Practitioners from Denmark and Sweden Hold an Anti-Torture Exhibition in Copenhagen on United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

Torture scene shocks the public

June the 26th 2004 was the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Falun Gong practitioners from Denmark and Sweden jointly held Northern Europe's first “Anti-Torture Exhibition” in City Hall Square in the Danish Capital Copenhagen, bringing the reality of the brutal persecution suffered by Falun Gong practitioners in China to the public. The reality of the torture shocked many people.

For the “Anti-Torture Exhibition”, Falun Gong practitioners used live demonstrations and posters to show different methods of torture suffered by fellow practitioners in China. These included penetration of the fingertips with sharp bamboo sticks, burning with red-hot objects, and being tied with outstretched arms then beaten. At the same time, other practitioners demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises, which formed a sharp contrast with the scenes of torture. Practitioners introduced to the public, in English and Danish, the five-year long persecution of Falun Gong in China and the facts about Falun Dafa. Swedish practitioners, accompanied on guitar and other instruments, sang to appeal to the public to help to end this persecution.

People eagerly want to know the truth

Many people stopped to learn the truth about Falun Gong. There were large crowds all the time in front of the live demonstration of torture and posters. They carefully read the poster illustrations and the distributed materials. People eagerly wanted to know why such brutal torture occurs in China.

Many people, with tears in their eyes, looked at the bruises on the practitioners’ bodies and could not believe what happened. Some people repeatedly told practitioners acting out as wicked police, “Stop beating the women! Why are you beating them?” Looking at the wounds burnt by hot objects on a practitioner’s leg, one woman became very concerned. She only relaxed and left with peace when she was told that the wound was created with make-up. A young man, after seeing the bamboo sticks penetrating a practitioner’s fingertips, could not accept this brutal torture and tried to remove the sticks. Many came with their children to see the exhibition: they read to their children the words on the banners and told them such events are occurring in China. A child, who was just learning to walk, had a long look at a practitioner acting out being tortured and his eyes filled with sympathy. A middle-aged Chinese scholar who came to Denmark for study expressed that he will definitely visit the Falun Dafa websites to learn the truth about Falun Gong, and carefully consider what is happening in his own country.

Because it was the summer tourist season, there were many tourists from different countries visiting Copenhagen. They requested Falun Gong information from practitioners in different languages. Tourists from China received the truth-clarifying Video-CDs and other materials. Many of them will look into the true situation regarding this persecution. Many people held long conversations with practitioners and signed the petition. Others quietly listened to the explanatory talks.

Candle light vigil at the Chinese Embassy

After the “Anti-Torture Exhibition” in the centre of Copenhagen, some practitioners went to the Chinese Embassy in Denmark for a candle light vigil, commemorating their fellow practitioners who have lost their lives due to the brutal persecution.

Media report

The following day, Denmark’s main newspaper Politiken published an interview with a Danish practitioner. The article not only described the ongoing human rights abuse in China, but also gave a detailed introduction to Falun Dafa cultivation and Dafa websites.

A professional cameraman came to our practice site and gave us a CD of all the photos he took during the anti-torture exhibition. When we were preparing the posters of torture, an assistant in a colour printing shop decided to provide us free copies to show his support and concern after he learned that these pictures would be used in an appeal to the public to help end the human rights persecution in China.

Practitioners coordinate like a whole body with pure hearts

Many practitioners had just returned from the 2004 European Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference in Vienna, and only had a few days to prepare for this activity. Despite the lack of experience and time limit, practitioners from the two countries coordinated in harmony like a whole body. A western practitioner bought a book and materials over the Internet and quickly mastered some make-up techniques. The wounds he created looked so real that it was difficult to tell the difference from the real ones. Swedish practitioners also learned make-up techniques from practitioners in Chicago when attending the Dafa experience sharing conference there and brought back some acting tips. Danish practitioners used a weekend break and created the equipment for the torture exhibition and truth-clarifying materials in English and Danish. Other practitioners made banners and posters until the early morning. Practitioners all worked in harmony and helped each other.

Of the practitioners participating in the live torture demonstration, quite a few have family members and relatives who are being persecuted in China because of their belief in Falun Gong. Some of them are still in prison. Some lost contact after being arrested. There was a new practitioner who suffered greatly when his parents, who are Falun Gong practitioners, were arrested. In just one night he lost his family. After obtaining the Fa, he released himself from the pain of family suffering. In order to let the public know about the brutal persecution in China, he wholeheartedly entered the acting role. Although it’s summer time, Northern Europe still feels chilly after a few days heavy rain. One practitioner wearing light clothes forgot how chilly it was and acted as a practitioner being tortured in China for long time. His acting was extremely moving. Other participating practitioners also used their pure hearts to overcome the pains brought upon by torture methods, and stayed in a single posture in the cold weather until the end. Practitioners acting as wicked police overcame their inner disgust and simulated the acts of evil police they learned on the Internet in order to let the public see the brutal persecution, which was only a tiny portion of the reality.