(Minghui.org) Practitioners held activities at Karlsplatz Stachus in Munich on May 11, 2024, to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day. A number of elected officials sent greetings, and Benedikt Flexeder, regional leader of the Christian Social Union party (CSU), spoke at the event.
World Falun Dafa Day celebrations on Karlsplatz Stachus in Munich on May 11
The celebration started with activities at Karlsplatz Stachus. Practitioners told people how they benefited from practicing from Falun Dafa. The Tian Guo Marching Band performed, and practitioners played the waist drums and performed the lion dance. These performances continued in the parade that followed.
Practitioners demonstrate the Falun Dafa exercises.
People learned the exercises during the event.
The waist drum team performs.
Many people were interested in learning more about Falun Dafa.
Christian Social Union party politician: Building a World of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance
Speech by regional leader of the Christian Social Union party Benedikt Flexeder
Benedikt Flexeder, regional leader of the Christian Social Union party, attended the event and gave a speech. He commended the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and praised Falun Dafa practitioners for their perseverance amid the persecution in China. He said he not only spoke for justice and freedom for Falun Dafa practitioners, but also called for a society with basic rights and dignity on the basis of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
During an interview, Flexeder said he paid close attention to the mistreatment Falun Dafa practitioners suffered in China for their belief, including illegal detention, torture, killing, and forced organ harvesting. He believes political and economic interests should not override human rights or freedom. It’s very significant that practitioners have been opposing the suppression for the past 25 years.
While supporting Falun Dafa himself, Flexeder also hoped more people in Germany would voice their opinions on this important issue by signing petitions and spreading the information on social media. He feels that broader attention will bring changes in the human rights situation in China. He also encouraged Chinese citizens to have open minds and listen to the facts rather than blindly following Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda.
A Better Society
Many passersby stopped at the two information booths on Karlsplatz Stachus to ask for information about Falun Dafa. Zdravka Bräutigam, who handles international exchange student affairs at a university, was vacationing in Munich with her husband. They were both impressed by the peaceful event.
When she heard that Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance were the principles of the practice, Ms. Bräutigam said she would recommend Falun Dafa to everyone. She believes that when everyone improves him or herself, our society will become a better place. She signed a petition calling for an end to the persecution in China and thanked practitioners for the great event, and for telling her about Falun Dafa, which she said was very precious.
Universal Values
The march passed through Munich Old Town and three royal avenues.
After the rally on Karlsplatz Stachus, practitioners paraded to Marienplatz next to the city hall. Led by the Tian Guo Marching Band, the practitioners displayed banners, demonstrated the exercises, and exposed the persecution in China.
The second rally at Marienplatz also attracted many people.
People were delighted to learn about Falun Dafa.
The procession circled Munich Old Town and several popular streets in the center of the city, including three royal avenues as well as Odeonsplatz. It was an open day for City Hall, and many people who were visiting Munich said they were pleased to see the practitioners’ event.
Fashion designer Nargis said the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance could benefit everyone, and that she would share these values with more people. IT professional Kazhaw, who had never heard of Falun Dafa before, said the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance applied to all of us. His friend Nichtiman agreed and said he would like to help practitioners however he could.
Irmgard Baumgartl, a retired company clerk, liked the Tian Guo Marching Band’s music and recorded videos with her phone. She said she also liked the beautiful costumes, and wanted to share them with her friends. She said our society could not exist without Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and that it was horrible that practitioners were badly mistreated in China for their belief.
Stop Brutality in China
During the event, practitioners also collected signatures on a petition calling for an end to the persecution in China. The petition will be submitted to the German parliament.
Businessman Andre Averdiek signed a petition and said he was in favor of the signature drive. He hoped more people would sign it so that the German parliament would take action and help Falun Dafa practitioners in China so that they could practice their belief with dignity. He said some of the atrocities such as forced organ harvesting were unimaginable, and he urged more people to pay attention to them.
Susanne Wistuba, who works in the fashion industry, said the suppression in China, especially the organ harvesting, was a catastrophe. It made her reflect on what was happening there. She thanked the practitioners for the information.
After the rally, CSU politician Benedikt Flexeder also posted the event on his Facebook account so that more people would know about the Falun Dafa Day celebration and the ongoing suppression in China.
CSU politician Benedikt Flexeder shared information about the event on Facebook.
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