that Falun Gong practitioners regain their freedom of belief.

A Chinese man who works overseas said, “We couldn’t see anything in China. This is the first time that I understood Falun Gong.” Later on, he talked to Falun Gong practitioners for over an hour. An overseas Chinese person who has lived in France for over twenty years even watched our performances for hours. Moreover, after knowing that our campaign was for the rescue of Falun Gong orphans, one French person suggested that we explain the facts of Falun Gong to more French organisations for children so as to get more support. A French boy asked, “I am a Buddhist, and I heard that Falun Gong is very good. Can I be a practitioner as well?” A lady started to learn the exercises on the spot upon seeing our demonstration.

Practitioner demonstrating the exercises	Magnificent demonstration of Falun Gong exercises
Splendid performance of the Fan Dance	Wonderful performance of the Fairy Dance
Tourists signing the petition	Writing down something to express sympathy for the Falun Gong orphans

Last but not least, an original song written by practitioners entitled “Coming for you” was sung earnestly with heartfelt feeling to convey the hopes of Falun Gong practitioners: In order to help people understand the facts of the persecution against Falun Gong and realise that Falun Gong is good, we are willing to come for you from afar time and again.

We can truly sense people’s compassion and their support for justice. We believe that with Falun Gong practitioners’ perseverance, more and more people in the whole world will come to know the facts. As the momentum of justice gets stronger and stronger, the CCP’s lies and persecution of the innocent will eventually be exposed thoroughly to the whole world.