Germany: Practitioners Rally to Condemn the Persecution During Shandong Governor’s Visit

“What a cold day. Your courage is truly admirable,” a policeman told practitioners. He had just got out of his warm car, and the piercing wind was already making him shiver.

On November 23rd 2005, the Bavarian governor held a banquet for visiting Shandong Governor Han Yuqun at the Palace in Munich. Outside the Palace, practitioners rallied to condemn the severe persecution of their Chinese fellow practitioners by the Shandong government. In a world of ice and snow, practitioners practised the five sets of Falun Gong exercises. When Han and his delegation arrived, practitioners called aloud: “Falun Gong is good! Stop the persecution of Falun Gong!”

Despite the cold weather, practitioners rallied to condemn persecution

Since the persecution started in July 1999, at least 281 practitioners have been persecuted to death in Shandong province, ranking it 5th among all the provinces of the communist state.

The first death case reported by minghui.ca was Zhao Jinhua of Zhaoyuan city, Shandong province. Zhao, 42, was unlawfully arrested by Zhangxing Township Police station on September 27th 1999. Ten days later, Zhao died at the station. Her death raised a sensation around the world, and the CCP’s (Chinese Communist Party) atrocity was widely condemned by all nations which support justice and kind-hearted people world-wide.

In addition, the first death which was reported in depth by the foreign media was from Shandong as well. Chen Zixiu was a practitioner from Weifang City, Shandong province. After being unlawfully detained for five days, on February 21st 2000, Chen was beaten to death by officials. Ian Johnson, a reporter from the Wall Street Journal, received the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for his series of articles on the crackdown of Falun Gong. The first article was on Chen’s death.

The persecution has lasted more than six years. While the Governor of Shandong has been changed from Wu Guanzheng (promoted to the Central government for his harsh persecution of Falun Gong) to Han Yuqun, the persecution has never stopped.

In this month alone, reports on the persecution of practitioners in Shandong are too many to count. For example, Wang Shuhua of Zhaoyuan, Ma Wenlong and Yu Chuanqi of Yangguo County, Liang Chunyan of Weifang, Li Qingmei, Liu Guifang, Cui Fenglan and Zhou Huajun of Chiping County have been unlawfully arrested, and Yao Guizhen, Bai Jiazhen, Yu Zhenghong and Han Yusheng have been persecuted to death.

During the very first day of Han Yunqun’s visit to Germany, Minghui.ca reported another persecution case in Shandong: In the beginning of November, the 610 Office of Huantai County arrested Chi Yongzhi who is in his sixties and sent him to Zibo City Brainwashing sessions.

The purpose of the practitioners’ rally at the Palace is to tell Shandong officials to immediately stop the persecution. Otherwise, they would be held accountable for all the crimes they have committed. Though Han’s delegation left the Palace from the backdoor after the banquet, they still ran into some practitioners who were waiting there. From several meters away, the practitioners shouted loudly: “Falun Gong is Good! “Stop the persecution of Falun Gong! “Bring Jiang Zemin to Justice!” Many of the officials were shocked by the brave deeds of practitioners.