Falun Gong

This woman was in the High Street today, raising awareness of the persecution of practitioners of Falun Gong in China. She meditated and performed a range of exercises to draw attention to the plight of fellow practitioners and persuade passers-by to sign a petition of protest.

Apparently, Falun Gong is a combination of meditation and exercise, similar to Tai Chi, and a set of spiritual principles based on Truthfulness, Kindness and Tolerance which grew in popularity in China during the 1990s to such an extent that it was eventually seen as a threat by the Communist leadership.

Practitioners have, it appears, been arrested, tortured, murdered and their organs stolen and used for profit.

i had to admire her dedication to the cause, especially as the High Street was even quieter than normal on a Sunday morning with the fine weather. She might have attracted more attention in Clarks Village, where most of the shoppers were, but I suspect her choice of pitch outside this particular bank was deliberate.

I gladly signed the petition. If you want to find out more, an engine search for Falun Gong will lead you to the organisation's website as well as a number of independent articles about the persecution.

Spent the morning at the swimming pool and the afternoon watching what passed for a football match between England and Ireland and tidying the garden prior to our holiday this week.