Indonesia: "Uncompromising Courage" Art Exhibition Held in Sumatra

From December 24, 2004 to January 8, 2005, Falun Gong practitioners in Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali held a touring art exhibition, "Uncompromising Courage," in the four provincial capitals of Indonesia. They used the exhibition as an opportunity to talk to the public about Falun Gong, especially to the Chinese-Indonesian population. The local media gave positive reports on their activities.

Local residents visit the art exhibition

The touring exhibition made its first stop in Kota Jambi from December 26 to December 28, 2004. Falun Gong practitioners showed thirty-five pieces of art from 10 am to 10 pm at the Jambi Prima Mall. Two thousands invitations were sent out. Most of the exhibition patrons were Chinese-Indonesians.

Even though the first day of the exhibition was a windy and rainy day, many people still managed to go to the exhibition. They were shocked to learn about the persecution of Falun Gong by Jiang's regime. They couldn't imagine that such things were still happening in a civilised modern society. They couldn't understand the painting that showed a child and his mother in jail, until Falun Gong practitioners told them about the persecution. Patrons of the art exhibition showed great sympathy for the Falun Gong practitioners under persecution.

Practitioners teach people the Falun Gong exercises at the art exhibition

Besides Chinese-Indonesians, many local native Indonesians, especially art lovers, went to see the exhibition. Many were fascinated by Falun Gong and wanted to learn the practice. They were eager to get Falun Gong books, CDs and to generally find out more about it. Many people learned the Falun Gong exercises in the exhibition hall. Local residents gave the exhibition great support. Some told us that even more people quietly support us.

Falun Gong practitioners do group exercises in front of a supermarket

The art exhibition received positive feedback from all strata of society. The local paper, Jambi Independence, reported on the exhibition as follows:

"Some Falun Gong (also called Falun Dafa, a Chinese mind-body-spirit cultivation practice) practitioners held an art exhibition of thirty-five paintings at Prima Mall two days ago.

"One of the paintings was a group portrait of more than a thousand Falun Gong practitioners who had died from the persecution. Another one showed a bloody murder of a mother and her baby. They wore white clothes. The mother had handcuffs on her wrists. Another painting showed a woman Falun Gong practitioner in thin clothes forced to stand in a snowstorm with bare feet. Three soldiers in heavy coats stood behind her and executed the torture.

"The reproduced artworks were shipped from Jakarta. The exhibition organiser, Keyar, said the original artists of these paintings had personally experienced the persecution. One of the paintings was by Mr. Zhang Kunlun. The painting showed a Falun Gong practitioner lying on the ground with his hands tied. He couldn't move because of the torture. But he faced the torture fearlessly.

"Keyar explained that Falun Gong was also called Falun Dafa. It is a cultivation practice of both mind and body. It is very effective in health improvement. Another Falun Gong practitioner, Liman, said Falun Gong has been spread in more than seventy countries including Indonesia. However, Jiang Zemin, the man formerly in power in China, banned Falun Gong in 1999 and started arresting Falun Gong practitioners. Even though Jiang has stepped down, the persecution is still going on. Falun Gong had been slandered terribly. Falun Gong practitioners have held various truth-clarification activities, including this art exhibition.

"Keyar hoped the public would come to know Falun Gong, the cultivation practice based on 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,' through the art exhibition. The exhibition will continue its tour in Pekanbaru, Palembang and Lampung."

The report finally quoted Liman, discussing his experience with Falun Gong. He has practised Falun Gong for seven years, and as a result he is very healthy and doesn't need to take any medicine. This is just one of the benefits of Falun Gong.