LONDON—It is a day of contrasts. Slow-moving qigong exercises performed by a yellow-suited troupe bring calm to London’s Trafalgar Square. Then come Chinese waist drummers, beating an energetic, synchronised pulse in the May sunshine, under an arc of colourful balloons in the shadow of the National Portrait Gallery.
Yet this lively celebration of Chinese culture is juxtaposed with what participants say is the most under-reported and brutal human rights tragedy in the world today.
This is World Falun Dafa Day, held every year to commemorate the founding of the Chinese meditation practice whose roots lie in ancient traditions of cultivation of virtue.
“Falun Dafa is a qigong, meditation and exercise,” said organiser Michael Lee, speaking at the event in the capital on Saturday. “Falun Dafa day is officially on May 13th—the birthday of founder master Li Hongzhi—but we’re celebrating it today, on Saturday, because there are more people here to join the celebration.”
