Germany: People in Hamburg Support Falun Gong

It was not 11 o’clock yet, but Spitale Strasse had started to become busy. There are many well-known shops on both sides of the famous street, which runs from Hamburg Train Station through to the city centre. On the first Saturday of October, like all other weekends, street painters, musicians and small bands were preparing for their performances.

Falun Gong practitioners had their information desk ready. On one side of the desk were banners and a re-enactment of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) practice of harvesting organs from live Falun Gong practitioners with an operating table and a doctor in white holding a scalpel. On the other side of the desk was a bright yellow tent. In the tent there was a long table with books, newspapers, magazines, Video-CDs in Chinese and German, and two petitions. One petition called for the architect of the persecution against Falun gong - former CP head Jiang Zemin - to be brought to justice in a court of law, whilst the other called for an end to the illegal organ harvesting. Since March 2006, when it was revealed that Falun Gong practitioners illegally detained in China’s labour camps and prisons were killed for organs, practitioners from Hamburg would display photos and set up re-enactments every time they held information days.

Soon after the material was ready, a middle-aged man stopped at the operating table. He opened his eyes widely and read the banner "Falun Gong practitioners are killed for their organs and their bodies are cremated to destroy evidence" and "Strongly condemn the CCP practice of organ harvesting on Falun Gong practitioners for profit". A practitioner walked up to him and told him that was happening in China’s labour camps. That man said ‘no human being will do this, it is too cruel’.

Two young women accepted leaflets from a practitioner and then they hesitated at the sight of the operating table. The practitioner said "We are here to re-enact the scene so that people can know the cruelty of the persecution more clearly." One women said ‘Oh, I see. The CCP make me sick that they would do such a thing."

Many people came over to sign the petition. Most of them signed one petition and then waited to sign the other. A practitioner called Ann told a man who came to find out more, "Falun Gong is a traditional way of cultivation from China. Besides the five sets of slow exercises, practitioners should also require themselves to be a good person following the principles of ‘Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance." A girl waiting for her friend to sign the petition asked why the CCP persecutes Falun Gong. Ann replied, "The CCP suppresses all religious beliefs, as it is atheist itself and wants to control people’s minds. So no matter whether you are Christian, Buddhist or Falun Gong, the CCP would suppress you."

When it was not very busy, this reporter asked Ann, "Are there many people coming to ask for materials?" Ann said, "Yes, some of them asked for materials for others. One man goes to China almost six months every year because of his job. He took one copy of all the materials and said he would read them before he went to China next time so that he could tell the truth to Chinese people. There is another lady who came directly to sign the petition and did not take any material. She said she had known the truth about Falun Gong a long time ago and wanted to support us. So you see, people are learning the truth better."

A boy of about eight stayed a long time in front of the information desk and wanted to ask some questions but he was too shy and ran away. After a while, he came back with his dad. His dad pointed at the banners and said something to him and then they walked to the desk and signed the petition.

When the night started to fall, practitioners started to pack up, but people kept on coming to sign the petition right up until the practitioners left.