(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners from over 10 European countries held activities on Stephansplatz Square in the center of Vienna, Austria, on August 30 and 31, 2024. The event’s purpose was to introduce Falun Gong to the public and to protest the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, including the CCP’s forced organ harvesting.
People were drawn by Falun Gong’s peaceful music and gentle exercises and learned the exercises. Many commended the principles of Falun Gong, saying that the world needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Falun Gong practitioners from more than 10 European countries held an event at Stephansplatz Square in Vienna on August 30 and 31, 2024. The picture shows the performance of the European Tian Guo Marching Band and a crowd of spectators.
The European Tian Guo Marching Band performs.
Falun Gong practitioners demonstrate the exercises.
People sign a petition to stand with Falun Gong practitioners against the CCP’s persecution.
Viennese Couple Learns to Meditate and Feel Eternity
Christoph and Petra Feichter learn the fifth set of exercises with Falun Gong practitioners.
Dr. Christoph Feichter, an associate professor at a university in Vienna, meditated with Falun Gong practitioners for half an hour and said it was wonderful. His wife Petra, a clinic owner and psycho-analyst, said she felt the same way.
In the evening, Petra and her daughter had come across Falun Gong practitioners’ activities. Through speaking with a practitioner, Petra learned about the CCP’s crime of harvesting organs from Falun Gong prisoners of conscience. Petra immediately signed the petition and was very interested in Falun Gong. She said she likes yoga and meditates a lot. She made a promise to the practitioners that she would come back to learn the exercises later.
Two hours later, Petra and her husband Christoph came to Stéphane Square to learn the exercises from the practitioners they had met before. Christoph first went to the information desk to sign the petition to support Falun Gong practitioners’ efforts to end the persecution, and then they sat down to learn the fifth set of exercises. He asked to meditate for a longer period of time. The couple did the sitting meditation for more than half an hour, and said it felt very good.
“When I meditated, I seemed to enter a state of eternity,” Dr. Feichter said. “Whether I held this posture for five seconds, a minute, or ten minutes, I couldn’t seem to feel the difference.”
Petra said, “When I meditate, I always look forward to the end.” She said that she didn’t pay attention to the passage of time while practicing Falun Gong, and although her muscles were tired, “Actually, there is a sense of eternity, which is actually the hardest thing to do--feel peace of mind.”
Christoph found the atmosphere very good, “very comfortable, very calm, contemplative. I love it.” “
Petra signed the petition and then said, “In general, the trafficking of organs and the death of people are extremely egregious. I just learned that in China, it’s actually controlled by the state, which is just horrible.”
“My wife just told me about this,” Christoph said. “It’s the first time I’ve heard of something so terrible and serious happening in China.”
Hearing that the CCP has suppressed people who practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance for 25 years, Petra said that her sense was that the practice was very good, “Can I not protest against China? Actually, these are my values, and they are Christian values, and they are universal values.”
“It’s bad to be persecuted and condemned for this,” Christoph said. “This is also in line with my impression of the Chinese regime, which tries to eliminate or ban everything that does not conform to communist ideology.”
In the end, the Feichters got information about the local practice site from the practitioners and left happily.
Principal of the Girls’ School: Upholding Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Will Change the World
Martina Fichtenbauer, principal of a girls’ school, supports Falun Gong practitioners in their fight against the CCP’s persecution.
Martina Fichtenbauer, principal of a local girls’ school, signed the petition to stop the CCP from harvesting Falun Gong practitioners’ organs. “For me, all this is a violation of human rights and a violation of humanity itself,” she said.
“This shouldn’t happen, at least I can sign against it. Seeing these banners, these injustices that hurt people, touched me, and I couldn’t walk past them,” she said.
Ms. Fichtenbauer said that Falun Gong practitioners in China “are not safe and we can stand in solidarity with them. It’s very important. People can make a difference.”
When hearing that the CCP has not allowed people to practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance for 25 years, Ms. Fichtenbauer said, “Just hearing this shocks me and is unimaginable. I feel that these principles are the reason why we humans can live together peacefully. These are the basic principles, and if they can be adhered to, I believe that the situation on our planet will change.”
Ms. Fichtenbauer liked the atmosphere of the Falun Gong practitioners’ event, “It was pleasant and familiar. There’s a sense of peace.”
She described how she felt as a feeling of inner emotion, “It’s like driving up the Alps, and now I feel like I’m about to ascend. I had never heard of Falun Gong before, and I was very touched from the bottom of my heart.”
Shen Yun Attendee Glad to Meet Falun Gong Practitioners
Physiotherapist Ms. Vera Bachner (right) is delighted to have met Falun Gong practitioners.
Physiotherapist Ms. Vera Bachner was fascinated when she saw Falun Gong practitioners doing the exercises. “I think [the atmosphere] is so good that it attracted me. I learned about Falun Gong in Salzburg, learned about it from dance, and was fascinated by it,” she said.
It turned out that she had seen Shen Yun’s performance in Salzburg, and she thought it was very exciting, and she had wanted to learn to practice Falun Gong ever since. “Now that I’ve encountered Falun Gong activities, I think it’s really good.”
She liked Falun Gong’s stretching exercises, and asked for information about local practice sites. “These soothing movements make people feel calm and comfortable. I’ve heard there’s going to be a big march in the afternoon, and I’m going to watch it,” she said.
The CCP’s suppression of people who practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance shocked her. Because she is good at shiatsu and qigong, she used to work in a hospital in Chengdu and has seen a lot of chaos under the CCP. “The ban on these principles is terrible, and I hope things will get better,” she said.
Ms. Bachner signed the petition that called to stop the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong, “It is very important to respect human rights, and there are too many persecutions that should not be there at all. Everyone should be free, everyone should be able to live from the heart, and our world is so beautiful, isn’t it? Everyone deserves to be well-off, not ruled by money. Having money is important, but the key is to live from the heart.”
Munich Tourist: If Everyone Obeys Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the World Will Be Harmonious
People sign the petition supporting Falun Gong practitioners’ efforts to end the persecution.
Retired industrial engineer Ingerburg and restorer Irene are from Munich in Germany. They saw Falun Gong practitioners practicing in Stefan Square, so they stopped to take a look.
They found the atmosphere peaceful and very positive, even though the city environment was noisy and not ideal. “The event was very good, wonderful and very informative.” Ingelberg agreed, “It’s very informative. It’s not violent.”
Irene found this peaceful way of protesting the persecution effective, “If you are determined about something, you have to show it.”
After learning about the CCP’s persecution and organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners, they signed a petition to condemn the CCP’s crimes. “We feel that it is a great injustice that people are treated as commodities, and that they are actually trampling on humanity.”
Ingleberg felt that the CCP’s organ harvesting was unacceptable. “It happened in Germany, and people were used as commodities and medical experiments during the Nazi era. These things should never be allowed. That’s why we signed the petition,” he said.
Talking about the CCP’s 25-year-long persecution of people who practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and the prohibition of these beliefs, both of them expressed incredulity. Irina said, “It’s not just, and it can’t be tolerated, because [faith in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance] is free will. Everyone should have the right to pursue justice or truth from the heart. The human mind is free, and every country should realize it.”
Ingelberg felt that it was very important for Falun Gong practitioners to hold events to raise awareness, because they had known nothing about it before coming across these activities. “It is necessary to talk about injustice. Thankfully, some countries in Europe are still allowed to tell the truth. Once a dictatorship is established, people can no longer tell the truth, and the danger is great. On the other hand, thanks to these activities, people can get to know the persecution. Therefore, it is simply so important to hold these events.”
Irene agreed, “And compassion is also important. These are the basic principles of being a human being. If everyone can abide by these principles [Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance] and pass on compassion as much as possible, I think the whole world will be harmonious. There would be no wars, there would be no dictatorships.”
Music Therapist: We Need Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance
As night falls, people gather around the information desk, asking questions.
Music therapist Ms. Vera Maria Kessler happened to see the Falun Gong practitioners’ activities. “I could feel their energy from a distance, so I came to see it. I could feel their calm, very peaceful. Nowadays, it is very important to meet such peaceful and sincere people.”
Ms. Kessler had never heard of Falun Gong before, and she had a good impression of practitioners “with good manners, and very appealing.”
She signed the petition supporting Falun Gong practitioners’ efforts to end the persecution. “This is the voice of our people. Let politicians know what we really need. It’s not just talk, it’s for the people to really realize,” she said.
She spoke with a practitioner about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong and then said, “I can’t understand it at all, it’s unbelievable that I could be persecuted just for meditating.”
Ms. Kessler strongly agreed with the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. “Great, we need Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. This is life, it is a connection with oneself and with others, and if there is goodness, there is peace, and human beings, and the whole world, need such a criterion,” she said.
Ms. Kessler expressed her interest in Falun Gong, “I am curious and open to new things. I want to learn the practice.”
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