Frankfurt, Germany: Public Expresses Support During Rally Held To Condemn Decades-Long Persecution

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners held activities, including a rally, in Frankfurt on July 10, 2021 to expose the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) ongoing persecution of the spiritual practice. The persecution was initiated 22 years ago, on July 20, 1999.

Due to easing of the pandemic restrictions the streets were filled with crowds of people. Practitioners’ waist drum performances, and the melodious music as they demonstrated exercises drew many people who paused and wanted to learn about Falun Dafa. Many passersby read the materials, talked to practitioners, and signed the petition to condemn the CCP’s persecution.

Some said they would invite the waist drum team to participate in their cultural events.

Waist drum team performs.

A passerby signs the petition against the persecution.

People stop to learn about Falun Dafa.

Hubert Körper, head of Asian Department and board director of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR), spoke. He condemned the CCP’s 22-year-long brutal persecution and commended practitioners’ perseverance against the persecution. He called on the German government to help stop the persecution and safeguard world peace.

Hubert Körper, head of Asian Department and board director of the International Society for Human Rights (ISHR), speaks during the event.

“What You are Doing is Worthwhile”

A middle-aged German man told practitioners, “What you are doing is worthwhile and can wake people up.” He said that he had never heard of Falun Dafa before and did not know about the persecution. A practitioner told him about the persecution. He was shocked by the CCP’s brutality, and immediately signed the petition.

The man later returned to get more information. He told practitioners that many people were only interested in their own affairs. “You are awakening people, letting them know what is happening in this world, and telling them the truth.”

83-Year-Old Man: I Hope the Persecution Ends as Soon as Possible

An older man wearing sunglasses and pushing a small cart picked up a leaflet from the table and read it by holding it near his glasses. He said to the practitioners, “I’ve heard about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa and the forced organ harvesting [from illegally detained practitioners]. I have read these reports.”

The man said that he was 83 years old, and just underwent eye surgery. He had difficulty seeing, but he wanted to sign the petition. He slowly and carefully signed it.

He said that he lived through the dark ages of the Nazis, and knew what a dictatorship was and what it meant to suffer. He expressed deep sympathy for Falun Dafa practitioners, “I hope this persecution will end as soon as possible. I wish you success!”

Before he left, a practitioner handed him a paper lotus flower and told him that the words on the card read “Falun Dafa is good” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” He explained that Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are Falun Dafa’s principles that practitioners live by.

The man happily took the paper lotus and immediately tied it to his cart.

After signing the petition, an older passerby ties a paper-folded lotus flower to his cart.

“This is What I Have Been Seeking”

An African-American man stood at the information desk for a long time. After reading the introduction about Falun Dafa, he was very interested and told practitioners that he was looking for a spiritual practice.

A practitioner explained that Falun Dafa is a practice of both mind and body. It teaches people to practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance to improve their character. Practicing the five sets of easy-to-learn exercises will make one healthy. The practitioner let him read the preface of Zhuan Falun, Falun Dafa’s main book.

The man read the book for over half an hour and said, “This book is very good. I want to practice Falun Dafa. This is what I have been seeking.”

Throughout the day practitioners frequently heard words of encouragement and praise from people for what they were doing. They feel that people have become more thoughtful after experiencing the pandemic and now have a better understanding of the true nature of the CCP.

Practitioner Ly said many people were seeking spiritual ways. Some people wished to read Zhuan Falun, others wanted to practice the exercises.

After hearing an introduction of Falun Dafa, a young German couple showed great interest and said that they would join a local Falun Dafa practice group to learn the exercises the next day.

Background

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public in 1992. Nearly 100 million people across China soon began practicing after experiencing improvements in their health and character. Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the Party’s atheistic ideology and issued an order to ban Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999.

Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners in the persecution over the past 22 years; the actual number is suspected to be much higher. More have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.

There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply the organ transplant industry.

Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organization with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.