(Clearwisdom.net) Today is the 25th of April and once again Chen Gang comes to the Chinese Embassy in Munich. He has been here countless times already with fellow practitioners to peacefully appeal against the Jiang group's persecution of Falun Gong in China. However, on this occasion he is here as an asylum seeker in Germany. Chen Gang came from Beijing to Munich for further studies in 1996, but he never expected that from May 2002 onward, he would no longer be able to have a passport as a Chinese citizen. The Chinese Embassy refused to renew his passport because he practiced Falun Gong. After that, he was stripped of all his rights as a Chinese national unless he stopped practicing Falun Gong.
Chen Gang began practicing Falun Gong in 1994. The reporter learned that Mr. Gang had the good fortune to participate in the "4.25" peaceful appeal in Beijing. At that time, he was visiting relatives in Beijing. On that day, he went with his mother, who had been practicing Falun Gong since 1996. They agreed to meet at the Central Appeals Bureau near Zhongnanhai at 9 a.m. He and his mother were surprised to see that many Falun Gong practitioners had already gathered there. Everyone stood quietly outside Zhongnanhai in an orderly manner. All the practitioners had only one wish: to call for the release of fellow practitioners detained in Tianjin. That evening, everyone left quietly after learning that the Tianjin practitioners would be released. Premier Zhu had reached an amicable agreement with the representatives. Chen Gang further added, "If the appeal activity was well organized just like the officials claimed, then more people would have gone. From our practice site, only a small number went; if everyone had planned properly, then many more would have gone. In actual fact, before we got there, we had no idea where to go. Some wanted to go to Tianjin to appeal, some wanted to go the Appeals Bureau. There were many different ideas and everyone made his own decision."
However, after "4.25" the situation became tense. The practice site Chen Gang usually went to was no longer allowed to be used for practice. The manager of the mall had received orders from above. Many work units started to investigate those who had participated in the Zhongnanhai appeal. After he returned to Germany, Mr. Gang wrote a letter to the then party chairman, Jiang Zemin, telling him that Falun Gong benefits everyone and that the country should give full support to Falun Gong. He asked Jiang not to persecute Falun Gong. Mr. Gang sent this letter to Beijing and had it published on Clearwisdom.net. Together with fellow practitioners he also went to see the secretary of the Chinese Embassy, Li Nianping, and a Mr. Dong who was in charge of the education department in the Chinese Embassy in Munich. These people all claimed that the Chinese government would not persecute Falun Gong and urged them not to believe in rumors. However, not long after, Falun Gong was suppressed in China. "I was very upset. I did not expect Jiang to be so despicable. The persecution is based on fabricated lies. No one in his right mind would make such a decision." Chen Gang continued, "When news of Falun gong practitioners tortured to death kept coming from China, we started coming to the Chinese Embassy to peacefully protest. We once again met with Li Nianping and other persons in charge. They gave us fabricated information defaming Falun Gong from China and emphasized the government's attitude, entirely forgetting what they had said before." Li Nianping further published a lengthy article defaming Falun Gong in a local German newspaper under the name of "media spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Berlin." About thirty Falun Gong practitioners tried to sue him for slander and libel in the German courts. However because he was a foreign diplomat, Li Nianping claimed immunity from the lawsuit. Chen Gang sighed, "This is how a totalitarian country manipulates and oppresses the entire nation's departmental apparatus. In order to obtain whatever it wants, it can adopt all kinds of despicable ways."
The persecution in China is escalating and the number of deaths is increasing. Chen Gang's mother and many practitioners continued to risk their lives going out to distribute truth-clarifying materials. She was put under surveillance by the police and regarded as an important criminal to arrest. Since 2001, she had been forced to live away from home and had to continuously stay on the move, in hiding. Fortunately, before the persecution began, she had obtained a passport to go to Germany. Finally in February 2004, Chen Gang's mother came to Germany. Chen Gang told reporters that he was happy that his mother feels safe now. He also stated that after his passport was rejected for renewal, he put in a lot of effort writing letters to the German Prime Minister, The Foreign Affairs Ministry and Members of Parliament, hoping that they could help him obtain a passport. A Member of Parliament with a sense of justice personally went to the Chinese Embassy to negotiate on behalf of Mr. Gang, but to no avail. Consequently, he has to report to the German immigration office every two months to obtain a temporary pass in order to continue staying in Germany. This has continued for two years. On several occasions, the German department has told him that he cannot go on like this, that he needs to have a passport. Not only that, because he has no identification documents, it has created many difficulties for him in his work and studies. Some Members of Parliament suggested that he seek refugee status. "I always wanted to have an identity as a Chinese national in a dignified manner. I was born there and my family is there. I love my country, but because I practice Truth, Compassion, Forbearance and want to be a good person, I was stripped of my rights to be a Chinese national. Finally I have only one road to take: to seek asylum. I feel sad for my country." He gave a deep sigh.
When the reporter asked what thoughts he had of "4.25," Mr. Gang said, "Since the persecution of Falun Gong began, every year on this day I come to the Chinese Embassy to protest peacefully. This is the fourth time. The persecution is still continuing, it should have ended earlier. However, the efforts of Falun Gong practitioners will awaken the conscience of many people. When I recall April 25, 1999, I can clearly see that Falun Gong practitioners have created a remarkable example for future people. Under such a dangerous mighty political environment, so many people stepped forward willingly. When they were treated with injustice, in order to uphold justice, uphold the truth, they selflessly risked their lives to step forward, yet they adopted such peaceful and rational means. They opened a peaceful path for future people. A great page has been recorded in history!"
