(Clearwisdom.net) On the 17th of July, 2004,three days before the fifth year of the persecution against Falun Gong in China, practitioners from Austria and southern Germany held activities in Salzburg to let more people know about the brutal persecution, and call for help to stop it as soon as possible.
Falun Gong exercise demonstration |
 Austrian Choir sings "Coming for you" |
 Anders Mahlen sings "See Through the Lies" |
 Torture reconstruction, solitary confinement and hanging |
 Parade through Salzburg, children practitioners in the parade |
 Procession |
 Young practitioners in the parade |
Salzburg is situated in a level basin on both sides of the Salzach River, near the northern foothills of the Alps and the Bavarian German border. The historic center of the city, as the birthplace of Mozart, attracts large numbers of tourists from around the world every year. This year, in the annual international renowned Salzburg Festival, Falun Gong activities turned out to be a focus on the sunny day of the 17th of July.
Falun Gong practitioners from Austria and southern Germany held a series of activities including a rally, information board exhibition, choir performance, parade, and reconstruction of torture methods used to persecute Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Our banners read "Help us to stop the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China", "Bring Jiang to Justice", "Stop the genocide of Falun Gong" and were displayed during the rally. In the information board exhibition, entitled 'The Path of Falun Dafa', people could learn about the introduction of Falun Gong, see pictures of the peaceful exercises, and photos of Falun Gong practitioners who have died from torture and abuse in China. Hundreds of these innocent people, men, women, the young, the old, and even children, lost their lives in this brutal persecution because they believed in Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance and refused to give up their belief in these principles. Reading their stories, many people's eyes were blurred by tears.
The Austrian Choir sang a song called "Coming for You". Their performance won applause from the audience and shocked many passing Chinese tourists. Mr. Mahlen, an environmental engineer, also sang a song named "See Through the Lies" with two other practitioners from Vienna. He wrote the song to remind people that it is the fifth year since the persecution of Falun Gong began in China.
SEE THROUGH THE LIES
"Come now, my Chinese friend/ See through this veil of lies/ Five have passed now, how many more need to die?/ Can´t you see the difference between light and dark?/ Between light and dark/
Justice will come, crimes will be paid/ Justice will come, crimes will be paid
They were killed because they wanted to believe/ They were murdered because they wanted to tell you/ Their names will never be forgotten
Chinese guard, official and police/ How long will fame and gain be more important than life?/ You have been fooled and used because of one leader´s jealous mind/ Do not despair, you can still change your ways/ You can still change your ways
Truth will shine on the land/ Truth will shine on the land
They were killed 'cause they wanted to believe/ They were murdered 'cause they wanted to tell you/ Their names will never be forgotten
Truth, Compassion, Forbearance/ That´s what they have in their hearts/ Truth, Compassion, Forbearance/ That´s what they have beén killed for/ Truth, Compassion, Forbearance/ Isn´t that something we are all longing for?/ Isn´t that something you too are longing for?"
The song praised the compassion of Falun Gong practitioners and called for an end to the brutal persecution. They sang the song with pure hearts filled with compassion and, though not professional musicians, they won much applause after their performance.
The presenter said, "The brutal persecution has being going on for nearly five years, hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners have lost their lives due to torture and abuse. What really shocked us and therefore we would let you know, is that in this 21st Century, in the modern civilized world, torture, including the tiger bench, inserting bamboo sticks under fingernails, being held in a solitary confinement, hanging and electric baton shocks, are still widely used in China to force Falun Gong practitioners recant their belief. Such acts would be unacceptable in our modern civilized society."
Peaceful and calm music and exercises made a strong contrast with the torture reconstruction, and shocked the onlookers.
"Tell the policemen, stop beating the practitioner," one bystanders said.
"Why are they beating you? Are you really bleeding?" A little girl walked up to the scene and asked.
"Stop, stop the abuse!" Some people waved their fists and shouted.
Because the weather was very hot, a policeman responsible for maintaining order in the rally was concerned with the health of the practitioner who acted the part of the victim in the iron cage during the torture reconstruction. He kept suggesting that the practitioner should have a short rest, but the practitioner wanted to go on. Finally he spoke to the actor seriously and asked him to rest for a while, and the practitioner took his kind advice.
Practitioners also marched through the busy city center in Salzburg. Many people took leaflets and other materials to read after they saw the peaceful parade with horrific torture scenes. After the parade, practitioners returned to the old market square and continued their activities.
"The moment I sat in the iron cage, I really knew what practitioners in China have suffered and I could not hold back my tears" said a practitioner who played the part of a victim. "For two hours I sat inside. It felt so painful and I nearly broke down. Can you imagine how practitioners felt when they were tortured day after day? I even dare not imagine that. What is more, such brutal persecution is covered up by propaganda and a media blockade. Today I played the part of a victim in this reconstruction. I hope that more people can understand how brutal the persecution is."
"I had to borrow a pair of sunglasses to play my part, otherwise, my eyes would tell the audience that I am a person of peace. In this sense, I am not a qualified actor" said Daniel, who played the part of a policeman. "The sunglasses also prevented people from seeing my tears during the act."
"Playing the policeman also imprinted on my mind that the brutal persecution is still going on in China, and Falun Gong practitioners are still suffering from all kinds of torture in labor camps or detention centers. Considering that, I could not hold my tears back. I hope our activity can let more people know about this brutal persecution and I also hope that together we can bring it to an end as soon as possible."
The activity did work well and many tourists learned about the persecution for the first time. Shocked and outraged, they asked how they could provide more help. After they heard that Jiang has been sued by Falun Gong practitioners in several countries, they signed the petitions without any hesitation and said, "We admire your courage, and Jiang should be brought to justice. We believe that you will win in the end!"
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Category: Rallies & Protests
