Issued by Clearwisdom Net

From August 29 to September 4, 2005, the Third International Truth, Compassion, Tolerance Art Exhibition hosted by the Japan Falun Dafa Association was held in the No. 1 Exhibition Hall of the County People's Hall, Kanagawa, Yokohama, Japan. More than thirty paintings were shown during the seven-day exhibition, and they left a deep impression on the viewers.

The exhibition was held in two rooms. Paintings exposing the persecution of Falun Gong in China were hung together in one room. Paintings showing the grace of Falun Gong and painting showing retributions for wrong deeds were hung in the next room. The contrast between the exhibitions in the two rooms was remarkable. Some viewers said, "They look like two worlds!"

Predestined people come to know about Falun Gong for the first time

Many of the viewers did not know about the painting exhibition beforehand. They learned about Falun Gong and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s six-year-long persecution for the first time. They were surprised and expressed sympathy for the practitioners and support to oppose the persecution.

On the morning of September 1, just after the exhibition opened, a young Western man came and greeted everyone in Japanese. Seeing bookmarks on the information desk, he said to himself, "Falun Gong."

There was no introduction in English. By coincidence, there was a brochure of the paintings in both English and Chinese on the desk. The practitioners invited him to sit down and read the description before viewing the paintings. The young man agreed, sat down, and read the brochure while talking with the practitioners.

He said that he had been in Japan for two months and was staying in Saitama to learn Japanese. He had heard of the persecution of Falun Gong. He asked the reason for the persecution. The practitioner told him, "Because CCP is evil and does not allow freedom of belief." The young man agreed as he is from Poland.

In their discussion, he said that he could imagine the CCP's cruel deeds because his country used to be controlled by the Communist Party. He laughed at a painting of an angel goinh to prod Jiang Zemin, the persecution culprit, into hell. Hearing that Jiang has been sued in 15 countries, he said that such actions were very good.

He put forward that he would like to spread the information on the persecution to his students learning English. He said that he had Chinese friends and would give the information in Chinese to them.

The practitioner asked him to write down comments after viewing the exhibition. He wrote down the following words in English, "I am touched by the painting exhibition. I knew a little about Falun Gong. But after looking the paintings, I now know that the persecution of Falun Gong in China is so cruel."

As he left, he shook hands with a practitioner and said, "Don't give up! Don't be afraid! If you are afraid, that's what the Chinese Communist Party wants. Please believe one day you can get freedom like us. Good luck to you!"

Comments by a young man from Poland

On the afternoon of September 4, teachers and students from the Tokyo Minghui School came to view the paintings. Though the teachers had introduced some paintings beforehand, the students listened carefully to the guide. After viewing the paintings, they had a discussion in a park nearby. The children said that they would think of better methods to help end the persecution in China and rescue practitioners' orphans.

From the 10th to the 18th of September, 2005, the week-long annual Cowley Festival was held in the Cowley district of Oxford, UK. On the 17th of September, Falun Gong practitioners from Oxford and neighbouring cities participated in the Cowley Festival by invitation from the organising committee. At the Cowley Centre, practitioners demonstrated Falun Gong exercises and performed the Lion Dance and "The Flying Law Wheel" dance.

Lion dance

Dance "The flying law wheel"

Falun Gong exercise demonstration

The festival's organising committee's invitation was on a strong recommendation from Mr. Stan Taylor, who was a former member of Oxford city council. According to local practitioners, since his term at the local council, Mr. Taylor has been deeply sympathetic towards Falun Gong's persecution in China. He supports calls to stop the persecution.

A brief introduction to Falun Gong was included in the Cowley Festival leaflets. The introduction mentioned: Following "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance" as basic principles, Falun Gong is a practice, which includes exercises and meditation, to improve body, mind and spirit.

On the 17th of September, the day of the event, some practitioners demonstrated the five peaceful and harmonious Falun Gong exercises while others distributed leaflets. A few onlookers enquired about where to learn the exercises. Practitioners gave them details about the free classes taught by local volunteers.

An English gentleman who studies at Oxford University told a Chinese practitioner that he also saw Falun Gong a week or two before in Cambridge. He added, "You are welcome here (in the UK)" "Here you can practise freely and call freely for a stop to the persecution."

At the end of the event, when passing the practitioners, a gentleman made a point of saying, "Thank you very much!"

Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/9/18/110675.html