Canada: Anti-torture Exhibition Held in Front of the Quebec High Court Having a Great Effect

On the 5th of August, 2004, in front of the Quebec High Court, a group of Falun Dafa practitioners practising the Falun Gong exercises and staged a mock torture exhibition catching the attention of passers-by and people visiting the court. It was difficult for people to link the two opposing scenes, one depicting the beauty of Falun Dafa and the other showing the brutality and horror of the persecution. Many people were shocked at how Falun Gong practitioners believing in Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance have suffered under Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin and his faction's brutal five-year persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The torture methods exhibited were only a few of the 100+ cruel torture methods being perpetrated on those who practise Falun Gong in China. Many more could not be demonstrated by the people doing the torture re-enactment.

Anti-torture exhibition in front of Quebec High Court	Demonstration of torture methods	"Tiger-Bench"

A practitioner being interviewed by a reporter	Practising the Falun Gong exercises	Police take video footage of the demonstration

An elderly man passed by and asked me what the exhibition was about. He asked again, and we confirmed that the torture was occurring in China, that it had already lasted for five years and that the victims were not criminals but practitioners of Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance. He burst out, "Jiang should be arrested and tried like Saddam!"

"I have been to China recently," a young woman taking many photos of the anti-torture exhibition said. "On Tiananmen Square, I was shocked when someone said, "Don't look at those people meditating. They are practising Falun Gong. Don't look! Otherwise you are in trouble." Today I understand why that was said. Thank you."

A policewoman said, after looking at the exhibition and learning the facts, "Thank you very much for letting me know these facts. I didn't know these things were happening in China."

A man passing-by by on a bike said, "As a human being on this earth, we have the responsibility to stop the persecution."

Many people could not accept the fact that people following the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance are being tortured in modern society. A young woman was moved to tears and later her boyfriend supported her with his arm and walked her across the street. She turned her head to watch us again and again. A male youth took some leaflets and helped distribute them on the street. Many people signed their names to support the practitioners in their lawsuit against Jiang in Canada.

A young practitioner explains the facts of Falun Gong	Spectators sign a petition to support the lawsuit against Jiang	A young woman sheds tears upon witnessing the torture reenactment

The reporter also noted that quite a few Chinese people looked at the exhibition, accepted literature and signed their names on the petition, which was quite different from the evasive attitude of Chinese people before. "It is mainly because for several years practitioners around the world, especially those in China, have been clarifying the truth in the face of the persecution. Many people no longer believe the slander of the Chinese government media's propaganda machine." A practitioner said, "However, today there were two Chinese tourists from China who were influenced by the slanderous propaganda, and they thought that our public exhibition harmed China's reputation. This indicates that the Jiang faction's propaganda is still deceiving many Chinese people and that we have the responsibility to clarify the truth."

A practitioner in charge of contacting the police told the reporter that the local police were satisfied with the anti-torture exhibition. When someone questioned the fact that the activity was held in front of a court, the police officer said clearly to the practitioners, "It is illegal not to allow you to conduct such an activity. If all protests in front of the court were peaceful like yours, I wouldn't decline them even if there were protests here every day."

Reporters from Canada Press (CP) and Montreal TV CFCF 12, the Montreal main French Newspaper La Presse and a French TV station covered the event. CFCF 12 reported on the anti-torture exhibition on the Six O'clock News that same day.