Germany: Clarifying the Facts on World Religion Day in Berlin

The first World Religion Day was held in Berlin at the end of May 2003. More than two hundred thousand people from Germany and the neighbouring countries participated in the activities. Dafa practitioners from Berlin utilised the opportunity to clarify the facts, and collect signatures to rescue Ms. Xiong Wei, a Dafa practitioner who lived in Germany and is currently being detained in a Chinese labour camp for distributing Falun Gong flyers. During the activities, practitioners met many people from remote areas where no practitioners are living. Through these contacts, people had an opportunity to bring the truth back to their areas. Almost all of the people signed their names to rescue Xiong Wei without hesitation. Practitioners also explained the details of the lawsuit against Jiang Zemin and most people understood why this had to be done. Many have already obtained an understanding about the human rights situation in China.

On Friday, about 25 thousand people attended a large meeting entitled “Human Rights”. During the meeting, a spokesman from the International Society of Human Rights said, “Many people are talking about globalisation. However, they talk about globalisation related to economic factors only, but not about human rights. This is just like a man with only one eye.” At the end of the meeting, the attendants moved towards the Dafa practitioners who were collecting signatures there. They formed a line, waiting to sign their names. One practitioner commented afterwards, “I have never seen people wanting to sign their names so enthusiastically. It seems that they were waiting for this opportunity. Many of them expressed their sincere thanks after receiving the materials that clarified the facts about the persecution. I felt they were truly waiting for us.” A lot of people also asked practitioners what they could do after signing their names.

Interestingly enough, two practitioners who were collecting signatures at two far apart locations had similar dialogues with Chinese passers-by. Both of the passers-by said, “I can not understand why our government has to invest in a country that tortures its own citizens. I would not invest a penny in a country that commits human rights violations.”

One gentleman added, “I think politicians have not said enough about human rights in China. They should have done more, and unite with other countries in this regard.”

After signing her name, one woman asked for a batch of signature collection forms. She volunteered to collect signatures for Xiong Wei’s case. A female priest offered to give the practitioners an opportunity to collect signatures at their group gathering. Some people telephoned practitioners, expressing their willingness to provide continuous support.

Translated from Chinese at http://yuanming.net/articles/200306/21026.html