Issued by Clearwisdom Net

News and Activities from Around the World

On April 9, 2005, Falun Gong practitioners in Northern Germany organized an information day in downtown Hamburg to help local people understand the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution in China. It was a cold and windy day and spring just didn't seem to be around the corner. Starting at 11 a.m., the practitioners arranged the displays and the information stall. Practitioners had painted and framed some pictures and placed them on display, depicting some of the tortures suffered by practitioners in China at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. The table was covered with information in different languages, including Chinese and German versions of the main book of Falun Dafa, Zhuan Falun.

The first visitor to our stall asked, "Are you sure that people are tortured as cruelly as that? How long will it take for that regime to fall? Please continue to do what you are doing, it is very important, and please believe that this regime will soon come to an end."

A young man was immediately captivated by one of the large pictures on display. He stopped and asked a practitioner, "What is going on here?" Once he heard that under the Chinese Communist Party leadership, people living in China are tortured for their beliefs, he said, "I thought that only in North Korea people have to suffer torture because of their belief! This is also happening in China? Why don't the media report this?" We told him how many of the Western media, enterprises and politicians remain silent about the persecution because of economic interests. He reacted immediately and said, "Some things are more important than economics."

After viewing the pictures, many passersby stopped at our stall and asked how they could help

When practitioners demonstrated the second Falun Gong exercise, two young boys passed by and laughed. Out of curiosity, one of them grabbed one of the practitioners' arms. Another practitioner, who was distributing leaflets, walked smilingly towards the two boys and asked them quietly, but firmly, "Are you interested in Falun Gong?" She took them quietly by the shoulder and moved them a few steps away from the exercise demonstration. They asked, "What is that? What is she doing?" This gave the practitioner the opportunity to talk about Falun Gong and the exercises. One of the boys, breathlessly, asked while pointing at the large pictures, 'What is that?" This gave the practitioner the chance to tell them about the persecution. At the end, the boys asked for a Video-CD, so that they could find out more.

Two trendy young girls with happy faces passed by. They pointed at the pictures and made fun of the exercise demonstration. One of the practitioners said hello to them, which brought them to a halt. "Did you know that people in China can be immediately arrested if they do these exercises on the street?" The girls looked at the practitioner who had talked to them. "It does not matter if one is male or female, old or young like you. A beautiful woman, with the name of Gao Rongrong, had her face mutilated through electric shocks because she did not want to renounce her belief." The girls listened carefully and became serious. They could barely restrain their regret as they signed the petition in support of Falun Gong.

There was occasional heavy rain during the event. After the practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts, the rain stopped. Many people accepted leaflets and asked how they could help those suffering in China. In the late afternoon, the sun came out and the sky remained bright.

Over the last month, Bulgarian practitioners visited several Bulgarian cities to tell people about the peaceful nature of Falun Dafa and the brutal persecution that practitioners in China are suffering under the current regime in China. The practitioners visited the Golden Sands, one of the most renowned sea resorts in Bulgaria on the Black Sea, and raised awareness about the persecution to tourists from Romania, Turkey, Russia and Germany. They also visited the cities of Varna, Levski, Pleven, Lovetch, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Dobritch and Gabrovo.

Practitioners were warmly accepted by the public and met with great interest wherever they went. They distributed flyers with detailed information about the persecution in China, the confirmed number of deaths from torture and the lawsuits filed against Jiang Zemin and his communist regime in more than 20 countries around the world.

Practitioners demonstrated the exercises and talked to passers-by about what Falun Dafa is. People were interested in the many benefits that come from practicing the exercises and they asked many questions. For many, this was the first time they'd heard of Falun Dafa.

In Varna, practitioners met people who had practiced the exercises and read the books of Falun Dafa for quite a while. These practitioners helped with putting up posters and giving out flyers. They were inspired when they found out that there are more people in Bulgaria who practice Falun Gong.

People signed a petition calling for an end to the persecution....
....and came to learn the Falun Gong exercises.

In the town of Levski, some young people learned the sitting meditation. They decided to read the introductory book, Falun Gong and the main text of Falun Dafa practice, Zhuan Falun, which can be downloaded free or bought from bookstores. Many people signed the petition in support of the persecuted practitioners in China. Around 400 signatures were collected from Bulgarian and foreign citizens.

Many of those who signed the petition said that they are against this brutal persecution and that everyone has the right to choose what to do and think. People could not accept the Chinese Communist Party's attempts at mind-control, brainwashing and propaganda that they use to persecute Falun Gong practitioners.

The rainy and windy weather in Pleven and Varna did not stop practitioners from handing out hundreds of flyers. They walked around the streets and talked to local people about the persecution. In the Pleven town center, practitioners demonstrated the first four exercises and attracted the attention of the people passing by. These people signed the petition and were interested to find out about the books of Falun Dafa. Practitioners informed them that the main text of the practice, Zhuan Falun would be published in Bulgarian on May 13th, World Falun Dafa Day.

In the town of Lovetch two kids joined the practitioners to learn the exercises and sign the petition. One elderly person didn't believe the facts of the persecution and stated that it was impossible. The practitioners kindly explained that according to international human rights organizations, China is the country with the most severe human rights violations and that in addition to Falun Dafa, other spiritual and religious groups are also banned and persecuted in China. The practitioners also revealed how former communist leader Jiang Zemin was jealous of the practice's popularity. It was Jiang who instigated the persecution against this peaceful practice.

There were also people who didn't need any explanation about why the persecution is happening in China ¡V as soon as they heard that practitioners are thrown into labor camps, tortured and even killed by the regime, they promptly signed the petition. After having lived for 50 years under the evil specter of communism, Bulgarians find it easy to understand how the Communist Party brutally persecutes the Chinese people.

Practitioners decided to visit other cities in Bulgaria and to donate the book, Zhuan Falun to several major libraries. Through this tour, practitioners demonstrated the kind and compassionate essence of the practice, and many people came to understand how brutal and inhumane the persecution of Falun Dafa is. After having toured the country, practitioners felt very pleased that so many people had gotten to learn the truth and even more practitioners were inspired and determined to do what Dafa practitioners should do in this important period of time.

Recreational buildings can be found all over Hanover and its suburbs. Many different groups meet there regularly for leisure activities, such as music, art, theatre and much more.

April 10th was an open day with more than 59 groups participating in activities which were enjoyed by the public. There was music, plays and dancing accompanied by good food and drink.

North German Falun Gong practitioners participated in these activities. Cultural activities in these recreational buildings, sponsored by the city government, are acknowledged and supported by politicians. On this evening, the Mayor of Hanover arrived with several reporters.

The Falun Gong group was given a small corner of the large hall. We did our best to arrange everything carefully in order to conserve space. Above the middle of our information table we placed a poster that showed a European practitioner in the meditation position and immediately next to her a Chinese lady who was being strapped down and tortured by two Chinese policemen.

We also displayed the beauty of Falun Gong with photos of dancers in traditional Chinese costumes along with pictures from experience sharing conferences and large-scale group practices in China before the persecution began. We placed paper lotus flowers of many colors on our information table, where we showed a video of Master Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Gong, demonstrating the exercises.

To our surprise, we found that the large area directly next to us was not occupied because another group did not show up. We could therefore demonstrate the five sets of Falun Gong exercises in full view of many people who were sitting at nearby tables enjoying a cup of coffee.

The compassionate and harmonious atmosphere of Falun Gong could be felt everywhere. A stream of people constantly passed by our information table. They gladly accepted our leaflets and often stopped to ask questions.

A group of teenagers eyed the posters curiously. These children were shocked by the scenes of practitioners being tortured in China and did not hesitate to ask detailed questions: "What did this woman do? Why is she being tortured like that? Is this legal?"

A girl of African decent, who spoke beautiful German, took the initiative to clarify the truth to more people. Later, we noticed that she brought all her friends, one after another, as well as her mother and her mother's friends to our stall. She told them about the persecution. At the end of her impromptu presentation, she said loudly and emphatically that in her opinion, God will punish the torturers very soon.