Article from Bulgarian Newspaper “Dnevnik”: Chinese Embassy Forbids an Exhibition at Parliament

The exhibition of Zhang Cuiying, an Australian artist of Chinese origin, should have opened at the MP’s café in Parliament. Invitations were sent out about 10 days ago. However, according to the organiser of the exhibition Ms. Kremena Krumova, it was not opened after personal interference from the Chinese ambassador, Mr. Xie Hanxin on Monday and was cancelled by the Parliament's general secretary, Mr. Ognjan Avramov. One of the initiators of this cultural event is an MP of the National Movement Simeon II, Mrs. Snezhina Chipeva.

Zhang Cuiying had previously held an exhibition at the Hungarian Cultural Institute last year, which was a great success. The artist has held exhibitions in more than 60 countries worldwide. She practises an ancient method of exercises and meditation – Falun Dafa. Because of the popularity of the practise in China, the authorities declared it unlawful and have waged a campaign against its followers. After appealing against this decision, Zhang Cuiying was jailed for 8 months. According to Amnesty International, the practitioners of Falun Dafa are the biggest group of people to be subjected to such a systematic and brutal persecution. “The cancellation of the exhibition in the Parliament is serious interference with Bulgarian internal affairs, as well as with the relationship between Bulgaria and Australia”, commented Kremena Krumova, from the Bulgarian Falun Dafa Association.

“This incident shows the inadequate behaviour of the rulers. It is a humiliating act to cancel an exhibition in a democratic society, solely because it is art. In a democratic society the only criterion to estimate the value of a piece of art is its artistic value,” commented Mr.Vladimir Kisiov, deputy secretary of the Democratic Forces Union.

Zhang Cuiying was in Sofia last year; now she has decided not to come to Bulgaria. She sent a statement regarding to the cancellation of her exhibition at the Parliament, in which she said that the Chinese embassy was inciting hatred against Falun Dafa. The artist is currently preparing a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin in the UN.

http://www.dnevnik.bg/show/Default.asp?storyid=97661