A Successful Photo Exhibition in the University of Geneva

During the 60th session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the Falun Gong Association of Geneva University held an exhibition of photographs entitled, “Falun Dafa and Human Rights” on campus.

The magnificent global spread of Falun Dafa and the terrible suppression of practitioners persecuted by Jiang’s regime in China provoked a strong reaction among the university students. Quite a few students already knew a bit about the persecution of Falun Gong in China, but the cruelty and barbarity were beyond their imagination. Their faces became solemn when looking at photographs of the persecution and they were deeply shocked by Jiang’s human rights violations. Many students actively signed their names on a petition to call for an end to the persecution, with sympathy for the persecuted Falun Gong practitioners and condemnation of Jiang’s vicious deeds. After signing their names, some students persuaded their classmates to sign as well. One female student asked practitioners what she could do to help and to protect them. Another student from the Law Department indicated that her major has some connection to human rights; she even studied some incidents of the persecution of Falun Gong in her classes. It was her view that these ferocious people should face justice, not merely be condemned. Many students of Chinese also came over to look at the pictures. One of them said in Mandarin that he would soon be working and studying in China and would certainly tell the Chinese people that, “Falun Dafa is good.”

It was gratifying that many students from China also visited the photo exhibition. Some of them gave us a smile and some had long conversations with us. They do not believe the state-controlled media in China. Two Chinese students knew about the benefits of Falun Gong due to their relatives practising. After talking with practitioners, they stated, “We should think about the question of what we are here for and what we are doing for our future.” Some students took materials to give to their classmates.

At midday on March the 16th, Falun Gong practitioners and students from Geneva University jointly performed a short play as the climax to the exhibition. The play vividly told the story of the wide spread of Falun Dafa in China throughout all levels of society, and then the subsequent persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese authorities. The short drama attracted a large audience who applauded enthusiastically. Later, Zhao Ming from Ireland, Dai Zhizhen from Australia and Pirjo Svensson from Sweden told the audience their own personal experiences of being persecuted, which moved the university students deeply. Two students voiced their indignation by saying, “If all Geneva University students practised Falun Gong, Jiang’s group would be left speechless.” Two days later, these two students came to the local practice site to learn the Falun Gong exercises.

The exhibition only lasted for two days, but the effect of informing students about Falun Dafa and clarifying the truth about the persecution was enormous. A great number of the students thanked us, saying, “This exhibition was a great success!”