Germany: Darmstadt Citizens are Shocked by the Cruelty of the Persecution of Falun Gong

Falun Gong practitioners in Darmstadt and nearby cities went to the city centre on Sunday the 14th of August. They put some big display boards with pictures of the brutal persecution near the station where a lot of people pass through. They told Darmstadt citizens about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and collected signatures.

At ten o’clock in the morning, Falun Gong practitioners erected the display boards, practised the exercises and distributed materials in the rain. Neither practitioners or pedestrians were put off by the weather. They stopped to look carefully at the pictures and talked with practitioners. It gradually stopped raining and the weather improved. The sun shone in the afternoon. More people were attracted to the peaceful exercises. People could not connect the peaceful practitioners with the cruelty in the photographs. Shocked, many young people with eyes wide asked, “Are they real?” Though older German people, who had gone through the Second World War and could never forget the cruelty of the persecution of the Jews, knew such cruelty and evil existed in the world, they still could not help but shake their heads with solemn expressions in front the pictures. People continuously signed their names voluntarily.

Dili, a Falun Gong practitioner from Romania, explained why the Jiang regime persecutes Falun Gong practitioners and why innocent people were persecuted for no reason using the example of her own country. She had witnessed innocent people being defamed and persecuted by the Communist Party. The effects of her explanation were very good. One Chinese student who had believed the lies of the Jiang regime accepted the Chinese information booklet with pleasure after talking with her for a long time.

A German child stood beside the practitioners when he saw them practising exercises. He also raised his arms above his head to do the second set of the exercises.

A display board which introduced the history of the srivatsa symbol and the Falun Emblem also attracted a lot of German people’s attention. This was probably a phenomenon particular to Germany. No race in the world is more sensitive to the symbol than the German people. As people came to understand the history of the srivatsa they also learnt about Falun Gong and the persecution of practitioners. They also took flyers before they left. When two policemen passed on a routine patrol, one practitioner who was also a policeman explained the origin of the srivatsa to them. He told them that the German court judged that though the Falun Emblem looked similar to the symbol of the Nazis, the concepts of Falun Gong were completely contrary to those of the Nazis. Falun Gong is peaceful, so the Falun Emblem is legal. Before the information day, the policeman practitioner had contacted the local police to clarify this point, and had permission to display the Falun Emblem. He also explained the truth about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners to them.

Practitioners enlightened that anything could be a starting point to talk about the facts and save sentient beings. Even those with seemingly negative effects could be positively used. For example, when the persecution began, it was difficult to show the Falun Emblem in a public place. Doing so could be a criminal offence. However, through practitioners clarifying the truth, the German court made an objective decision. Instead it has become a unique advantage to clarify the truth.