France: "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance Art Exhibition" in Dole

From the 11th to the 15th of December, 2007, the “Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance” Art Exhibition was held at the Mediatheque in Dole, a city in Jura Province in eastern France. The Exhibition, hosted by the Falun Gong Association of Jura Province, was supported by the Mayor of Dole and Members of Parliament. Many media also reported the event.

Voice of Jura radio station interviewed Michel Wu, the former head of Chinese department at French International Radio Station, about the exhibition and the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Mr. Wu said, “When the Communist Regime wants to persecute a group of people, it would invariably brand them with a political label, such as ‘Anti-revolutionary’, ‘Rightist intellectuals’, ‘Monsters and demons’, ‘Thugs at Tiananmen Square’. They tried to use the label ‘cult’ to slender Falun Gong.” Mr. Wu continued, “I am not a Falun Gong follower. But I know that Falun Gong promotes Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. It is a practice to improve health completely free of charge. A large number of Chinese people who were fed up with class struggles became practitioners. The Communist Party could not put up with a group that could gather more people than it could.”

A newspaper in Lyon area, “PROGRES”, reported the China Human Rights Seminar that was held during the course of the Exhibition. The report went, “Tuesday night, the Falun Gong Association of Jura Province hosted a press seminar on China’s human rights. Participants included Amnesty International, Action for Human Rights, Tibetan Association in France and French Falun Gong Association. Former journalist of French International Radio Station, Michel Wu, spoke about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, Christians, Moslems and Buddhists. Human rights there have routinely been trampled. (The CCP) harvests organs from prisoners to supply a prosperous trade. Tang Han Long from France Falun Gong Association concurred with his views. Meanwhile, Ms. Chen Ying, who was also present, recounted the brutal persecution she suffered in China’s concentration camps.”

The regional newspaper of Arbois also reported on the “Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance” Art Exhibition. The article said, the Falun Gong Association of Jura Province put on an extraordinary exhibition from the 19th to the 22nd of November at the Youth Centre of Arbois, where one could enjoy artwork by seventeen painters, four of whom were once persecuted in China. In fact, most French people are thinking, even though Beijing will host the 2008 Olympics, persecution still exists in China, especially of Falun Gong. When a traditional Buddhist practice based on the principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance” is persecuted by the Chinese totalitarian regime, these paintings manifested the courage and beauty of those who are devoted to their beliefs and principles. Surpassing torture and hatred, these paintings conveyed peace and hope.”