German Newspaper Report: "The Citizens of Bueran Show Their Understanding" (Photo)
The following article was published in the German newspaper WAZ on April 18, 2005
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Andreas Steinau and Kea Kong are fighting human rights abuses in China. Last Saturday, they informed the inhabitants of Bueran about this topic and collected signatures for a petition campaign.
Steinau, who is from Bochum, and Kea, who is from Gelsenkirchen, are practicing Falun Gong, an ancient Chinese meditation and cultivation practice. However, although Falun Gong originated in China, the country has lost its internal balance. "Falun Gong practitioners are being persecuted," says Steinau. He even maintains that Falun Gong practitioners are being detained in forced labor camps.
This terrible situation has caused Andreas Steinau to take a closer look at the human rights situation in China. He has been practicing Falun Gong for five years, after taking a free course in his hometown.
After collecting some background information, he and others who share his beliefs started a private campaign to explain the situation to the public in cities of the heavily industrialized Ruhr region in Northern Germany. They are collecting petition signatures protesting against the persecution in China. "We will send the signatures to the Committee for Human Rights in the German Parliament," says Steinau. His goal is a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the conflict between the communist regime and supporters of Falun Gong.
"Falun Gong is a system of meditation, exercise movements and high moral standards," he says. Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance, as well as understanding are his highest priorities.
The citizens of Bueran understood his mission as soon as he set up his small stall in front of the People's Bank in Gobergplatz Square. Steinau was very impressed by the positive reception because he and his helpers have previously had to deal with some amount of hostility. The thirty-six-year-old is happy that there was a lot of interest and that so many people signed the petition. He is hopeful that the collected signatures will have an effect.
Originally published in German at http://de.clearharmony.net/articles/200504/23469.html