Interview with German Fashion Designer, Gao Meirong

Gao Meirong, from Taiwan, came to study in Germany in 1995. In 2001, she obtained the Fa in Belgium, during a stay there with her German husband. Her husband also began to cultivate Falun Dafa in 2002. Today was the third time that they had participated in activities at the Chinese Consulate in Munich to commemorate the “4.25” Peaceful Appeal .

Gao Meirong (first from right) putting the finishing touches to a Choir member's hairstyle

Meirong’s husband was once dispatched by a German company to work in China for two years. He said that he felt that the atmosphere there was unpleasant and suffocating, without freedom of the press, and the news reported by China’s media was very different from the outside world. The peaceful appeal to the central government on April the 25th, 1999, by more than ten thousand people, was unprecedented in China. He deeply admired their courage. China’s persecution of Falun Gong is still going on, and even getting worse. As a result, he comes to peacefully appeal at the Chinese Consulate every year on this day . He has benefited a lot from Falun Gong; his health has been improved significantly and though faced with high pressure at work, he always keeps a peaceful mind and a cool head. When conflicts arose between him and his colleagues or friends, he often acted as a practitioner and looked inwards; therefore, many problems were solved easily. He just wondered why such a wonderful cultivation practice should be suppressed in China like this.

Meirong and her husband also took part in the “Coming for You” Choir’s formal performances in Europe. Her husband is good at playing the piano, but never sang songs. At the beginning, he simply participated in the Choir’s rehearsal on a trial basis. However, it exceeded his expectation that he could learn it so quickly and turned out to participate in the formal performances. He said confidently: “I will continue to sing.” Meirong not only participated in the performances, but also designed beautiful, elegant and fashionable costumes for the Choir. She used to be a professional fashion designer in Taiwan. Her talents extend from designing clothes to drawing, tailoring and hair designing. To better understand her, I interviewed her over the telephone as follows:-.

Q: Meirong, how did you obtain Dafa?

A: At first I read some reports about the persecution of Falun Gong in China carried by a Taiwanese newspaper. While looking at the photos of the brutal torture and reading about the reports on brainwashing, forced labour camps etc, I could hardly believe such kind of things could possibly happen. How could a government ever act without conscience and rationality like that? Even if they had gone wrong, they still should not have been persecuted to death like that! Therefore, I wanted to know what Falun Gong really is. I thus started to read the book, Zhuan Falun, and was deeply fascinated by the it. After finishing reading for the first time, it was even harder for me to understand why such a great Dafa, with high moral standards, could be outlawed in China? What’s wrong with China?

Q: When did you decide to practice Falun Gong?

A: After reading the book, I found all the answers to the questions in my daily life, which used to be the problems that I often contemplated deeply but couldn’t find solutions to. I come to learn many mysteries about the universe. I realised the importance of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Because of this, I found my bad, warped notions and behaviour. In this way, I embarked on the path of my cultivation.

Q: How did you step forward to participate in the activities urging the end of the persecution?

A: I am an introverted person, and don’t like to show off in public. When I participated in the activities at the Chinese Consulate for the first time, my inner heart wasn’t so clear and had some barriers. On that day, it rained all day long. I saw those German practitioners practice the exercises silently in the rain and explain the facts to people. They led a stable life could be enjoying their comfortable family life at home. However, the practitioners in China, which is a place far away from them, they came forward to appeal to the public. I was so moved that my conscience was awakened. I sensed that I should stand up to tell people this persecution must be stopped. Since then on, I have often participated in this kind of activities.

Q: What’s your opinion of the “4.25” peaceful appeal?

A: When I first read the news about the peaceful appeal at Zhongnanhai, I cried. I have been to China several times, and felt that politics interferes much in people’s daily life. I found that people there have a strong sense of unity, but lack openness and freedom. People are bombarded with so much information by the media that they no longer have their own thoughts. Nonetheless, Falun Gong is to arouse people’s conscience. That’s why so many people stepped forward for the “4.25” peaceful appeal with courage and their own thoughts. They simply wanted to tell the government the facts. Therefore, this peaceful appeal is exceptionally righteous.

Q: What do you think of the appeal at the Chinese Consulate today?

A: I felt that all the Chinese officials have never had freedom, even working overseas. They are strictly restrained by their government. The door of the Chinese Consulate is entirely closed, with one video camera that keeps videotaping us. We come here because we want to give them an opportunity to think. Falun Dafa is good, and it teaches us to be a righteous person. They are supposed to be awakened, but it is a pity that their mind is as closed like a door.

Q: Meirong, lastly please talk something about your design for the Choir's costumes.

A: When I heard the song, “Coming for You,” I was moved so much. All Chinese people should hear this song. I also hope to present the beauty of the Dafa Choir to the public. I put together everybody’s ideas, and used my professional knowledge to design the costume. Since the practitioners who joined the Choir are from various groups, their cultures and customs are quite different. However, I found the answer very quickly. I got the inspiration right after I studied the Fa that evening: simplicity, elegance and with seven colours representing the colours of Dafa. In this way, I completed the design that evening. I was delighted to apply the techniques I learned in the ordinary society to Dafa work.