Berlin, Germany: People Support Falun Gong and Condemn the Persecution

“Where can I sign to support you?” “Where can I learn Falun Gong?” some Berlin residents asked as they entered Treptower Park in East Berlin.

Every Sunday afternoon since Easter, practitioners in Berlin have held information day activities. Some do the sitting meditation while others smile and greet people as they enter the park and offer them information about Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa). Large and small banners as well as display boards catch people’s attention. They stop to read the information and speak to practitioners to find out more about the practice. Residents and tourists sign the petition to call for an end to the CCP’s (Chinese Communist Party) state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting that targets practitioners.

Berlin Residents Hold Falun Gong Banners

Practitioners told passersby about Mr. Ding Yuande and his wife, who are just ordinary farmers. They have been persecuted for a long time because of their belief in Falun Dafa. When people learned that in January of this year, for the first time in history, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning the CCP’s ongoing persecution of Falun Gong and called for the unconditional release of Mr. Ding Yuande, some held a banner calling for Mr. Ding’s release. He is being held in Shandong Province Prison.

Yaroslava Stebnytska-Lutz from Ukraine came to Germany just a few years ago. She heard about Mr. Ding Lebin, a practitioner in Germany, and his parents. For nearly 12 years, Mr. Ding could not see his parents due to the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong.

Yaroslava signed the petition that opposes the CCP’s forced organ harvesting crimes. The petition is addressed to the federal government in Germany. She also shared a post on her social media page. She called on people to ask the CCP to release Mr. Ding’s father Mr. Ding Yuande and urged the regime to release all detained Falun Gong practitioners.

Hope for a Fundamental Change

A software engineer who went to China on several business trips told practitioners, “Westerners who go to China are only allowed to see the beautiful parts. The CCP will never let you see how it suppresses people in general and Falun Gong practitioners in particular. Before I went to China, my coworkers reminded me I could be arrested for saying something inappropriate because you never know if what you say will bring you trouble.”

After reading the resolution by the European Parliament condemning the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong, a man said, “This is surprising and admirable. Many people want to do business with China, but this resolution is an important signal. I hope there will be a fundamental change.”