Germany: Human Rights Picture Exhibition ‘Field of Shame’ held in Germany

From October the 26th to the 31st, international human rights organization IGFM held a human rights persecution picture exhibition entitled “Field of Shame” which was displayed in Nord-Rhein Westfalen, Dusseldorf and Gelsenkirchen. Pictures and articles about Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted in China were part of this exhibition, which was held on the eve of Chinese Communist Party leader Hu Jintao’s visit to Germany.

On 26th, the exhibition was held at a city centre square which is behind the train station in Dusseldorf. A press conference was held at twelve o’clock. An international human rights representative and nearly ten representatives from different organisations joined the exhibition made speeches. A Falun Gong spokesperson introduced Falun Gong and talked about the six years of persecution against Falun Gong in China, launched by former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin and implemented by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

The representative from the human rights organisation also emphasised and talked about the persecution against Falun Gong. He said that the persecution against Falun Gong is the most serious persecution today in China. He appealed to people to be concerned about the human rights persecution problems that are still happening in the world nowadays. The local media interviewed him on the spot and conducted a special interview with Falun Gong practitioners.

In the meantime, Falun Gong practitioners also held an anti-torture exhibition where they simulate a few of the countless methods of torture used against Falun Gong practitioners by the CCP. Many people came over to find out more, looking at the pictures and asking detailed questions. People who understood the truth all enthusiastically signed their names on the petition to German President Köhler in order to urge Köhler to directly raise the Falun Gong persecution problem and call for its end when he met Hu Jintao in November.

One young lady signed with her tears in her eyes as she listened to what the practitioners told her. She said: “I deplore this kind of human rights persecution. It’s really too brutal and must be stopped.”

From 29th to 31st, the exhibition was held in a square near a busy street in Gelsenkirchen. October 29th was a Saturday. Falun Gong practitioners gathered in the square very early, some distributed flyers and talked with passers by whilst others demonstrated the exercises. Another simulation of the torture methods also took place before the press conference. The Falun Gong representative was once again invited to speak in this press conference and appealed for people’s support to stop the persecution.

The weather was very fine on these two days. Once people understood the truth they signed the petition against the persecution in droves. Some families walked around in the downtown area and each of the family members signed their name.

A fifty-year-old German woman was very interested in Chinese topics because her son was going to be assigned to work in China. When she understood the truth of the persecution against Falun Gong, she was astonished. After signing her name, she told the practitioners: “After going back I must tell my son and let him ask his company how they could make economic cooperation with such a country. They must think about it.”

Still eight to nine-year-old girls were shocked when they found out about the persecution. They asked the practitioners why this is happening. The three girls all thought about some solutions to stop the persecution: one would ask her parents and relatives to read the flyers, another would ask her teachers and classmates to become involved and the other girl said: “I would copy the flyers, give them to all the people and let everyone know the truth, so the bad men and police dare not beat or arrest people like this.” The practitioners were all touched, gave each of them some flyers and told them there was no need to use their pocket money to pay for copying.