(Minghui.org) October 3 is German Reunification Day. Falun Dafa practitioners held activities to tell people about the spiritual practice the first weekend of October in nine cities adjacent to Lake Constance.
The nine cities are Konstanz, Ludwigshafen, Überlingen, and Meersburg in Germany; Friedrichshafen , Lindau, Rorschach and Romanshorn in Switzerland; and Bregenz in Austria.
Many people were out celebrating the holiday and passed by the practitioners’ booths. Some accepted informational materials and read them carefully. Others talked to practitioners to learn more about Falun Dafa. Many signed a petition against the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution or learned the Falun Dafa exercises on the spot.
Practitioners held activities on October 2 and 3 in nine cities adjacent to Lake Constance.
In city centers, beside train stations, and near the lake in the nine cities, practitioners displayed banners and boards worded, “Falun Dafa is good,” “Sign the Petition to Stop the CCP’s live organ harvesting,” and “Please Help Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong.”
People Want to Learn Falun Dafa
Many people were drawn to the exercise music as practitioners demonstrated the exercises. Some took fliers which contained information about free online classes and said they planned to participate. After talking with a practitioner and signing the petition, a pastry chef learned the exercises on the spot. He persisted through the half-hour practice of the second exercise. After practicing the four sets of exercises, he said, “I feel relaxed!” He said he would continue to learn the exercises when he went home.
When a passerby in Rorschach, a small town in Switzerland, noticed the practitioners’ exercise demonstration on October 2, he stopped to watch. “They are so peaceful,” he commented.
On October 3, in Konstanz, the southernmost college town in Germany, a woman noticed practitioners’ banners and display boards, and stopped to learn more about the practice. She said, “I saw the description about live organ harvesting. This makes me sad, and I want to learn more.”
Practitioners demonstrate the Falun Dafa exercises.
People talk with practitioners to learn about Falun Dafa.
Passersby sign the petition at Augustinerplatz in Konstanz on October 2.
Passersby in Überlingen ask about Falun Dafa and wish to learn the practice. People signed the petition against the persecution. Some tourists from the former East Germany said they knew about communism and crimes committed by communist regimes. They encouraged practitioners to continue exposing the CCP’s crimes.
Raising awareness in Meersburg
Raising awareness in Friedrichshafen
People in Lindau learn about Falun Dafa.
Practitioners’ information site at Bregenz.
People in Rorschach sign the petition against the persecution.
People sign the petition against the persecution during activities in Romanshorn.
“Live Organ Harvesting is a Disaster”
“I saw the display panel and I immediately decided to sign the petition. We can’t let it continue,” said Hermann Mueggler, 78, a native of Romanshorn, on October 3. Standing in front of the display board detailing the CCP’s crime of harvesting organs from living practitioners, the flower shop owner said, “This is absolutely a disaster.”
Herman said he watched documentaries and knew that some Westerners went to China to get the organs they needed quickly. He knew that the CCP killed people for their organs but said he did not know that the CCP uses large numbers of Falun Dafa practitioners as live donors. He said that the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa is a scourge on the planet.
When he learned that practicing Falun Dafa improves people’s health, Herman said that it was good for people to practice it. He hopes the signature collection helps stop the CCP’s organ harvesting.
“Live Organ Harvesting Is Inhumane”
As soon as a woman in Meersburg read the display panel about the CCP’s live organ harvesting, she came to the booth and asked to sign the petition to stop it.
In the park in Konstanz, Adriano Pratsch a young German man signed the petition after seeing the display boards about the live organ harvesting. He said that he lived in Hong Kong for six months and often saw practitioners’ display boards and banners there. After he signed he said he supported Falun Dafa practitioners’ efforts. “I firmly oppose live organ harvesting because it is against our human nature.”
People Sign the Petition to Condemn the Persecution
Hans, who is retired, signed the petition to condemn the persecution. He said that the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa is “a serious crime. It’s genocide.” He hopes that through the signature collection, more people from around the world can help stop the persecution.
Luan Souza heard about Falun Dafa for the first time. He talked with practitioners for a long time and found the exercises very interesting. He also planned to learn the exercises when he returned home. He could not understand why the CCP persecutes Falun Dafa and said he hopes his signature will help stop the persecution.
One young man who was doing military service said he once tried meditation. He said that Falun Dafa practitioners have inner peace. He said that the CCP’s persecution “is destroying traditional culture. It should not happen.” He hopes that one day practitioners can practice freely in China.
A young man visiting Friedrichshafen signed the petition and took some fliers. He said that he would pass the information to politicians he knew.
Residents Thank Practitioners for Raising Awareness
Ms. Urike Graepel read the display boards with information about the CCP’s organ harvesting on Augustinerplatz square in Konstanz on October 2. She immediately signed the petition to stop the persecution. She had tears in her eyes as she signed.
Ms. Urike Graepel
Referring to the CCP’s 22-year persecution of practitioners, Ms. Graepel said, “This cannot be allowed. No one has the right to suppress other people with different ideas and threaten their lives. If a government does such a bad thing, they [CCP perpetrators] are very wicked people who are far from the divine. They must be stopped.”
Denisa Karvay accepted a Falun Dafa flyer on her way to work in Rorschach. She hurried back and signed the petition after reading it during her lunch break. She said that she found the practitioners’ exercise demonstration very peaceful and interesting and couldn’t imagine why the CCP would persecute them.
She told practitioners, “What you are doing is good. I didn’t know anything about it before. This activity allows people to know what’s happened. I think this is important and allows people to think about such issues.” Before rushing back to work, she said she hopes that practitioners can collect enough signatures to stop the persecution, and she thanked them.
Chinese Man Quits His Membership in the CCP Organizations
On October 2, a practitioner was waiting for the last ferry of the day at the pier in Konstanz. He met a Chinese man who had worked in Germany for several years. The two started talking about the pandemic. When the practitioner said that the CCP persecutes Chinese people, the gentleman agreed. He also immediately agreed to quit his membership in the Communist Youth League and the Young Pioneers with an alias. After getting information about the Minghui website and the practitioner’s business card, he happily said goodbye.
In addition to setting up booths, practitioners also held car tours throughout the nine cities. The parade of 20 vehicles carried display boards on their roofs with the words: Falun Dafa Benefits Both Body and Mind; Falun Dafa Teaches People to be Good by Following the Principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance; The CCP Persecutes Falun Gong in a Bloody Manner and Conducts Live Organ Harvesting; Stop the Persecution; The World Needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Background: What Is Falun Dafa?
Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Millions of people who have embraced the teachings which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance—and learned the five exercises have experienced improved health and well-being.
Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology and on July 20, 1999, issued an order to ban the practice.
Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 22 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. More have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.
There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply the organ transplant industry.
Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organization with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.
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