Germany: German and French Practitioners Urge the German President to Tell Hu Jintao: Falun Gong is Good

On November 10th 2005, Hu Jintao arrived in Berlin and began a four day visit. Around 3:30 pm, German President Horst Koehler met Hu and his delegation at Schloss Charlottenburg. Before the meeting, President Koehler got off his vehicle and talked with groups holding appeals outside the building. Taking this opportunity, a German practitioner asked the President to tell Hu: Falun Gong is Good! Mr. Koehler did not approach Hu’s welcoming group organised by the Chinese Embassy.

Hu Jintao arrived in Berlin, practitioners call for end to the persecution

The Schloss Charlottenburg was heavily guarded because of Hu’s visit. There were three groups in front with practitioners from all over the world at one side, The Chinese international students group at the other side and Amnesty International in the middle. The Chinese students group was organised by the Chinese Embassy to welcome Hu. The police used several vehicles to separate the welcome group from the other two.

Around 3pm, the German president Horst Koehler arrived first and his vehicle stopped in front of the groups. The president first talked with members of Amnesty International about Human Rights Issues in China. He then came to our practitioners’ group, greeted the practitioners and asked them what their wish was.

Practitioner Christina asked the president to tell Hu: Falun Gong is Good.

Practitioner Christina, a resident of Hanover, took one day off to participate in the appeal in Berlin. She got the opportunity to talk with Mr. Koehler. When the president asked her about her wish, she said: “Please tell Hu Jintao Falun Gong Hao!" [Falun Gong is Good] She then told Koehler the meaning of this Chinese sentence. The President then repeated this sentence to learn the Chinese pronunciation and promised that he would support human rights. Christina then asked him to help end the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.

Berlin practitioner Zhihong Zheng told Mr. Koehler, "Stop the persecution of Falun Gong.” The president was touched by her words. He extended his hand toward her and shook hands with her. Ms. Zheng then added, “I think that president Hu Jintao doesn’t want to persecute Falun Gong and the chief perpetrator of the persecution is former Chinese president Jiang Zemin who spearheaded the persecution and is responsible for so many tragedies. We hope that Hu can stop the persecution.”

After talking with practitioners, he waved a hand toward them to say good-bye without talking with the nearby group organised by the Chinese Embassy.