Germany: Practitioners Appeal for the Release of Xiong Wei at the Chinese Consulate in Hamburg

Ms. Xiong Wei lived in Germany for six years. After returning to China, she was arrested in Beijing on the 5th of January 2002 while distributing materials about the persecution of Falun Gong. Xiong Wei was later sent to Qinghe detention centre to be forceably brainwashed and her home, as well as her parents' home, was searched and their property confiscated. December the 8th is Xiong Wei’s birthday and because of this, Falun Gong practitioners in Hamburg went to the Chinese consulate to appeal for her release and to send righteous thoughts.

Voices of Justice Appeal for the Release of Xiong Wei

In Germany, Falun Gong practitioners have been to the Chinese consulate repeatedly to demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises, send forth righteous thoughts and appeal for the unconditional release of Xiong Wei. Practitioners have also made December 2003 "Broadcasting Month to Rescue Xiong Wei". German practitioners wrote, composed and recorded a song named “Release Xiong Wei”, which was sent to many different broadcasting stations in Germany.

On July the 15th 2003, an Israeli MP, Dr. Marina Solodkin wrote a letter to the Chinese Ambassador in Israel, Pan Zhanlin, and strongly requested the ambassador to guarantee Ms. Xiong Wei's safety, as well as to urge him to seek her immediate release. Dr.Solodkin MP said that she was extremely worried about Ms. Xiong's safety and that she was detained only because shs is a practitioner of Falun Gong. She also mentioned that Falun Gong is a peaceful cultivation practise, which has received worldwide acclaim and respect from over sixty countries, including Israel.

December the 8th is Xiong Wei’s birthday. This year, a Berlin broadcasting station played the song written especially for Xiong Wei on the radio. The Chief Editor of the station thought that it was a respectful and bold deed, and hoped that pracitioners' efforts to rescue Xiong Wei would be successful. Some of the stations commented "Alright, let’s send radio waves to China!"

On March the 31st, a German MP named Mr. H. Groehe wrote a letter to the manager of the labour camp where Ms. Xiong is being detained and said that her situation had been brought to his attention. He also said that he wanted “to express my deeply distressed feelings via this letter to you from over 100,000 Falun Gong practitioners who are imprisoned in jails or labour camps and also there have also been several hundred confirmed deaths. Ms. Xiong Wei has peacefully exercised her rights to freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Therefore I earnestly request that you urge the authorities to release her immediately and and guarentee her safe return.”

Media Attention

The German media has paid attention to the persecution of Falun Gong by the Jiang regime in China, and especially to the case of Xiong Wei. On August the 19th, a German newspaper called Rhein-Neckar reported that Xiong Wei was sent to a labour camp in Beijing, solely because she distributed materials about the persecution of Falun Gong. Her husband in Mainland China has also been monitored. Xiong Wei once studied at the University of Berlin and made many friends in Heidelberg. As a result many people have made efforts to rescue her. Last January, three Heidelberg residents went to Tiananmen Square in Beijing to appeal to the Chinese government. In both Heidelberg and Mannheim, people have been collecting signatures to rescue Xiong Wei. Michael Hackmayer and Jazeck Wohlers have also written a song for her.

On June 16th, a German newspaper named the Bayerwald Echo reported that Falun Gong practitioners arrived at Marquette square in Chamer city centre to let the Chinese residents there know about the persecution currently happening in their homeland of. It was reported that approximately 700 Falun Gong practitioners in China have been tortured to death, tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been arrested and placed into prison. This persecution is totally unwarranted. During this activity, Falun Gong practitioners collected signatures and appealed to the German government to rescue Falun Gong practitioner Xiong Wei, who is being persecuted in China.

On April the 30th, German media Weinheim News also reported that the German Falun Dafa Association, with the assistance of Germany's International Human Rights Association (IGFM), held an information day on the main street of Weinheim. The information day was based on “Making a joint effort to stop the Jiang regime’s persecution of Falun Gong”. Through this, many people learned about the situation of human rights in China. The day before, Mayor Mr. Rudi Glock had already signed a petition letter from the International Human Rights Association to the German government, which is to appeal to the German government to help in the rescue of former Berlin Industrial University student, Ms. Xiong Wei.

On April the 28th the German newspaper Rhein-Neckar reported on the German International Human Rights Association (IGFM)’s activity to rescue Xiongwei, and pointed out that the appeal is not solely to help Ms. Xiong Wei, but also to let people know about the human rights violations during the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

Voice Together – Stop the Persecution

German practitioners wrote, composed and recorded a song named “Release Xiong Wei” . Having understood the facts, a German radio station broadcast this song on Xiong Wei’s birthday. German people have also learned about Xiong Wei’s story and the persecution. Several months ago during the "rescue Xiongwei telephone week", the song was also sent to mainland China via the telephone.