Interview: The Power of Clarifying the Truth

At the very beginning of May, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Germany provided German Dafa practitioners with a very good opportunity to tell people the facts of Falun Gong. Practitioners' efforts to let people know the truth made a lot of difference and led to apparent changes in certain matters. For example, the follwing two cases have come to desirable conclusions. Two years ago during Jiang Zemin's visit to Germany, Jiang's evil regime instilled deceitful lies about Falun Gong into the minds of the German police. The police were pressured to take a series of harsh measures against Falun Gong practitioners in violation of German basic law. To stop the evil, clarify the truth and maintain Dafa's dignity, German practitioners filed lawsuits against the German police in several German states simultaneously. One year later, prior to Wen's visit to Germany, the practitioners again told the facts to the German Federal Police and the staff of the principle police station in Brandenburg State. The police acknowledged their mistake and were reconciled with the practitioners in the presence of a judge, an agreement being reached and the lawsuit coming to a desirable conclusion.

One year ago, Munich police station was pressured by the Chinese consulate to ban Falun Gong practitioners from displaying banners reading, "Bringing Jiang to Justice." The practitioners took legal action to deal with the problem without success. Therefore, everyone came to realise that the key to solving the problem lay in telling the people the facts, and that the process of telling the facts is also that of cultivating themselves better. Prior to Wen's visit to Munich, the local practitioners once again applied for permission to display a banner reading,"Bring Jiang to Justice," but their application failed. The practitioners kept clarifying the truth to the government agencies concerned, and finally were granted permission. A Clearharmony reporter interviewed two of the practitioners directly involved in the above-mentioned events.

The lawsuit came to a desirable conclusion

Ms Guo is one of the plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit against the general police station in Brandenburg. Two years ago she displayed a banner that read, "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" on a street in Potsdam where Jiang's motorcade was supposed to pass by, but she was impeded by the police and her banner was confiscated as well as the book Zhuan Falun in her bag. She was ordered not to appear in that place until 6pm. As a result, she filed a lawsuit against the police station. Later on, she went to the police station to tell the facts to the police who did not know the truth. After listening to her, the police said that previously they had had no concept of the real situation and that if both sides had had mutual communication beforehand, it would have been another story.

Before Wen's visit to Germany, Ms Guo had some talks with the representative of the police station. When she and her fellow practitioners knew that the police had no idea why she filed a lawsuit against them, they immediately clarified the truth to the police. To file a lawsuit against the police is neither for personal reasons nor out of any hatred, but just in the hope that something like this will never happen again so that the international image of Germany will not be tarnished; we are unwilling to see that Jiang takes this as an excuse to infringe the law of any other democratic country and to escalate the persecution of Falun Gong in China. The power of explaining the facts cleared away their mutual misunderstanding.

When I asked Ms Guo about her attitude toward the desirable outcome of the lawsuit, she said, "I am very pleased that both sides reached such an amicable agreement. I empathised with the police. It is our duty to tell them the facts. We are also very willing to cooperate with the police. The present outcome is attributed to everybody clarifying the truth." Then I asked her the interaction between practitioners and the police during Wen's visit to Berlin. "The whole situation was quite good. The police showed great sympathy for the Chinese Falun Gong practitioners under persecution and empathised with practitioners' peaceful behavior. This time China imposed pressure on the German police again, making accusations that the German translation on the banner 'Bring Jiang to Justice' was wrong, and that practitioners' hand gestures in meditation were insulting. Then the head of the police brought their translator to inquire into the translation of the practitioners, and the practitioners answered their questions in detail. The police were convinced and the practitioners were allowed to continue their activities as usual. This time the Chinese officials did not successfully intervene with the practitioners. The large banner reading, 'Bring Jiang to Justice' was displayed high up on the street, attracting numerous passers-by to understand the truth”.

Practitioners were allowed to display the banner

On April the 25th, practitioners in Munich held activities outside the Chinese consulate. When practitioners displayed a banner reading "Bring Jiang to Justice",the Chinese consulate kept pressuring the German police. Therefore one of the policemen told the practitioners, "You have two choices. You can unfold your banner, or I will report this matter to my superior." After a brief discussion, the practitioners came to an agreement that they should continue to display the banner. The next day, the superior of that policeman called the practitioners, saying that he had already received a letter from the practitioners and was now aware of Jiang's crimes. This time the superior took an apparently different attitude toward Falun Gong and even advised that policeman, "This is a trivial matter; there is no need to present it to the superior." He also said that the letter from practitioners was quite interesting and he would like to present it to his superiors and colleagues.

When practitioners applied for permission to hold activites during Wen Jiabao's visit to Munich, there was another government agency not allowing practitioners to display the 'Bring Jiang to Justice' banner. Ms Huang, a Falun Gong pracitioner, talked to the female staff member in charge of the matter, but she was still unwilling to change her mind for the very reason that one year ago the court had never made such a decision. There was just one day left, and it was seemingly out of the question to get permission within just one day. But within a few hours some changes were made and the practitioners got permission from the superior of this agency.

Ms Huang told me the whole story. She said that she felt sorrowful when she was denied the permission to display the banner. Later she had some communication with other fellow practitioners; everyone thought that they did not do a good job in clarifying the truth. That would bring negative influences in their lives. We have to consider the future of their lives," said one practitioner who reminded her of their serious loss. Ms Huang felt obliged to have some talks with the superior of that agency to stop him from making any mistake. The next day she and another practitioner went to see them.

Though she felt frustrated and hopeless when arriving at the agency, Ms Huang told me she was still sincerely thinking about the future of their lives and was determined to tell them the facts. First they met two of the superiors, telling them how Jiang Zemin committed crimes in violation of the international law and China's law, and how Jiang used economic interest to bribe other governments, and also how Jiang directed the persecution against Falun Gong. One of the two superiors said, "How come I had no idea of these things? What can I do for you?" When the practitioners asked them for permission to display the banner, he said that the matter needed further consideration. Later the practitioners went to meet other superios to tell them the facts.

When they left the agency, they had no idea of the final outcome. Moments later, the female staff member in charge of the matter called Ms Huang, telling her that the practitioners were allowed to display the banner. Ms Huang told me, "The outcome depends on whether we make efforts to do it or not. When we abandon all our attachments, we give no thought to whether to display the banner or not or to how to arrange our activities, but only hope that people concerned will not make any wrong decision about this matter. In this way, differences are made.Clarifying the truth is just like a powerful key to any problem."

On the evening of May the 2nd, when practitioners were holding activities opposite the hotel where Wen Jiabao stayed, all of a sudden it rained heavily and hailstones fell from the sky. Not afraid of the wind and rain, practitioners still held high the banner reading, "Bring Jiang to Justice," offering the passing drivers and pedestrians a chance to learn the truth.