Holland: Anti-Torture Exhibition at the City Hall Square in The Hague

The 1st of October 2005 was the 56th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) tyrannical control over China. On that day, Falun Gong practitioners from Holland and Belgium held an anti-torture exhibition in the City Hall Square in The Hague. They collected petition signatures from people who wanted to express support for Holland’s Falun Gong practitioners bringing a lawsuit against Jiang Zemin, who was the prime culprit behind the systematic persecution against Falun Gong practitioners. Jiang made full use of the decades of experience that the CCP has amassed in its many campaigns of suppression against the Chinese people.

Gentle sunshine shone down and it was a pleasant autumn day. In the centre of the square were rows of beautiful fountains. In front of the fountains stood Falun Gong practitioners dressed in yellow and demonstrating the five sets of Falun Gong exercises. On their left, two ladies were locked up in a cage and tied onto a torture instrument called a tiger-bench. On their white clothes were bloodstains and on their faces were scars. Actually, they were simulating methods of torture which are used against Falun Gong practitioners in mainland China’s prisons. Behind them was someone dressed as an evil police man and waving a baton.

Falun Gong practitioners in mainland China are locked in small cages where they cannot stand or lie down for long periods of time. During the Tiger Bench torture, a victim is tied on a narrow wooden or iron bench by the thighs and knees, with hands tied behind the back, then the legs are bent in the opposite direction by adding bricks under the heels. The torture creates excruciating pain.


Demonstrating the exercises	Anti-torture exhibition	People stopped and looked

While passing by the square, people stopped and looked. Simple and clear banners and vivid demonstrations of simulated torture helped people to easily understand the persecution happening in China. Many people immediately asked, “Why?” Practitioners explained: “The reason why the persecution happened is because Jiang Zemin was jealous of Falun Gong’s popularity and the evil nature of the CCP cannot stand the principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance” initiated by Falun Gong.” People felt shocked at what they believed to be inconceivable. When understanding that signing the petition will help to end the persecution, people signed one after another expressing their support. Among them were many foreign tourists. Some said, “Well done!”, “I wish you success!” and “Thank you very much!”