Around the start of spring each year, the City of Hannover hosts CeBit, the world's leading annual computer trade show. This is a very large event with over 6,000 exhibitors and many more visitors. Many participants arrived in Hannover early. Therefore, local practitioners thought it a great idea to hold an information day on the day before the start of the exhibition, to call attention to the human rights violations against Falun Gong practitioners in China.
During the middle of the week, many practitioners are generally busy with their jobs or studies. It was a pleasant surprise that many practitioners from Göttingen, Bremen und Braunschweig came to support this effort. We prepared an information booth and displayed pictures depicting the tortures suffered by practitioners, and banners to catch the attention of passers-by.
As hoped for, many foreign visitors that had just arrived in town stopped at the booth, among them a number of Chinese people. A lot of the visitors could read flyers in English, and the Chinese language flyers disappeared rapidly.
The practitioners cooperated well with each other, constantly taking turns to demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises and establishing a harmonious and peaceful environment. The wind was a bit cold but this did not affect the practitioners' determination. None of those who wanted to learn more about Falun Gong and its persecution were disturbed by the unpleasant weather.
Over and over again, people said that they assumed that human rights in China have changed for the better because of the superficial opening up of China to the outside world. Therefore, they were quite shocked upon hearing the truth of what is going on in China, and realized that human rights in China have not improved. Consequently, many people signed the petition supporting Falun Gong and said they were impressed with what the practitioners were doing. Many wished the practitioners all the best in their endeavors and expressed hope for a quick end to the persecution.
Originally published in German at http://www.clearharmony.de/articles/200603/30234.html
Category: Parades & Other Community Events
