(Clearwisdom.net) The soccer team from Dortmund, Germany was the champion team in the Soccer Series A in Germany. On June 4, a grand celebration was held in Dortmund. The Divine Land Marching Band, consisting of Falun Gong practitioners from ten European countries, participated in the event. Rhur Nachrichten, a large local newspaper, published a story about the band.

The Divine Land Marching Band

The story in Rhur Nachrichten

After the performance, Falun Gong practitioners held a rally at the plaza in front of Reinoldikirche, a church. Mr. Manyan Ng, the chair of the Falun Dafa Association in Europe, briefly reviewed the facts and history of the brutal persecution of Falun Gong in China.

Guo Jufeng, a band member who escaped to Germany three years ago, told his own story of being persecuted in China. Mr. Guo is from Dalian City. He said, “I was forced to do hard labor in Dalian Forced Labor Camp. I had to work 16 hours every day. I had also been jailed in Guanshanzi Forced Labor Camp in Liaoning Province. I was confined in a six-foot-square cell for a month four times. I was given only two small buns per day. The police fastened my arms to the wall, which made it hard for me to sleep. It was January, and it snowed every day. They kept the door open to the outside to make me freeze.”

Many tourists were shocked by the brutality described. Mr. and Mrs. Schauwert from a nearby city said that they had never heard about the persecution before and were stunned to learn about it today. Mr. Schauwert said that it is very important that Chinese people have freedom. He believes that the German government should do more on this issue.

The speakers also reviewed the sordid history of the Chinese Communist Party. Practitioners set up a booth at the rally, where many tourists signed a petition condemning the persecution. Some also wanted to learn the Falun Gong exercises.

On June 6, Rhur Nachrichten, a local newspaper with daily circulation of 150 thousand, reported the celebration and published a story about the Divine Land Marching Band.

The title of the story was “Music for Freedom of Belief: The Divine Land Marching Band Performed Asian Music.” The article said that half of the members of this 120-person band are Chinese, and the other half are from Europe. The band has traveled all around Europe. All the members practice Falun Gong, an ancient Chinese meditation that is banned in China.

Practitioners were interviewed in the article. One practitioner said, “We try to touch people's hearts through music. We also try to manifest the beauty of Falun Dafa.”

The article explained that Falun Gong practitioners are pursuing their freedom of belief, and call upon the public to pay more attention to the persecution. Mr. Guo Jufeng told his own story of being persecuted in China.

At the end of the event, the article said, all the members of the band demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises. Band member Ms. Yang said, “We want to share the positive effects that Falun Gong has had on us with the public through our music.”