Saturday, February 9th, 2002

My name is Bernd Aurnhammer, age 37, born in Augsburg/Germany, presently living in Munich.

For the past ten years I have studied and enjoyed Buddhist and Taoist thought and have taken courses and various types of training in these disciplines, which has enabled me to acquire a solid base of knowledge relating to Asian cultivation methods, including Qigong.

When I came across Falun Gong in 1998, I scrutinized it thoroughly and slowly came to the conclusion that Falun Gong has noble and profound inner connotations and also includes tremendously beneficial movements. After only a short while I experienced positive changes to my body and spirit. For the past three years I have therefore been perfectly healthy and enjoy being alive, something that was not the case before I had practiced. Other practitioners had told me of similar experiences, and also of even better results. I further made the acquaintance of many Chinese practitioners whose compassion and virtue impressed me deeply. I had never met such noble people before. Even their cute, practicing children touched me in an untoward, never before known fashion. It became clear to me that those people had acquired these personality traits through the practice of Falun Gong, a sure sign that cultivation means the nurturing of virtues such as Truthfulness, Kindness and Tolerance.

That's why I consider certain things that happened in 1999 the most unjust act I had ever experienced. The Chinese government outlawed Falun Gong in July of 1999. Concurrent with this ban, it began a totalitarian campaign of lies and defamation. Even now, the Chinese media are filled to overflowing with vicious lies about Falun Gong, to the point where publicly broadcast immolations were staged, people were shoved out of windows from high buildings, an eight-month-old infant was tortured to death in the presence of his mother; the most unimaginably gruesome deeds were committed, and everything was attributed to Falun Gong. Over 50,000 persons were arrested, over 10,000 had been sent to forced labour camps without due process of law and from among those, 380 were murdered through torture while in custody; the real number of victims is much higher, around 1,600. At this time, 70 million practitioners are daily risking their lives [for practicing their belief system]. Practitioners from all over the world are intervening in these human rights abuses, but the situation is escalating further. In the last month alone, 32 practitioners have succumbed; an acquaintance is also presently incarcerated. The situation in China is so severe that if a Falun Gong practitioner participates in a petition drive or attempts to demonstrate, that person is risking his/her life. These people have no opportunity to bring the injustices done to them to the public's attention. Western demonstrators are also being immediately muzzled, but at least they don't have to take the calculated risk of being tortured to death.

For these and other reasons I decided to travel to Beijing, to express my opinions against these injustices in a peaceful way. I did not take a stand against the government of China, but against the wilful suppression and also the condoned murder of innocent people.

My hope was that through my actions more people would become aware of this cruel persecution; that they might awaken and likewise intervene for an end to these injustices. I had also hoped that through my actions many people in China, whose minds have been poisoned by this evil propaganda, would have the chance to hear the true story.

I also hoped that the Chinese government representatives would engage in open, peaceful dialogue with us, to facilitate the exposure of the real culprits and liars; that this crisis might be resolved and that Falun Dafa would have its good reputation in China restored.

Bernd Aurnhammer

(Original text in German)