(Minghui.org) Practitioners held a petition drive in Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city, on December 30, 2023, to introduce Falun Dafa and generate public awareness of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 24-year-long brutal persecution.
At their booth on Main Street, the practitioners set up display boards detailing the history and the brutality of the persecution endured by practitioners in China. They collected signatures on two petitions: The first requests the Bulgarian government help bar Bulgarian citizens and institutions from abetting the CCP in its forced organ harvesting from Chinese practitioners, and the second condemning the CCP’s history of human rights violations since its founding. They also demonstrated the five exercises.
Practitioners demonstrate the exercises during their event in Plovdiv on December 30, 2023.
Bulgarians of all ages stopped by the practitioners’ booth to place their signatures on the petitions and expressed their sympathy for the plight of the practitioners who live under such an oppressive regime.
Bulgarians Condemn the CCP’s Crimes
Many people who stopped at the practitioners’ booth told practitioners that they already had a good understanding of the CCP’s lack of respect for basic human rights. Temenushka viewed the display boards for a long time and signed both petitions.
Temenushka (right) signs the petitions in support of the practitioners.
She said she knew about the CCP’s deception and greed, and how the Chinese people are kept divided and misled. She also said she was sad that practitioners are abused for upholding their faith.
“When evil happens away from people, they don’t accept it the same way as when they experience it,” she said. She hoped that more people could stand in solidarity with practitioners in China.
A young couple passed by the booth, and the man told practitioners he studied communist regimes in Asia. He knew of the CCP’s systematic abuse of people and its persecution of social minorities, and sympathized with Falun Dafa practitioners in China.
He said that the regime “sustains itself by an insidious corruption scheme of manipulation, murder, threats, and vice.” The couple signed both petitions.
Families Take a Stand to Support Falun Dafa
Since the event was held the day before New Year’s Eve, many children and their parents were out and about. When they learned the details of the persecution, they expressed their support for practitioners.
A family with three children was intrigued by the practitioners’ informational displays. The parents signed both petitions after learning about the persecution in China. Both of their sons also signed the petition condemning the CCP’s human rights abuses.
The mother wished the practitioners success and said that she would sign any kind of petition “against the evil and injustice in the world that have corrupted and clouded almost everything and everyone.”
A woman signs the petitions in support of Falun Dafa practitioners.
Irena, a nurse, visited the booth with her young son. They read the display boards and the flyers practitioners distributed. After her son finished reading, he said, “Mom, you should definitely sign the petition!” His mother signed both petitions.
Irena’s son reads a flyer.
A Spot of Calm in a Bustling City
In addition to learning about the persecution of Falun Dafa, many Bulgarians also took the opportunity to learn about the practice itself. Many stopped to admire the gentle exercises and peaceful music, and some asked where they could learn to do them.
A young woman was captivated by the sight of the practitioners doing the exercises and filmed a long video. She said she would research the practice more once she got home.
A passerby takes video footage of the event.
A man signed the practitioners’ petition after hearing about the persecution of Falun Dafa in China. He was shocked by the fact that people who follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are brutally tortured by the CCP. To get a better idea of how these practitioners have the strength to persist in their faith, he purchased the book Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa.
After signing the petition, a man bought Zhuan Falun to learn more of the spiritual practice.
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