News and Activities from Around the World -- January 8, 2006

Issued by Clearwisdom Net

The International "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance" Art Exhibition, sponsored by the Dutch Falun Gong Association, was held in the City Hall of Amsterdam from November 2 to November 15, 2005. The spirit of Falun Gong practitioners' perseverance in the face of inhuman persecution by the Chinese Communist regime made an unforgettable impression upon the government officials, City Hall staff members and the general public who visited the exhibition.

In a recent letter, the Mayor of Amsterdam wrote to Falun Gong practitioners and said, "Many people are talking about the brutal persecution that Falun Gong suffers in China. People are truly shocked."

Many visitors (including government officials of City Hall) signed their names to support bringing [former Chinese president and instigator of the persecution] Jiang Zemin to justice. A lot of people left messages in the guest book. A government official said furiously, "Where are the United Nations and all of the governments in the world? How can they tolerate this inhuman persecution, and let it drag on for more than six years? The human rights situation in China has deteriorated to such an awful degree, but all of the governments in the world are still making business deals with China. What they care about is making money, not human rights in China. We've got to make changes!"

Examples like this are happening every day. People who came to the art exhibition also included tourists from elsewhere in the world and even some Russian officials, who accompanied President Putin on a state visit to Holland.

A surprising event occurred on the second day of the exhibition. From the second floor, a City Hall staff member saw a golden light emit from a painting of Buddha. She ran down the stairs to the exhibition hall excitedly and quickly approached the painting with her hands joined in a gesture of reverence. She said to the practitioners in the exhibition hall, "Guess what I saw? I saw a golden light being emitted from this painting of Buddha! It was so beautiful. It is still emitting golden light. Your painting is really extraordinary." She told everyone she met about this, and brought her entire family to see the art exhibition.

The International "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance" Art Exhibition deeply impressed the citizens of Amsterdam. An Amsterdam TV Station and several newspapers provided positive news coverage about the event. Displayed inside the office of a government official working in City Hall was a replica of a painting displayed in the art exhibition. Lotus flowers inscribed with "Falun Gong Is Good!" were hung in the office of the security guards. Two posters were designed specifically for the art exhibition: one called "Heaven and Earth Become One" and the other, "Suffering in China," are still preserved in the display windows of the Amsterdam City Hall.

The Renaissance is said to have originated in Florence, Italy. Every year many tourists visit Florence, including many sightseeing groups from Mainland China. Because December 26, 2005 is Saint Stephen's day and also Italy's national holiday, Italian Falun Gong practitioners held an anti-torture exhibition at Florence's Piazza Republica to introduce the facts about Falun Gong and the brutal persecution in China to the general public.

Many tourists stop in front of the truth-clarification posters to learn the facts

Many sign the signature collection book, expressing their appreciation to the practitioners and encouraging them to persevere

Though it was the middle of winter, it was not very cold and people were happy in the holiday atmosphere. Accompanied by their parents, children happily played in the amusement area in the square, while street performers were playing violins and singing joyfully.

Falun Gong practitioners divided the activity into two parts. The first part was to demonstrate the magnificence of Falun Gong. In front of the banner reading, "Falun Gong Teaches People 'Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance'," practitioners demonstrated the five sets of exercises, which attracted many people's attention. The second part of the activity was to expose the Chinese Communist regime's persecution of Falun Gong. Practitioners held an anti-torture exhibition acted out by real people, and also displayed various photos and posters depicting the persecution of practitioners in China.

Many tourists from various countries accepted leaflets. After learning the facts, they came to sign the petition one after another to show their support for Falun Dafa and the persecuted practitioners. People were outraged by the fact that such a peaceful cultivation practice is oppressed by the Chinese dictatorial regime. An Italian woman expressed that she was very sorry to see the photos of practitioners being tortured, and said that it's hard for her to imagine that such extremely cruel persecution cases take place today. After viewing the posters, a monk from the Church of St. Francis of Assisi also signed the petition. While signing the petition, many people expressed their appreciation and admiration of Falun Gong practitioners' efforts to stop the persecution and encouraged them to persevere.

Many Chinese people in the square also came to see the exhibition. Lots of them had already learned about Falun Gong and had read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, so they knew about the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) evil nature. When practitioners were distributing truth-clarification materials and the Nine Commentaries, some Chinese sightseeing groups accepted the materials while others refused to take them due to fear. However, when others in their party were not around, some of them did accept the materials and hid them immediately. Still other Chinese tourists who didn't accept the materials read the display boards attentively.

Although one Chinese tour guide tried to stop group members from listening to the facts, after practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts, they listened anyway. While practitioners were explaining the facts to Chinese people, a westerner gave the thumbs up sign and shook hands with the practitioners to show his support.

During the five hours of activities, thousands of people found out more about Falun Gong and the CCP's six-year persecution of Falun Gong. Practitioners hope that they will all have a bright future.