(Minghui.org) Practitioners gathered at Marktstaette in downtown Konstanz, located on the banks of Lake Constance (Bodensee in German), on July 31, 2023 to introduce Falun Dafa and raise awareness of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) suppression of Falun Dafa in China. They had a table with materials introducing Falun Dafa, including fliers and small lotus flowers. A yellow banner with the words “Falun Dafa Is Great” was hung in front of the table. Practitioners demonstrated the exercises, handed out information, and collect signatures on a petition to call for an end to the persecution. 

Two weeks before the activity in Konstanz, practitioners held a similar event in Bregenz, Austria.

Lake Constance borders Switzerland, Austria and Germany and is jointly managed by the three countries. As it is the summer holidays, whether it is the tree-lined streets of Bregenz, Austria, or the busy streets of Konstanz, people stroll about and enjoy the summer weather, the good food, and admire the beautiful scenery of Lake Constance. On both days of the activities, many passersby accepted information given out by practitioners and chatted for a long time, gaining a better understanding of Falun Dafa, a traditional mind and body cultivation practice. 

Practitioners held activities in Konstanz on July 31, 2023 to tell people about the ongoing persecution in China.

People in Bregenz, Austria, on the eastern end of Lake Constance, were pleased to accept the fliers handed out by practitioners. Many asked about the practice.

People sign the petition to call for an end to the atrocities in China after learning how the CCP persecutes Falun Dafa.

Passersby were interested in learning more about Falun Dafa.

A group of girls were drawn to the beautiful lotus flowers placed on the table. They read the phrase below the flower: “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness,Compassion, Forbearance is good” and then a practitioner talked to them about Falun Dafa.

Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance Is What Everyone Needs

Marie-Theres, a retired kindergarten teacher, said that Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance are powerful principles. “These are our basic values and attitude. In the past, now and in the future, it will always have important significance. It is simple yet profound, powerful, and they are what everyone needs. If we neglect these principles, we will discover in the end that we cannot continue to move forward; there is no way out.”

Marie-Theres cannot understand why the Chinese Communist Party wants to persecute practitioners. “Yet a regime sees people who follow these three principles as a dangerous group? It is very wrong,” she said.

After speaking to a practitioner for a long time, she exclaimed, “I am astounded!The CCP actually has the power to destroy people’s lives, ruin the lives of hundreds of thousands of people for no reason. I find it inconceivable.” Marie-Theres signed the petition, saying, “This persecution is a crime the world needs to know about. This should not be taking place. I know there are people whose freedom is taken away, and they are cruelly tortured. This should be stopped.”

Marcur said he'd heard of Falun Dafa at a similar activity last year. He’d gone online to find out more about Falun Dafa. Marcur said, “I have an excellent impression of this [Falun Dafa]. It is a way of life that helps to relieve stress and find inner balance.” He then asked where he could learn to practice Falun Dafa.

Manuela stood quietly watching for a long time as practitioners demonstrated the exercises. She said she thought the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance, “Are wonderful. You will not go wrong following these principles.”

I Hope Practitioners Can Regain Freedom of Belief and Speech

In the evening, Marta, who is a shop manager, and her husband stopped at the information booth in Bregenz and got off their bicycles. They browsed the materials on the table and spoke briefly with a practitioner before signing the petition.

Marta said her husband had read media reports about Falun Dafa and knew a little about the persecution. When they rode past earlier, they planned to stop on their way back to find out more about it. “Of course we must sign the petition, we must support practitioners,” she said without hesitation.

“I hope more and more people can sign this,” she continued. “I hope the situation of those in China will get better, that they will no longer be incarcerated, and can follow their faith freely and speak freely. This is important.”

Marta said she was someone who pays attention to spiritual needs. She affirmed, “Falun Dafa is great,” and said that she plans to go online to find out more about Dafa, in addition to reading the materials she took that day. She glanced at the materials and said, “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance, these are excellent and deeply rooted in people’s hearts.”

Commenting on the persecution of Falun Dafa, Marta said, “The CCP’s tyranny is terrible. People cannot freely express their views. They are imprisoned just because their actions are not permitted by the CCP’s governance. This is truly a disaster and unimaginable. You should let more people know about this.”

Before leaving, she took several postcards calling for the release of the parents of a Falun Dafa practitioner in Germany. The couple were detained in May this year for practicing Falun Dafa. When Marta learned that practitioners continue to be illegally detained, she exclained, “It’s frightening!” then added that she thought that the ongoing persecution shows that the CCP continues to be afraid of Falun Dafa.

The CCP Should Be Held Accountable For Its Crimes 

Christine, a retired German language teacher, took a flier that a practitioner offered her as she strolled near the lake. She chatted with the practitioner for a long time and signed the petition. Referring to the persecution and the CCP’s forced organ harvesting of prisoners of conscience, she said, “Such crimes must be stopped. This is murder. It is so bloody, like savages. It is unreasonable and should not be tolerated; it is inhumane.”

In Konstanz, people signed the petition to call on the CCP to stop persecuting Falun Dafa. Slaveya, who is from Bulgaria, said after signing the petition, “I hope to stop this sin and that people will not be persecuted anymore. The perpetrators should be thrown into prison.”

Edris, a young man from Afghanistan, said, “I hope I can help them, stop their organs from being taken without consent. Everyone is entitled to their own views, they know what they should do, and no one should coerce them. Everyone should have their own belief.” He thanked practitioners for holding activities to tell people about what is happening in China. “What you do can bring positive changes,” Edris said.

Mr. Teskc, a retired electrician, also hopes that his signature on the petition, “will be of help and stop the CCP from persecuting is own people.” He added, “Dictatorships never succeed.”

It Is Important to Let More People Know About Your Protests

High school student Mara and her friend Lara stopped by the practitioner’s booth. They said that they had never heard of Falun Dafa before meeting practitioners that day. They also said that they thought it was important to let more people know about the persecution in China.

Lara signed the petition and said, “I cannot understand why the CCP is persecuting Falun Gong. These people only want to do exercises and find peace in their hearts and be happy. Why would anyone steal their happiness?”

When she was told of the CCP’s forced organ harvesting, Lara said, “How can practitioners feel safe? How can they live without fear? If you are constantly apprehensive, worried that people might trade in your organs, your body, your heart... how scary that would be. I think is it frightening.”

Lara hopes there will be more media reports on the persecution. “I hope the media can report on this,” she said. “So many trivial matters are reported, yet there are no reports on something so important. I think it is a great pity.”

Before leaving, she thanked practitioners for their efforts: “Please keep on going. It is great that you are spreading the truth.” She added, “We should let everyone live freely following the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.”