Deutsche Welle (German Wave, one of the biggest radio stations in Germany): Is Berlin Located in China?

(Clearwisdom.net)

"How extensive does one carry out security measures during a state visit," a group of Falun Gong [practitioner] who have been evicted from their Berlin hotel rooms are asking.

Berlin, as the country's capital, is a stage for international politics, as Berlin citizens and visitors to Berlin have experienced many times. After September 11, 2001, the area around the American Embassy was off limits for several weeks. All public buildings were on high security alert. Those who could not produce identification were barred.

As part of his state visit, China's President made a stopover in Berlin, which meant implementation of the highest security alert for this German capital.

The heart of politics

Political and economic interests were the main focus of dialogue on the agenda with Chancellor Schroeder. Concerns about human rights were only marginally touched upon.

Spokesperson Kong Quan from the Chinese foreign ministry declared at a press conference, "there was an exchange of ideas regarding humanitarian questions. Both sides had agreed that differences do exist and declared themselves ready to make world-wide humanitarian problems the focus of future dialogue."

Around 400 [practitioners] of the Falun Gong movement had traveled to Berlin to raise awareness of the dismal human rights situation in China. Massive police presence, though, kept them far from the official visitors' route, thus sparing the visiting Chinese chief of state a confrontation with demonstrators. Public appearances by Jiang Zemin were rare; a press conference was canceled, supposedly due to time constraints.

With the support and solidarity from human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, members of the Falun Gong movement remind us again and again of the dismal treatment their [practitioners] have to endure in their homeland where the movement is banned. According to statistics received from the Falun Gong Information Center, 397 Falun Gong [practitioners] have been murdered so far while in police custody; 100,000 have been arrested; 20,000 are slaving in Forced Labor Camps.

The Eviction

A dozen Falun Gong [practitioners] experienced first-hand what it means for the German capital to be under highest security alert. These twelve people had stayed at the five-star Adlon Hotel. On Monday, April 8, 2002, German police came to their rooms and ordered them to immediately leave the hotel, the same one where Jiang Zemin was staying.

Falun Gong [practitioner] Mr. Cheng, an U.S.-born Chinese, declared in an interview with DW-WORLD (Deutsche Welle- a media group) that the police excused their rough behavior as part of their security measures. He questioned them as to his own security, but received no reply. The police officers escorted him from his hotel room, without permitting him to gather his belonging together or pack anything.

"Those are methods exported from China, that is very sad," exclaimed Mr. Li who is employed as a lecturer at the University of Nottingham/England, and is also a Falun Gong practitioner. "We ought to utilize German democracy to influence the Chinese, and not the other way around, to allow Chinese dictatorship to harass decent citizens in Berlin."

Three of the affected Victims

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(Original text in German)