(Minghui.org) Mr. Ye, a practitioner in Germany, recalled Falun Gong’s protests during Jiang Zemin’s visit to Berlin in April 2002. When Mr. Ye took a yellow scarf out of his pocket, he felt like he was facing the test of life and death. He said, “Anti-riot policemen nearby pointed their guns at my chest. I saw the menacing look in their eyes.”
Jiang Zemin, who instigated the persecution of Falun Gong, was afraid of Falun Gong practitioners. Wherever he traveled, he did not want to see people wearing yellow clothes. High-level officials in Germany were deceived by the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) lies and led to believe that Falun Gong practitioners were rioters. They prevented practitioners from being present anywhere Jiang Zemin went. German police officers interrogated anyone wearing a yellow top and searched their bags. They also deployed surveillance helicopters and even removed the yellow ribbons on the escort convoy.
When Jiang Zemin’s motorcade passed by, Mr. Ye took his yellow scarf with “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” in Chinese out of his pocket to protest. When anti-riot police officers pointed their guns at him, reporters nearby quickly came over to take photos. When the officers saw that he had pulled out a scarf, they visibly relaxed.
“It was a scary moment. I saw the menacing look in their eyes. Their guns were not far from my chest.” Mr. Ye said that, although he wasn’t particularly fearful at the time, he felt scared in hindsight. “It was a test of life and death.”
Jiang Zemin demanded that all the manhole covers in Goslar be welded shut. The residents said he must have done terrible things in China for him to be so frightened.
Without saying why, the police stopped anyone who appeared to be Asian and anyone wearing yellow clothes. Ms. Dou, a Falun Gong practitioner, recalled that the police stopped her and several other practitioners for no reason while they were walking down the street. They and their bags were searched. Initially, the police were very hostile, but after the practitioners talked to them, they became restrained.
Ms. Dou had only recently arrived in Germany and could only speak a little German. Through a translator, she said to the police officer, “The police in Beijing treated me poorly and unreasonably. I didn’t expect that the German police would do the same! You searched us and our bags without giving a reason.” The police officer looked embarrassed.
The practitioners didn’t have their ID cards with them, so the police detained them until fellow practitioners brought their IDs. Those who were detained kept clarifying the truth to the officers, and their attitude started to change. When the practitioners were let go, the officers shook their hands and smiled. They said that they thought Falun Gong practitioners were terrorists and bad people, but now they realized this was not true. They had learned that practitioners were being persecuted by the CCP. The police said that their orders had come from above, and they were just doing what they were told.
After Jiang Zemin left Germany, a couple from Goslar came to the practice site in Göttingen, which is about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Goslar to learn Falun Gong. The husband, who was a police officer in Goslar, couldn’t understand Jiang Zemin’s unreasonable demands at the time. But he talked to Falun Gong practitioners and found that they were good people, peaceful and rational.
He searched online and found the nearest practice site was at Göttingen University. He learned Falun Gong there for about a week and brought several friends to learn as well.
Ms. Zheng, another practitioner in Germany, said that the CCP told the German government that Falun Gong practitioners were rioters. The German government believed the CCP’s lies and prevented practitioners from peacefully protesting, violating their basic human rights.
“We applied for a place to do meditation, but the police gave us a permit for a site far away from the Adelong Hotel where Jiang Zemin was staying,” Ms. Zheng said.
She knew that Jiang Zemin would visit the German Presidential Office and found a place to protest along the way. She said, “A policeman came to check my bag to see if I had any banners or a yellow scarf. I didn’t have any, but he still made me leave. I was all by myself, and they wouldn’t let me stay there, even though it was a public place. What they did was unconstitutional.
“On another occasion, when we were sending righteous thoughts, the police looked very nervous. An officer came to talk to me, and I could see he was nervous. He asked what we were doing and why. I told him that this was part of our cultivation practice, that we were not violent and didn’t shout slogans. I didn’t have a knife or a gun. We were peaceful. He understood and looked relieved.”
“Originally, the police officer believed that we were rioters. His first reaction was fear. When he saw us moving our arms, he immediately felt nervous,” Ms. Zheng recalled. “I asked if we looked like rioters. I was sitting there in meditation, doing Buddha school hand gestures. How come they connected our movements with rioters? He saw that we were peaceful. I talked to him, and he understood.”
After Jiang Zemin left Germany, practitioners sued the German Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Criminal Police Office. Ms. Zheng recalled, “I read through three thick bundles of materials that the court gave us. Then I understood why the police were so nervous when they saw us.
“These materials were what the CCP had given the German government. Much of the content slandered Falun Gong and demonized practitioners. The CCP spread lies across the board and said that Falun Gong practitioners could be identified from their yellow clothes and scarves. There were also illustrations of the positions for meditation and sending righteous thoughts.
“The German government believed the CCP’s lies and instructed the police to implement riot control measures,” Ms. Zheng said. “The CCP influenced and manipulated the German government with its propaganda.
“When the police saw us sending righteous thoughts, they became very nervous, and I wondered why. They had been brainwashed by the CCP—they believed Falun Gong practitioners were rioters!
“Before Jiang Zemin came to Germany, we approached the police department a few times, and they understood us. But the high-level officials were brainwashed by the CCP and ordered the local police to treat us like they did.”
Germany’s main public television channel ARD did a feature news report on April 12, 2002, about the heavy security measures used to control regular public activities and shield Jiang Zemin from protesters. The commentary suggested the situation seemed unusual and pointed out that Jiang Zemin got angry whenever he saw yellow as this was the color of the clothes Falun Gong practitioners wore.
According to the Minghui report titled “Lawsuit Against Germany’s Federal Department of Domestic Affairs for Violating Practitioners’ Basic Rights Is Favorably Resolved,” at noon on April 26, 2004, a Berlin Administrative Court judge, representatives of the German Federal Department of Domestic Affairs, and German Falun Dafa Association representatives officially reached an agreement after discussion, and the German Falun Dafa Association’s lawsuit against the Federal Department of Domestic Affairs for violating the practitioners’ rights was resolved.
In April 2003, the German Falun Dafa Association and several practitioners of different nationalities living in Germany submitted four complaints to the Berlin Administrative Court and administrative courts in other areas regarding the actions of the Federal Police. The complaints were against the German Federal Department of Domestic Affairs and Brandenburg, Niedersachens and Sachsen authorities. The lawsuits stemmed from events that took place during Jiang Zemin's state visit to Germany in 2002, when Falun Gong practitioners’ basic human rights were infringed upon by German Federal Police and Berlin Police. Jiang Zemin had exerted the CCP’s influence in all the cities where the defendants lived.
The judge proposed to resolve the dispute through an agreement regarding the case of the German Falun Dafa Association’s lawsuit against the Federal Department of Domestic Affairs for violation of human rights. The judge told the two parties that he believed the German police’s behavior violated the Basic Law, especially by forcing Falun Gong practitioners out of their hotel rooms, which was an infringement of their basic rights protected by German law. The judge also pointed out that Falun Gong had been appealing in a peaceful manner. To his knowledge, Falun Gong practitioners had never used violence against anyone.
According to another Minghui report titled “Germany’s Federal Department of Domestic Affairs Acknowledges Violation of Dafa Practitioners' Basic Rights During Jiang’s Official Visit,” at noon on April 26, 2004, a spokesman for the German Federal Department of Domestic Affairs (GFDDA) officially admitted that the restrictive measures they took against Falun Gong practitioners who stayed at Adlon Hotel in Berlin when former Chinese president Jiang Zemin visited Germany in April 2002 violated German law. The German Falun Dafa Association accepted the response. Following a discussion, representatives from the GFDDA and a representative for Falun Gong practitioners reached an official agreement.
According to documents the GFDDA delivered to the court, before Jiang Zemin arrived in Germany, the CCP told the German government, “According to a reliable source, Falun Gong plans to interfere with Chinese president Jiang Zemin’s visit to Germany;” “[Falun Gong inside China] sent orders to its branch offices in countries surrounding Germany asking its members to gather in Germany and interfere with the visit;” and “We cannot rule out the possibility of Falun Gong resorting to violent behavior.” This misled the German officials and police, which made them nervous. Jiang also demanded the Federal Police clear all Falun Gong practitioners out of the Adlon Hotel, threatening to end the visit unless the hotel complied with his directive.
A German government report acknowledged that practitioners have never taken any violent measures during their protests of the CCP’s persecution.