(Clearwisdom.net) The Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance International Art Exhibition graced the beautiful Island of Saipan on March 9, 2009. The exhibit, organized by the Falun Dafa Association of Saipan and sponsored by the Fine Arts Association of the Northern Mariana Islands and Phoenix Art, will be open for a month. The exhibition includes 27 oil paintings by artists who practice Falun Dafa.
Ribbon cutting
Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance International Art Exhibition
Introduction to the art exhibition in the Saipan Tribune
DOI Official Mr. Jeff Schorr, Attorney Mark Hansan, and Kern, a local security official, attended the opening ceremony on the evening of March 9.
Artist Xiaoping Chen, originally from China but now living in Saipan, has received the Outstanding Artist Award from the Governor-General. She received attention from local residents as soon as she arrived on the island. Several pieces of art in the exhibition were created by Ms. Chen.
People attending the ceremony were fascinated by the beauty of Falun Dafa and the artwork. Many said that they felt fortunate that such outstanding art had come to the Island of Saipan. They were shocked by the brutal persecution of Falun Dafa in China and wanted to find out more about Falun Dafa.
News of the exhibition was reported as a top story in the Saipan Tribune. Another local newspaper, Marianas Variety, also reported on the exhibition three days later. The reporters learned about the persecution and also the fact that local Falun Gong practitioners were stopped from distributing fliers at local tourist sites. Attorney Hansan told the reporters that the local government had been pressured by the Chinese Communist Party. He stated that it was against the Constitution to limit Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful activities, and if it happened again, he and practitioners would take legal action.
Many people visited the show after reading about it in the newspaper. Robert Hunter, Executive Director of the NMI Museum of History and Culture, had high praise for the exhibition. He strongly recommended that local residents, especially schoolchildren, visit the exhibition. He also expressed his respect for freedom of belief and admiration for this peaceful method of exposing the persecution.
Many visitors to the exhibit wrote in the guest book that they were saddened by the persecution.
Falun Gong practitioners gave each visitor a paper lotus flower as a souvenir.
