United States: Falun Gong Practitioners Participate in Multicultural Activities at the New Barnes Museum in Philadelphia

On the afternoon of Sunday, July 1st, 2012, the scorching temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit outside only made the multicultural events inside the Barnes Museum more attractive.The new Barnes Museum opened in May 2012 in downtown Philadelphia. The Barnes Foundation was established in 1922 with a mission to “promote education, art and gardening.”

July’s theme for the “Free First Sundays at the Barnes” is “Celebration of Independence and Multicultural Richness of Our Community.” Local Falun Dafa practitioners also participated to clarify truth and display the beauty of Falun Dafa.

Students from the Philadelphia Minghui School perform the waist drum dance “Falun Dafa Is Good”	Falun Gong exercise demonstration
Young Falun Dafa practitioners perform a ribbon dance	Watching the award-winning film “Free China: The Courage to Believe”

Falun Dafa practitioners participated in many activities at the event, including Chinese calligraphy, paper lotus flower origami, writing Chinese names for Westerners, distributing Falun Gong fliers, performing traditional Chinese dances, and showing part of the film “Free China: The Courage to Believe” at a reading club meeting. A discussion was held after the film was shown.

Ms. Barga said, “I had heard of Falun Gong before, but didn't pay much attention. Today, I learned a lot about it. The persecution in China is severe, and many people are suffering and have no freedom. The lecture (by Ms.Jennifer Zeng) was very good. We must do something here. I hope the situation in China will change.”

Ms. Jennifer Tray said, “I saw fliers about Falun Gong in Chinatown, but I don't know about it. The lecture helped me understand a lot about it, but I need to learn more. I don't understand why the Chinese government thinks (Falun Gong) is a threat to them.”

Ms. Jennifer Zeng, a Falun Dafa practitioner from Australia, was invited by the Barnes Foundation to give the lecture at the event. “The film 'Freedom China' and the story of my life both are about the Chinese people struggling for freedom,” Ms. Zeng said. “Many Americans have told me that they take freedom for granted. But millions of people in the world still don't have freedom. They said that, being an American, they should treasure their freedom more as well as to help those who still don't have freedom.”

The film “Free China: The Courage to Believe” focuses on the stories of Ms. Jennifer Zeng and Dr. Charles Li. She talked about the audience members' intense reactions. “Most Westerners are honest and upright, but many of them don't know how brutal the persecution is,” she said. “When they see a live person, a survivor of a forced labour camp, and talk to them face to face, they are shocked. When they see the products made in Chinese labour camps and hear about the crime of live organ harvesting, they ask what American businesses are involved. They say they will share the information with the community and their friends. Many people realised that, if Chinese people don't have freedom, the world won't have peace or freedom.”