(Minghui.org) An event was held last week on Marienplatz in Munich, Germany, to raise awareness about the peaceful spiritual practice of Falun Gong and the persecution those who practice it face in mainland China.
Marienplatz, which is next to Munich City Hall, is a busy, pedestrian-only town square. Many passersby paused to look and listen. Some learned the exercises, while others talked with the practitioners to learn more.
Falun Gong teaches three core principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Yet, in mainland China, the practice is persecuted, and the state even sanctions organ harvesting atrocities, where living Falun Gong practitioners are killed for their organs in a massive illicit organ transplant trade.
Many people learned about this in Munich this day, and locals and tourists alike offered their support by signing a petition to protest the persecution.
A Falun Gong event on Marienplatz in Munich, Germany, on July 29, 2017, to raise awareness of the persecution in China.
A practitioner shares information about Falun Gong and the persecution.
People sign a petition to protest the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
Some Chinese tourists paused to take photos and accepted flyers from practitioners. A Chinese girl who grew up in Europe said she’d heard about the persecution of Falun Gong and signed the petition to protest the persecution.
A Chinese man in his 50s said to a practitioner, “You are right. Live organ harvesting really happens.”
“I am a doctor,” he continued. “When you publicized that live organ harvesting was taking place, the Party denied it. I wondered which side was right, so I researched it on the internet and made an estimate of the number of organ transplants. I concluded that what Falun Gong said was right. Organ harvesting atrocities do indeed occur. Otherwise, it would not be possible for so many organs transplants to be done in China.”
He came back to the information table several times that day and once made a point of proudly saying, “Falun Dafa is good!”
Undergraduate student Christoph Kümpel (left) and Katerin Rusch (right)
Two undergraduate students were among the many who signed a petition to condemn the live organ harvesting. Christoph Kümpel said, “I think it is shameful to take advantage of the human body like that. The Chinese government still conceals it. We must object to it.”
Katerin Rusch said, “We cannot just be onlookers, we have to take action to combat it. This kind of thing could affect anyone. Everyone has human rights. It is horrible to make money like this.”
They said that they would do what they could to help. Kümpel said he was involved in a student organization at his university that has several hundred members. He said, “I cannot guarantee that everyone will come sign the petition, but some will, and then they learn about this.”
Anoual Karatoz with copies of Falun Gong information
Anoual Karatoz, a former newspaper reporter who now works in a university, said he would raise the issue with his former colleagues and encourage the media to pay more attention to the persecution of Falun Gong. He has gone to China several times and noted, “Communism does not work anywhere. It cannot last.”
