Holland: People of Amsterdam Impressed by the International Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance Art Exhibition

The International Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance Art Exhibition, sponsored by the Dutch Falun Gong Association, was held in city hall Amsterdam from November 2nd to November 15th, 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 City 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.” The remarks faithfully describe what actually occurred during the ten day exhibition. Many visitors (including government officials of the city hall) signed their names to support bringing Jiang Zemin to justice. Some even signed on behalf of their relatives and friends. 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 such kind of inhuman persecution, and let it drag on for more than six years? The human rights situations in China have 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 some Russian officials, who accompanied President Putting for a state visit to Holland.

What surprised people even more occurred on the second day of the exhibition. From the second floor, a female staff member of the city hall saw a golden light emit from a Buddha’s painting. She ran down the stairs excitedly and fast approached the painting with her hands joined in a gesture of reverence. Subsequently, she turned her face to the practitioners in the exhibition hall, saying “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 Art Exhibition of “Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance” deeply impressed the citizens of Amsterdam. The Amsterdam TV Station and several newspapers provided positive news coverage about the event. Hung inside the office of a government official working in the city hall was a replica of a painting work displayed in the Art Exhibition. Lotus flowers inscribed with “Falun Gong Is Good!” were hung in the office of the security guards. The two posters designed purposely for the Art Exhibition, one is “Unity of Heaven and Mankind” and another is “Calamities Endured in the Hinterland”, are still preserved in the display windows of the city hall, Amsterdam.