Germany: Falun Gong gave a Wonderful Performance as part of the 1000th Birthday Celebrations in the Ancient Town of Kronach

This year is the 1,000th birthday of the ancient town of Kronach in Germany. The climax of the planned celebrations was the parade held on Whitsunday. One week before the parade, I saw in the newspaper that around 1,000 people would participate in this event. The governor and a lot of media personnel would also attend. I thought about the possibility of inviting Dafa practitioners to perform some dances, but I was not very sure because I have never coordinated such a major activity. The practitioners who dance might be busy. Was it really worth their efforts to come to this small, remote town and attend the parade?

Interesting “Coincidence”

Some practitioners suggested that I hire a truck to use as a float for the parade. I tried but failed. I felt it would be a pity if there was no float. The parade coordination committee told me that it would be too late if I could not hire a truck by Thursday. After discarding the idea of hiring a truck, I spotted a vehicle while I was walking on the street that afternoon. I asked the owner whether his vehicle was for hire, but he turned me down. I kept walking down the street, and found a similar vehicle with a contact phone number on it. I called the owner, from whom I learned that his vehicle was not suitable for our application, even though he agreed to rent it to me. The owner suggested that I call another number where he believed I could rent what I wanted. I called, and was told that I could use a vehicle without charge. There was only 10 minutes to go before the office of the parade coordination committee closed. I ran there and submitted the application for a float just in time.

On the eve of the parade, I went to the railroad station to pick up a fellow practitioner. I saw the namecard of a newspaper reporter on the ground. A moment later when I picked up another practitioner, I saw another identical name card. I knew I had to contact this reporter. I sent her an e-mail that night.

The number of practitioners who came to attend the parade exceeded my anticipation. Before the parade set off, a reporter came towards me for an interview. I explained the true facts of the persecution to her. She was the reporter whose name was shown on the name card I picked off the ground.

Does Falun Gong Exist at Kronach?

The parade started. More than four thousand people from 150 different organisations attended this parade. Falun Gong was the biggest group. A fellow practitioner and I held a “Truthfulness- Benevolence- Forbearance” banner. Along the road, I continued to hear people reading the three words. No matter whether they read in a loud or a soft voice, I could feel their sincerity in reading the principles of the cosmos.

The audience gave enthusiastic applause to the graceful dances and exercises demonstrated by the practitioners along the street. The people who stood in the back stretched out their arms, trying to get some materials. The practitioners who distributed the flyers told me later on that they could barely keep up with the demand.

When we passed by the platform of the governor and other officials, the governor was astonished to see our presence. He asked a female practitioner, “Does Falun Gong exist in Kronach?” “Yes,” the practitioner replied, and “Falun Gong exists in more than 60 countries in the world.” The fellow practitioner led me to the governor, who stood up, shook hands with me with a smile. I handed him an information pack, inside which were the materials and a petition letter.

The Audience Became Live Propagation Media

After the parade finished, the governor gave permission to us to perform the dances and exercise demonstration on the stage. He took photos and agreed to be videotaped with practitioners by a TV station. Some practitioners demonstrated the exercises on the grass in the background, and collected signatures for rescuing Ms. Xiong Wei. People stood quietly in the rain, waiting to sign their names. A state councillor from the Kronach area also signed his name to support the rescue of Xiong Wei.

On the second day after the parade, a practitioner met up with two women. They did not see our parade in person, but heard from friends that the dance from a Chinese group was very beautiful. They wanted to hear about Falun Gong, and collected some materials. The audience themselves had turned the whole event into a live propagation media for Falun Gong. Even the people who did not see the parade heard about the truth. When my relatives and friends talked about this parade with me afterwards, they all were strong and sincere in their praise for our graceful presentation.

Translated from Chinese at http://yuanming.net/articles/200306/21524.html