18 April 2006
Followers of the ancient Chinese practice of Falun Gong have
gathered in Bath to stage a protest.
Campaigners collected signatures in Bath city centre on
Saturday to raise awareness about the illegal trade of organ harvesting in
China.
The campaigners claim that followers of the Falun Gong
spiritual movement in China are being persecuted and used to meet an
international demand for donor organs.
Protesters handed out leaflets outside Bath Abbey and
collected signatures for a petition which will be sent to Prime Minister Tony
Blair urging the British Government to raise the issue with the United Nations.
Simon Miller, the event organiser, said: "We had huge
numbers of people take our newspaper and leaflets and sign the petition.
"It was very successful and a lot of people seemed to be
genuinely shocked."
The practice of Falun Gong is similar to the Eastern art of
Tai Chi but is banned in China as the government believes it poses a threat to
social and political stability.
Human rights group Amnesty International has claimed that
thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained in security crackdowns
in the country and could be at serious risk of torture or ill-treatment.
"We wanted to raise awareness of the persecution with
particular reference to the terrible abuse and about the human organ harvesting
that has been going on," said Mr Miller.
Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200604/32733.html
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