A Chance Meeting with the German Foreign Affairs Minister

On March 5, 2003, in front of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we held an activity to collect signatures and appeal to the German public for help in rescuing the Falun Gong practitioners persecuted in China.

Large banners, with words like “We Need Your Supports to Rescue Our Friends and Family”, “The World Needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance”, and “Falun Dafa”, all caught the eye. Many staff in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and passers-by stopped to take a look.

The consultant for human rights at the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs interviewed us for about an hour. He asked us in detail how the Canadian government rescued Falun Gong practitioners persecuted in China. We told him that, as far as we know, the Canadian Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister had presented a list of persecuted friends and family of Canadian practitioners to Chinese leaders when they met, and requested China to release them unconditionally.

When we returned in the afternoon, the police told us that the Minister of Foreign Affairs had been standing nearby for a long time. During this time, nine practitioners were collecting signatures and practising the five sets of exercises.

Around five o’clock in the evening, the Minister of Foreign Affairs came towards us. I greeted him and introduced myself as a Falun Gong practitioner and also as a member of the committee that organise the rescue of Falun Gong practitioners persecuted in China. He shook hands with me warmly after hearing this. I thanked him for his support and appeals for Falun Gong over the past few years. He said, “I am glad to be of help to you and will continue appealing for Falun Gong.”

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/3/6/45901.html