Germany: Despite Terrible Weather, People Support Practitioners

On April 9th, Falun Gong practitioners in Northern Germany organised an information day in downtown Hamburg to help local people understand the truth of Falun Gong and the persecution in China. It was a cold and windy day and spring just didn’t seem to be around the corner. Starting at 11 a.m., the practitioners arranged the displays and the information stall. Practitioners had painted and framed some pictures that were on display, depicting real torture scenes. The table was covered with information in different languages, including Chinese and German versions of the main book of Falun Dafa practice, Zhuan Falun.

The first visitor to our stall asked, “Are you sure that people are tortured as cruelly as that? How long will it take for that regime to fall? Please continue to do what you are doing, it is very important, and please believe that this regime will soon come to an end.”

A young man was immediately captivated by one of the large pictures on display. He stopped and asked a practitioner, “What is going on here?” Once he heard that under the Chinese Communist Party leadership, people living in China are tortured for their beliefs, he said, “I thought that only in North Korea people have to suffer torture because of their belief! This is also happening in China? Why does the media not report this?” We told him how many of the Western media, enterprises and politicians remain silent about the persecution because of economic interest. He reacted immediately and said, “Some things are more important than economics.”

After viewing the pictures, many passersby stopped at our stall and asked how they could help.

When practitioners demonstrated the second Falun Gong exercise, two young boys passed by and laughed. Out of curiosity, one of them grabbed one of the practitioners’ arms. Another practitioner, who was distributing leaflets, walked smilingly towards the two boys and asked them quietly, but firmly, “Are you interested in Falun Gong?” She took them quietly by the shoulder and moved them a few steps away from the exercise demonstration. They asked, “What is that? What is she doing?” This gave the practitioner the opportunity to talk about Falun Gong and the exercises. One of the boys, breathlessly, asked while pointing at the large pictures, ‘What is that?” This gave the practitioner the chance to tell them about the persecution. At the end, the boys asked for a Video-CD, so that they could find out more.

Two trendy young girls with happy faces passed by. They pointed at the pictures and made fun of the exercise demonstration. One of the practitioners said hello to them, which brought them to a halt. “Did you know that people in China can be immediately arrested if they do these exercises on the street?” The girls looked at the practitioner who had talked to them. “It does not matter if one is a male or female, old or young like you. A gorgeous woman, with the name of Gao Rongrong, had her face mutilated through electric shocks because she did not want to renounce her belief.” The girls listened carefully and became serious. They could barely restrain their regret as they signed the petition.

There was occasional heavy rain. After the practitioners sent righteous thoughts, the rain stopped. Many people accepted leaflets and asked how they can help those suffering in China. In the late afternoon, the sun came out and the sky remained bright.

Originally published in German at http://www.clearharmony.de/articles/200504/23393.html