Germany: Falun Gong Practitioners Hold a Grand Parade in Gelsenkirchen During the World Cup

On July 1st, 2006, the England football team played Portugal in the quarter-final of the World Cup in Gelsenkirchen, and the fascinating game attracted ten of thousands of football fans to this small, unknown city in Germany. In order to express some of the beauty experienced by practitioners of Falun Dafa as well as exposing the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Falun Gong practitioners from the Nordrhein-Westfalen and Frankfurt areas of Germany, together with some practitioners from the Netherlands, held for the first time a grand parade and other activities in this city. The activities started at 9.30 in the morning, and finished at 6 in the evening.

Grand Parade of Falun Gong practitioners	Waist-drummers

Graceful lotus dance	Banners exposing the persecution

Anti torture exhibition shocks the people	Please come and learn the truth about Falun Gong

The activities were divided into two parts: an information desk and the parade. The information desk was set up in the square in front of the Music Theatre in the city centre. This place was also the gathering place for practitioners as well as the place where the parade started and finished. The parade started at 12 noon and finished at 3pm. At about 11am, three local media companies came to the Falun Gong information desk and interviewed the practitioners who organised the activities. They listened to explanations about Falun Gong carefully, and then took many photos before leaving at 12 noon.

The information desk at the Music Theatre square attracted the attention of many tourists and football fans, many people signed the petition to condemn the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the CCP upon learning the truth. A kind hearted German couple decided to join the activities and said that they would do anything to help Falun Gong practitioners. They stayed in front of the information desk together with several practitioners for three hours while others were taking part in the parade.

Signing the petition to condemn CCP persecution of the Falun Gong	Demonstration of the Falun Gong exercises

The parade was led by a team of drummers. The sound of “Falun Dafa is good” reverberated far through the air together with the sound of the drums. More than ten female practitioners, who were wearing colourful costumes danced gracefully to a specially composed piece of music. They were followed by people holding large banners exposing the persecution of Falun Gong, and practitioners in white clothes who were holding the photos of those practitioners persecuted to death in China. Moving slowly with the parade was a truck bearing an anti-torture exhibition, several practitioners demonstrated some of the torture methods used by the CCP on practitioners and also performed mock operations to tell people about the live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners by the CCP. Banners showing the sentences “Stop CCP’s torture and live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners!”, “CCP, stop persecuting Falun Gong!” were hung at the side of the truck.

In a day which seems to belong to the football fans, the parade attracted the attention of all the people. Cheering could be heard from the windows of the houses, from the café and restaurants, and coming from inside of the cars. There were so many people who applauded the parade and asked for leaflets, such that the practitioners who were giving out leaflets could not deal with the demand, prompting two female practitioners who were supposed to be dancing to help them giving out leaflets.

After the parade finished at about 3pm, practitioners worked together as a group and played their own part perfectly, some were demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises, while others went to the crowd to continue their efforts in telling people about Falun Gong. The compassionate heart of the practitioners made these events a true success.