CCP Head Visits Austria, Falun Gong Practitioners Protest the Persecution

Head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Hu Jintao arrived in Vienna the evening of October 30, 2011. During his stay, practitioners in Austria held peaceful protest activities, condemning the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, calling for bringing the chief culprits in the persecution of Falun Gong (Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang) to justice, and urging the CCP to immediately release all illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners.

Practitioners hold a peaceful protest of the CCP's persecution at Karajan Square

From 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on October 30, practitioners held peaceful protest activities at Karajan Square in front of the National Opera near Imperial Hotel, where Hu Jintao was staying. They held banners reading, “Falun Dafa,” “SOS, Stop Killing Falun Gong Practitioners,” “Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang to Justice,” and “Stop Harvesting Organs from Living Falun Gong Practitioners.”

Practitioners demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises, and the peaceful atmosphere attracted many tourists from around the world to stop to watch.

From 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on October 31, practitioners held protest activities at Burgtheater near the Presidential Building where Hu Jintao was visiting. At 7:00 p.m. practitioners held a candlelight vigil in front of the Chinese Embassy in Vienna, mourning fellow practitioners in China who have died as a result of the persecution.

Austrian media reported on the practitioners' peaceful protest and highlighted the ongoing persecution.

The Salzkammergut near Salzburg is widely recognized as one of the most popular tourist areas in Austria. On the morning of November 1, 2011, the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Hu Jintao and his motorcade passed by this area. Along the path from Fuschlsee (a lake) to Wolfgangsee (another lake), there were a banners held up by practitioners from Austria or Germany, protesting the CCP persecution, and calling for the chief persecutors Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Zhou Yongkang and Liu Jing to be brought to justice.

Practitioners peacefully protest at the entrance to the Mirabell Garden in Salzburg.

Hu Jintao's accompanying convoy and banners held by Falun Gong practitioners to protest the persecution and urge that Jiang Zemin be brought to justice.

Practitioners' banners conveyed such messages as: “Falun Dafa is good,” “The world needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,” “Support 100 million people quitting the CCP organizations,” “Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Zhou Yongkang, and Liu Jing to justice,” and “Stop persecuting Falun Gong.” The Austrian National Television and several newspapers in Salzburg interviewed practitioners. People in passing vehicles gave a “thumbs-up” to express their support to the practitioners.

Many on-duty Austrian police officers had read information about Falun Gong, especially the CCP's harvesting of organs from living practitioners, and many of them said that human rights cannot be ignored despite economic interests. Some of the police were rather stiff at first, but after learning about the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, their attitude started to change, and they even urged the practitioners to be quick to unfold their banners when Hu Jintao's motorcade arrived. When Hu's motorcade passed by, some officers in his accompanying convoy waved to practitioners and many took photos of the practitioners' protest.

In the afternoon, Hu Jintao and his entourage went to visit Mozart's residence in Salzburg. Falun Gong practitioners held a peaceful protest at the entrance to the Mirabell Garden opposite Mozart's residence. They protested the persecution and urged China to bring Jiang Zemin and other chief perpetrators to justice. They quietly did the exercises and distributed informational materials about the persecution of Falun Gong to passersby.