Germany: "We Have Decided Not to Accept this Kind of Magazine Anymore"

The college I study at is a translation school. Since many foreign students come to study Chinese here, this college maintains a close relationship with China and the cultural exchange between the two is quite frequent.

Several days ago, when studying in the college library, I spotted a Chinese magazine named “CHISA - Chinese Scholars Abroad” on a shelf in the reading room. When I picked up the magazine and opened it aimlessly, I happened to see an article talking about the so-called “self-immolation” incident in early 2001. The article was full of squalid slander and defamation of Dafa, along with so-called criticisms on the “self-immolation” incident written by Chinese students studying in various countries. It struck me that I should talk to the Librarian about the facts so as not to allow this vicious magazine to be displayed publicly. After all, as long as this magazine is displayed on the shelf, it may poison people with its lies.

After thinking it over briefly, I took the magazine to an elderly female librarian on duty. After greeting her, I said, “I would like to talk to you.” I opened the magazine at the article and told her, “This is a falsified report fabricated by China’s dictator. This report involves a peaceful cultivation practice in China, and it is a slanderous lie about this cultivation practice.”

She listened to me earnestly. I continued, "This cultivation practice is called Falun Gong, which is a traditional Chinese cultivation practice and was once practiced by some 100 million people in China, based on traditional Chinese beliefs in ‘Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.’ But, as you are aware, the dictator Jiang does not allow the existence of other beliefs in China.” This lady nodded and said, “Communism has destroyed everything.” I continued, “China’s former head of state, who is a dictator, thus banned this cultivation practice. As I just mentioned, there were about 100 million people practicing Falun Gong. On average, every family had someone practicing Falun Gong. Therefore, in the beginning, the majority of Chinese people were against the crackdown on Falun Gong. Afterward, this dictator started to fabricate lies to deceive the Chinese people, such as suicides and self-immolation of Falun Gong practitioners, etc.” The lady said, “If people believe the lies, he would have the excuse to oppress Falun Gong.” I replied, “Yes, this article is part of the propaganda that spreads the lies.”

I continued, “If the students here read this report, they may be hostile to Falun Gong.” After my explanation, the lady said that she needed to consult with a teacher who teaches Chinese, and then asked me for a copy of a brief introduction to Falun Gong which is suitable for her to read. I said, “The Chinese teacher you mentioned may not be aware of the truth, since he might have been deceived by the lies as well.” I did not have any Falun Dafa information materials with me, so I could only say good-bye to the librarian for the time being. When I was about to leave, I suggested that the magazine be removed from the shelf.

After getting out of the library, I suddenly recalled that there were some information materials at my house. Since my place is quite close to the college, I rushed back home to get a copy of the German-language truth-clarification flyers and a brochure in Chinese. Upon my returning to the library, the lady told me that she had just discussed the matter with one of her colleagues, and that they could not make any decision by themselves, but they would report it to the Chief Librarian. She was delighted that I came back to give her the materials explaining the true situation. I also handed her the materials in Chinese and said, “When consulting that Chinese teacher, you can give him these materials. The facts about the self-immolation are included in them. If it is not feasible, you may place these two copies of the materials inside that magazine.” She accepted them with a smile, and placed two copies of the materials into the magazine.
Two days later, I went to the library again and happened to see the librarian. She said that she would like to talk to me. She had read the materials that I gave here and said to me sincerely, “You are right. I have talked to the chief librarian, and we have decided not to accept this kind of magazine any more.” She smiled and said, “Now you can rest assured”. Pointing to a pile of several dozen issues of the Chinese magazine that were sitting on a table, she said, “We’ll burn all these magazines or mail them back to China.”

Before I left, she said goodbye to me and said, “We have got things done, haven’t we?” I smiled and said, “Yes!”