Germany: Anti-Torture Exhibition Brings Support from a Local MP

Passau city is located in the east of Bavaria in Germany and is bordered on the east by the Czech Republic. It therefore ranks as one of the seven cities with the best topography in the world. Visitors come to Passau in an endless stream throughout the year. Passua’s geographical position is very unique as it is located at the point where the Donau, Inn and Ilz meet, which also makes a city that is frequently is attacked by floods. As a result, in the houses the ground floor normally is not for living in; inside the house there is usually a very high staircase leading up to the first floor.

As Passau is the sister city of Liuzhou city in Guangxi, China, local citizens are very interested in things happening in China. However, they know little about the persecution against Falun Gong. On the 21st of August 2004, local Falun Dafa practitioners held an anti-torture exhibition in the city centre, which was also supported by practitioners from nearby cities such as Munich, Regensburg and Cham. It rained continuously and got even heavier when we set up the exhibition site, which caused us great difficulty in the exercise demonstration and leaflet distribution. The anti-torture exhibition was hampered by the rain, so we changed our frequency of sending righteous thoughts to once every half an hour and then the rain stopped.

To pedestrians on the streets, the anti-torture exhibition was inevitably the focus of the day. The exhibition directly showed what Falun Gong practitioners have been subjected to in China. Although what we showed was only the tip of the iceberg, it was shocking enough for people who passed by. As soon as the exhibition started, it immediately attracted many people coming endlessly. Some were stunned and could not say a word. A lady even came up to ask whether the girl locked in the cage was really beaten up like that, as the wounds looked so real. People accepted leaflets from practitioners unceasingly. A lot of them. asked how they could help practitioners in China and many signed the petition to bring Jiang to justice.

Before the activity was finished, all the leaflets were distributed. Some people were quite disappointed as they did not have one. When we were packing up all our gear, a senior gentleman gazed at the display board and would not leave. Luckily one of the practitioners had the last leaflet in his bag, he quickly gave it to the gentleman, who accepted and looked at the practitioner with gratitude, saying “thank you” repeatedly.

Because the local newspaper reported positively activity the day before, a city MP who heard the news came to see the anti-torture exhibition. He asked whether Falun Gong was persecuted with such brutally in Liuzhou, and hoped that practitioners could provide him with individual accounts of cases taking place in Liuzhou. He guaranteed that in the next city senate meeting, he would raise the issues about the persecution against Falun Gong in Liuzhou and also the discussion of the relationship between Passau and Liuzhou.