(Clearwisdom.net) On April 4-5, the Falun Dafa Club at California State University at San Jose organized an "Uncompromising Courage" art exhibition, and hosted a multi-cultural "Spring Harmony" evening performance which attracted about 300 visitors.
The exhibition displayed paintings by Falun Gong practitioners, which depicted the peace and dignity of Falun Dafa cultivation, exposed the facts of the ongoing persecution in China, and highlighted worldwide support for the practice. Most faculty members and students who attended said that they didn't know that the persecution of this peaceful practice was so brutal.
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The "Uncompromising Courage" art exhibition
The evening show was held on April 5, and the program included the traditional Dragon dance, Lion dance, Red Silk dance, Lotus dance, a Vietnamese dance, a Hawaiin dance, a piano solo, and an Italian folk song, among other performances. Renowned Chinese tenor, Guan Guimin, performed "The Fa Rectifies the Universe" and an Italian folk song.
  Dance performance |
  Tenor Guan Guimin |
  An enthusiastic audience |
During the evening show, practitioners demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises while Western practitioner Carlson explained the features of the practice, the grand spread of Falun Gong in China before July 1999, the brutal persecution since July 1999, as well as practitioners' worldwide activities and the support received. Carlson said that he had asthma in the past and was hospitalized several times because of it. However, his symptoms completely disappeared after beginning Falun Gong practice. The peaceful exercise demonstration received warm applause from the audience.
Carlson went on to talk about the "Uncompromising Courage" art exhibition. He first introduced the painting "Persecution of Women," in which two guards and two inmates are torturing and insulting a female Falun Gong practitioner. Sexual insult is one of the many torture methods used to torture female practitioners who refuse to denounce Falun Gong. Carlson said that to live in a harmonious world, we need to not only understand each other and learn about different cultures, but also that we must stop any brutal persecution of goodness. Carlson introduced another canvas entitled "Coming for You." The painting depicts the historic appeal of Western practitioners on Tiananmen Square, Beijing. On that day, 36 practitioners from 13 countries displayed an 8-foot-long banner which read, "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" in both Chinese and English. His introduction stimulated many students' interest in the exhibition.
A sophomore said that he didn't know that the persecution was so severe. However, he was not surprised when he heard that the persecution of Falun Gong was instigated by the Chinese Communist Party, because he had friend in China who was persecuted for his own religious beliefs.
One woman regretted that she hadn't brought a camera with her and asked where she could see the paintings again.
Persecution of Falun Gong in Chinese Universities
After seeing the on-stage Falun Gong demonstration and hearing the concurrent introduction, a retired Chinese professor who recently came from China to the U.S. for a family visit said, "There is no way to practice Falun Gong freely in China right now."
Falun Gong activities have also been held in many other U.S. universities. For example, one week ago, an anti-torture exhibition was held at UC Berkeley, and a similar anti-torture exhibition was held at California State University at Chico. In contrast to the freedom enjoyed by practitioners in U.S. universities however, practitioners in Chinese universities have experienced severe persecution.
According to a recent report on Minghui.org (the Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net), a practitioner couple (Mr. An Haifeng and Ms. Chen Fengtian), who were both lecturers from Beijing University of Chemical Technology, have been repeatedly harassed by local community officials and police. Professor An was often detained on so-called sensitive days (i.e. national holidays or dates when the Chinese Communist Party holds meetings). During the past five-plus years of persecution, the couple's salaries were cut in half. The perpetrators often forced them to write so-called "Conversion Letters" (letters formally denouncing Falun Gong) but all of these illegal requests were firmly refused by the couple. Mr. An was persecuted to death on October 16, 2004, and his wife is still in custody.
Practitioner Zheng Xujun, a PhD student at the Chinese Academy of Electric Science, was also severely persecuted for practicing Falun Gong. He was first secretly expelled from the Academy, then abducted, tortured and sent to a forced labor camp and brainwashing centers for further persecution. The Academy transferred his address to a non-existent location, which resulted in cancellation of Zheng's residency. Consequently, he couldn't live a normal life nor find a job after he was finally released.
Sharing Helps Westerners Deepen their Understanding of the Nature of the Chinese Communist Party
The audience at the evening show was very interested in the oriental culture presented in this show. After seeing practitioners' cultural performances and exercise demonstration, and having learned about the ongoing persecution, some audience members asked practitioners why the Chinese Communist Party would persecute Falun Gong. Unavoidably, the talks touched upon the nature of the Party, the damage that the Party has done to traditional Chinese culture, the persecution of religious beliefs, as well as how the Party purposefully distorted history and used commercial interests as well as diplomatic means to block information and bully Western media. Through the interactive discussion, the attendees deepened their understanding of the evil nature of the Chinese Communist Party.
Practitioner Flowers, a student at CSU San Jose, said that the purpose of this exhibition and evening performance was not only to help people understand the cultures of other countries, but also to let people know about the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong, and to call for help in ending the persecution of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance."
