Germany: Rally Protesting against the CCP's Intensification of the Persecution of Falun Gong Before the Olympics

"Liu Qi, Chairman of the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee, in charge of the 2008 Ignition Ceremony for the Olympic Games, who has been sentenced by a United States Court, is a criminal having committed crimes against humanity and torture. Similarly, Chen Zhili, the First Vice-President of the Beijing Olympic Games Committee, is a violator of human rights who has also been indicted internationally.” A lady with a child in a pushchair stopped and frowned on hearing this piece of news from a loudspeaker.

This was the last Saturday in March, 2008. Falun Gong practitioners from northern Germany held a rally on Gerhard-Hauptmann-Platz to raise awareness about how police in mainland China are persecuting Falun Gong using many torture methods. Several practitioneres reenacted a scene with an operating table and surgeon to expose how the CCP removes organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. Banners worded in both Chinese and German read “Stop the CCP’s massive arrests of Falun Gong practitioners in the Name of Protecting the Olympics” and attracted people’s attention. Many passersby signed the petition one after another to express their support for Falun Gong practitioners and condemn the persecution.

It is reported that, on February 19th, 2008, in the name of "The Central Commission of Politics and Law", the CCP issued a secret document entitled "Advice on the effective safeguarding of social stability, and ensuring the security of Beijing Olympic Games ". The document requires that Falun Gong should be “strictly guarded against and be severely suppressed” within March and September 2008.

As early as in May last year, the CCP issued a secret announcement ordering “a severe crack-down on illegal organisations ... In order to better meet the 2008 Olympic Games to be held smoothly". Those suppressed are an “assembly of more than three people who do not listen to the advice”, “organisers of illegal organisations”, “Falun Gong practitioners” and “arrest them first and procedures to be handled later”. These secret orders are all openly an affront to the Constitution.

With these secret orders, cases of illegal arrests of Falun Gong practitioners in large numbers and numbers of those who have been persecuted to death are increasing. According to incomplete statistics from Clear Wisdom, from the end of last year to March 11th, 2008, there were 1,878 arrests in twenty nine provinces, municipalities and regions. The cases of Falun Gong practitioners who have been persecuted to death are increasing rapidly.

Through the loudspeaker, Falun Gong practitioners were telling German people about this piece of news, calling on the public: "Please tell your neighbours about the persecution of human rights happening in mainland China!"

The following are some responses from people on the day:

Two ladies came and signed the petition after reading leaflets. One of them was the mother of two children, she said, the persecution of human rights happening in China is the same as that done by the German Nazi party and the subsequent East German regime. Although she personally never experienced those horrible days, she still tries to tell her children what their grandfathers had experienced at that time. She hopes that her children can really understand the real history, not just merely read it from text books. Pointing at the banners disclosing what torture methods the CCP is using, she stressed, "People should not forget the past and should open their eyes looking if those inhuman deeds still exist in this world and stop them". The two ladies asked for more materials for their friends and relatives and especially for some small size of leaflets so that her son could take them to his school. The little boy said: “I will tell my school about this!”

When going by the exhibition boards and seeing the reenactment of the CCP removing organs from living people, several Chinese overseas students who have come abroad not long ago felt not only very surprised but also very curious. A Falun Gong practitioner told them how the CCP persecutes Falun Gong practitioners using such a despicable means, after hearing this, a young man from them said with sigh: “This is too cruel!” He did not leave until he carefully finished reading all the posters exposing what torture methods the CCP use to persecute Falun Gong.

On knowing that the reason for Falun Gong people being persecuted is because of their belief in “Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance”, an old German man was very sympathetic and made an appointment with the practitioners hoping to know more about Falun Gong.

As those who actively asked for the leaflets and signed the petition expressing the support for Falun Gong were coming in a steady stream, the event had to extend almost another hour and ended at 7.00 pm.