Taiwan: Art Exhibition Depicts the Beauty of Falun Dafa (Photos)

May 06, 2013 | By Sun Bo and Su Rong

(Minghui.org) As the National University of Kaohsiung (NUK) celebrated its 13^th anniversary in the last week of April 2013, the Falun Dafa Club held a six-day exhibition featuring the Art of Zhen-Shan-Ren (Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance) to introduce Falun Dafa to the faculty, students, parents, and local groups and residents. The university president also visited the exhibition with his wife.

Twenty people from a local English study club come to see the exhibition

Visitors view the paintings

Professor: Attendees Empathize with the Paintings

Professor Liu Shao-dong, also an advisor of the NUK Falun Dafa Club, said, “It’s a great opportunity to allow everyone from the school and the guests who attend the anniversary celebration to learn more about Falun Dafa. The persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China is severe and there is a moving story behind every painting. If a person can quiet himself and really observe them, one can easily empathize with the paintings.”

The Characters Seem Real

Lin Hsin-Bei is a foreign language major who realized that the persecution is real from the paintings.

Foreign language major Lin Hsin-Bei thought the paintings looked very real. “The paintings look so real, especially the facial expressions of the characters. I felt that I was in the scene myself and that the characters were right in front of me. I could feel their sadness and pain from the persecution. Several paintings allowed me to feel serene and peaceful. I enjoy them so much. The paintings are top quality,” said Lin.

A classmate of Lin’s once clarified the facts of the persecution in front of the class. “It feels like the persecution is much more brutal than I thought. I hope the practitioners never give up their belief.”

“What Can I Do for Falun Gong?”

Chung worked at the Information Center and attended the exhibition many times. He said, “After I understood the facts of the persecution, I felt very emotional. I can understand how magnificent Falun Gong practitioners are.” He then asked a volunteer at the exhibition, “What can I do for Falun Gong?”

Freedom of Belief and Speech Should be Respected

Architecture student Chung Cheng-Hsien.

An architecture major, Chung Cheng-Hsien, visited the exhibition several times. He believes the paintings were inspiring. “The composition of each painting is rigorous. The artists seem to have paid a lot of attention to detail and to contrast. Some of them are peaceful and happy, some have stories behind them. I mostly hope that the Chinese regime can respect everyone’s freedom of belief and speech.”

Hearing a Different Story in China

An exchange student from China came to visit the exhibition. She was very excited and said, “I will read these materials carefully and think about it. The auspiciousness and beauty I see today is completely different from what I hear in China.”

Art is a Tool to Convey a Message

Retired engineer, Ms. Li.

Retired engineer Ms. Li likes to visit painting exhibitions. After she saw the exhibition she said, “The paintings are of very high quality. The artists are very skillful. The stories behind the paintings make them different from all paintings that I’ve seen before.”

Ms. Li had previously heard about Falun Gong, “I also know that it is suppressed in China. The Chinese regime should not have done that. Falun Gong’s teachings are good.”

An English teacher from Australia, Patrick, observes a painting

Patrick is an English teacher from Australia who saw the paintings and listened to the volunteer explaining the stories behind them. He objected to the persecution of spiritual belief and said that he would ask his friends to come see the paintings. He left a message in the guest book, “Very impressed by the quality and symbolism of the oil paintings. Very evocative.”

The Persecution Should be Stopped

Ms. Chou works nearby said that she was stunned after seeing the paintings. “I can’t believe that the persecution is so relentless and savage. I thought the Chinese regime merely prohibited the practice. I am very sad and angry.”

Ms. Chen came to NUK for some business and saw the exhibit. She admired the exquisite skill of the artists. When she saw a painting with a practitioner at the brink of death due to torture and had to be released for medical treatment, she said that she almost cried. She could not believe that such a vicious persecution was really happening.

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: Other Community Events

Mr. Xu Zhibin Emaciated After 11 Years at Jinzhou Forced Labor Camp

May 08, 2013 | By a Minghui correspondent from Liaoning Province

Name: Xu Zhibin (许志斌)
Gender: male
Age: 51
Address: unknown
Occupation: unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: 2002
Most Recent Place of Detention: Jinzhou Forced Labor Camp (锦州监狱)
Detention City: Jinzhou
Detention Province: Liaoning
Persecution Suffered: Illegal sentencing, imprisonment

(Minghui.org) Officials from the Liaoning Province Prison Administration Bureau recently went to inspect Jinzhou Forced Labor Camp. Prison officials ordered the illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners to cooperate with the visiting officials while they were there. Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Xu Zhibin refused to comply and went on a hunger strike three days ago.

Mr. Xu Zhibin graduated from Dalian University of Technology and is 51 years old. Prior to beginning practicing Falun Gong in 1995, his health was not good. Through practicing Falun Gong he became free of illness. He firmly believes in the practice.

Since July 1999, he has been treated as a key figure by local police, and has been arrested six times. He was tortured while in detention. In 2002, Dalian Ganjinzi District Court illegally sentenced him to 14 years in prison. He is currently incarcerated at Ward No. 4 of Jinzhou Forced Labor Camp.

Prison officials have refused Mr. Xu’s family’s requests to visit him for the last four years. The last time he received visitors he was extremely weak and walked unsteadily. He weighed less than 50 kg (110 lb), which is severely underweight for his height of 1.8 m (5’11”). In June 2012, prison officials attempted to forcefully “transform” Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Xu was tied to tiger bench for a week.

Torture Re-enactment: Tiger bench

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: Accounts of Persecution

Ms. Wang Zhenxiu of Zibo, Shandong Province Remains in Detention; Family Protests

May 08, 2013 | By a Minghui correspondent from Shandong Province, China

Name: Wang Zhenxiu (王振秀)
Gender: Female
Age: Nearly 60
Address: unknown
Occupation: unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: July 3, 2012
Most Recent Place of Detention: Zibo City Detention Center (淄博市看守所)
Detention City: Zibo
Detention Province: Shandong
Persecution Suffered: Detention, forced labor

(Minghui.org) Ms. Wang Zhenxiu is nearly 60 years old and lives in Zibo, Shandong Province. She was illegally arrested at home on July 3, 2012, then taken to the Zibo City Detention Center, where she is currently being detained. Her court hearing was held on September 12, 2012. Her defense lawyer stated that she hadn’t violated any laws and should be released. He also explained that none of the fabricated charges stood up to current laws. Ms. Wang stated that the pursuit of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance was not a crime. Subsequently, the presiding judge declared a recess and said that he would pick another date to announce the court’s decision. Apparently, the local Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government wanted to prevent lawyers from defending Falun Dafa practitioners due to a lack of legal evidence.

Ms. Wang is being illegally detained, and the length of time after the hearing is longer than what is permitted by law. Family members have spoken to the prosecutor’s office many times but to no avail, as no one there has accepted responsibility on this issue; therefore, this situation is ongoing.

Ms. Wang’s health has deteriorated and she’s lost twenty pounds. Despite her age, she is required to do forced labor for ten hours daily and is allowed two meals a day. Her dentures have broken but officials haven’t allowed her to obtain treatment. The Ministry of Public Security made the following announcement in 2005 regarding the management of detainees: “Detainees may volunteer to work. However, old, sick, or weak detainees should not participate in labor.”

When family members protested the forced labor, an officer insisted that all detainees participating in work were volunteers. It is questionable that elderly and physically weak people would volunteer to do such hard labor. The officer finally agreed that Ms. Wang would not do more hard labor after her family’s continued insistence.

Two other members of Ms. Wang’s family have been imprisoned by CCP authorities. Her husband Wang Jingkui was taken to a forced labor camp twice, and was persecuted to death in 2010. In 2003, her brother, Wang Xinbo was illegally sentenced to 13 years in prison by the Zibo City Political and Judiciary Committee. Prison authorities sent him home in January of 2006 on the verge of death; he died on February 10, 2006. Ms. Wang has been persecuted repeatedly. Once, she left home in order to avoid persecution. She was arrested at home by Zhangdian District Stadium Police Station officers on July 2, 2012. The officers also confiscated a carload of her personal belongings.

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: Accounts of Persecution

Falun Dafa Practitioners in The Hague Commemorate the April 25th Appeal (Photos)

May 04, 2013 | By Falun Gong practitioners in The Hague

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners from across the Netherlands came to The Hague on April 25 2013. In front of the Chinese Embassy, they did the exercises and meditation and clarified the truth to passersby. They raised awareness about what really happened in Beijing on April 25, 1999, when over 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners peacefully appealed to authorities at Zhongnanhai, the central government compound.

Thijs Berman, MEP from the Netherlands, signed the petition to support the practitioners’ efforts to end the persecution

Ahmed Marcouch, MP from the Netherlands (left 2), was very pleased to take a copy of the Minghui Weekly from a practitioner

Falun Gong practitioners clarifying the facts about the persecution in front of the Chinese Embassy

Overseas Chinese who visited the Chinese Embassy that day stopped to watch. Some took photos with their cell phones, and some even took leaflets. At lunch time after the event, more practitioners went to the Hague Parliament Square, where they distributed leaflets and told passersby about Falun Gong. After learning about the severe persecution occurring in China, many decided to sign the petition to stop the persecution.

One Dutch person said that, for a hundred years, the communist movement has already proven to be a symbol of brutality, deception, death, and a regime of terror. He was very sympathetic toward the Chinese people that were suffering the persecution. He hoped that everyone would stand up and said “No!” to such brutality.

Two female tourists from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, took several leaflets, and said that Falun Gong practitioners’ kindness, sincerity, modesty, and tolerance were well respected in Canada’s multicultural communities and that the Canadian government was very supportive of Falun Gong. They commented that it was nice meeting with practitioners in Europe and being able to get their hands on more information. They said that they would hold onto the flyers and take a look at the Falun Gong website when they got home.

Binnenhof is where the House of Representatives sits. MPs in this country work here. They are responsible for monitoring and supervising the work of the Cabinet, as well as considering new bills. During the truth clarification event near Binnenhof, Falun Gong practitioners encountered several members from the House of Representatives, and handed them copies of the Minghui Weekly.

Netherlands EU lawmaker Thijs Berma, signed the petition to show his support. Ahmed Marcouch (in the middle of the picture), a member pf the House of Representatives, took a copy of the Minghui Weekly from a practitioner and asked about Falun Gong.

More than half of the people who passed by Parliament Square said that they had heard of Falun Gong or had previously known a little bit about the tragic persecution of the practice in China. Many people believe that Falun Gong practitioners’ peaceful, non-violent, truth-clarification efforts have made it possible for more and more people to understand the truth and thereby to stand up for justice.

Chinese version available

CATEGORY: April 25 Events