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Heidelburg, Germany: "SOS Bike Tour" Gets Underway from Heidelburg City Hall

Aug. 14, 2002

(Clearwisdom.net) In the picturesque city of Heidelburg, there lives a German family of which all the family members are Falun Dafa practitioners. Of the three daughters, one is in college and the other two are in high school. Along with another German practitioner, a teacher, the girls decided to make use of their summer vacation to launch an "SOS Bike Tour" from Heidelburg to the Chinese Consulate in Bonn. On the way, they clarified the truth of Dafa and the persecution in China to various government agencies, media and others. In addition, they also collected signatures for their Chinese friend, Wei Xiong, who had once studied in Germany but is now detained in a labor camp near Beijing.

This "SOS Bike Tour" was supported by local governments and media organizations. The bike team set out on their journey from the Heidelburg City Hall on the morning of August 1. These four girls wrote by hand "SOS Bike Tour," "Rescue Wei Xiong" and "Restore Falun Gong's Reputation" etc. with red ink on yellow T-shirts. In the meantime, small yellow flags with the characters "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance" were fastened to the bikes, while larger posters that read, "Rescue Wei Xiong," were displayed from the back of their bikes.

On behalf of the mayor and the city government, City Councilor Ms. Vogel saw the bike team off. She heartily recognized the efforts taken by practitioners for human rights and justice, and wished the team a great success on the journey. In the meantime, she also extended her best wishes to the imprisoned Wei Xiong for her courage and strength in coping with the difficult situation, and expressed her hope that she will regain her freedom in the near future. In addition, she expressed hope that the vicious persecution in China will come to an end as soon as possible. Several reporters of local media showed up to interview practitioners and take some photos.

Local practitioners and their family members saw the bike team off in front of the city hall, and talked to the participants. This touching scenario aroused the interests of the tourists and passers-by. They came forward to ask for SOS flyers one after another, wanting to know the truth behind the persecution of Falun Dafa. They also wrote their names and addresses on the signature book to show their support to the practitioners. With a full load of support and encouragement, the "SOS Bike Team" set off on their journey of truth clarification.