French TV Report on “Spring Telling” Exhibition Explains the Facts About Falun Gong

After initiating the persecution of Falun Gong in July 1999, Jiang Zemin also began a campaign of propaganda designed to smear the reputation of Falun Gong. Using the label of “evil cult”, the slander deceived not only the Chinese people, but also many people around the world, stifling the righteous voices of the governments, public and organizations which could condemn the persecution and support the innocent practitioners in China. There are still many people around the world who have misunderstandings stemming from the label which Jiang slapped on Falun Gong in order to continue his personal vendetta.

A French TV station recently reported on Falun Gong practitioners participation in the recent “Spring Telling” Exhibition in France. This provided a good opportunity to clear the good name of Falun Gong and to explain the facts about the nature of Falun Gong and the persecution. It was on a state visit in France in October 1999 that Jiang publicly declared Falun Gong "evil cult" so for the French people, this TV report was a significant opportunity to hear the truth behind Jiang's poisonous lies. The following is a transcript of the broadcast.

Host of the TV Show: "Is Falun Gong a cult or a cultivation movement? It is a cultivation practice originating from Buddhism to improve health through sitting meditation. It is prohibited in China and more than a hundred thousand practitioners are detained in prisons and labour camps. However, it is not considered a cult in France. One thing's for sure - Falun Gong was invited to the Spring Telling exhibition.”

TV Reporter: “Falun Gong practitioners say that you can understand the principles they believe in, Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, through these exercises and sitting meditation inspired from Buddhism. It is hard to know the existing number of Falun Gong practitioners in France. However, Falun Gong claim that there were at least eighty million practitioners in China. Since 1999, Falun Gong has been forbidden by Jiang’s Regime and accused of being a cult. Falun Gong practitioners who attended the“Spring Telling” exhibition for the first time did not accept this accusation.

Steven (a Falun Gong practitioner): “The person [ Jiang Zemin] who has labeled Falun Dafa as a heretical cult is killing the practitioner’s children and wives and destroying their families. Everyone can consider freely whether what this criminal says can be believed or not.”

TV Reporter: ”Besides, the Anti-cult Organisation does not include Falun Gong amongst its list of cult organisations. These practitioners are making use of the exhibition to let the people worldwide know about the Chinese Government’s oppression against them. They explained the facts about the persecution and detailed the bloody torture and illegal arrests. The“Spring Telling” exhibition was actually a very good platform. For the organisers of the exhibition, there was no problem in Falun Gong practitioners expressing their feelings.”

Organiser of the Exhibition: “So far, we have no reason to reject Falun Gong. We have no specific information against them. We do not have any particular reason to oppose them. This is our rational decision made by our conscience. The “Spring Telling” exhibition shows people that there exist many societies in our daily lives and in all fields of thinking.”

TV Reporter: “Falun Gong has filed several lawsuits against Jiang Zemin and has won support from many prominent lawyers worldwide.”