Germany: Anti-Torture Exhibition Sees Widespread Support and Concern for China's Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners (Photos)
On the 11th of December 2004, Falun Gong practitioners from Magdeburg and nearby cities organized a Falun Gong Information Day and an anti-torture exhibition in the Magdeburg city center.
Reenacting the tortures and reeducation through forced labor |  Lining up to sign the petition calling for an end to the persecution |  People listening to the facts about Falun Gong |
 People listening to the facts about Falun Gong |  People are shocked upon viewing the anti-torture exhibition |  People are shocked upon viewing the anti-torture exhibition |
The anti-torture exhibition, exposing the brutal torture methods used by the Jiang faction to persecute Falun Gong practitioners in China, was the most touching part of the day's activities. As soon as the practitioners acted out the scene of innocent people being tortured by Chinese policemen, a large number of people came to look. After seeing the posters revealing how Falun Gong practitioners in China are being tortured because they refuse to renounce their beliefs, people were greatly shocked and could not believe that this is happening today. Many people said that this anti-torture exhibition brought back their memories of the old East German regime. Practitioners told them that what actually happens in China is much worse than what can be shown in the exhibition, which is only the tip of the iceberg.
The most commonly asked question was, "Why is this is happening?" Practitioners explained that these innocent and kind people are being persecuted purely because they want to be good people by following the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance and they don't want to give up their belief. When people learned this, and that this brutal persecution has lasted more than five years and has led to over 1,100 deaths, they asked what they could do to stop this persecution. Many people signed a petition to support bringing to justice both Jiang Zemin, the main instigator of this persecution, and the 610 Office, an organization established by Jiang with the sole purpose of eradicating Falun Gong practitioners. At the end of the activity, there were thirteen pages of petition signatures. Sometimes, people queued up to sign the petition and show their support.
A middle-aged lady cried when she saw the reenacted torture scenes. She walked away and tried to control herself. Then she walked up to the practitioner who was demonstrating the Tiger Bench torture and asked, "Do you feel cold?" When it is really used to persecute someone, the Tiger Bench is an excruciatingly painful torture. The victim is tied on a narrow wooden or iron bench by the thighs and knees, with their hands tied behind the back; sometimes the legs are bent in the opposite direction by adding bricks under the heels.
Another elderly lady could not bear to see this brutal scene and walked away with tears in her eyes. After a while, she came back to the practitioner acting out a torture scene and asked him if he was all right, and she put two Euros in his pocket. The practitioner thanked her for her kindness and told her that Falun Gong does not accept donations. The purpose of our anti-torture exhibition, the practitioners said, is to let people know about the serious human rights abuses and to support us to stop this inhuman persecution.
At the other side of the display, practitioners continuously demonstrated the five sets of beautiful and gentle Falun Gong exercises. Many people came to watch and asked about local practice sites where they could learn the exercises for free.
When a middle-aged gentleman learned about the persecution, he asked for a dozen Falun Gong newspapers from practitioners and said he wanted to give them to people he knew. The newspaper is very useful in helping people learn more about Falun Gong and the persecution because it contains detailed articles. This man also asked if he could help to distribute more newspapers when these ones were gone. Practitioners gave him a contact number so he could get more information.
Soon after the activity started, a gentleman approached the practitioners and said that they should go to China to sort out this problem, not Germany. At this time, another German gentleman, who was very formally dressed, came over and said to him, "Why? China abuses human rights. This should be known to everyone in the world." Later practitioners talked with the first gentleman about Falun Gong and the ongoing brutal persecution. When he learned the truth, not only did he leave us his contact address, but he also suggested that we hold our activities in the street opposite the city government building so that more people could learn the truth.