San Diego Dafa Practitioners

From February 25^th to March 1^st, 2002, large pictures depicting the "Journey of Falun Dafa" were exhibited in the lobby of San Diego City Hall. Ninety-nine large color photos depicted the journey of Falun Dafa during the last ten years, catching many people's attention. The photos were placed near where people must pass by upon entering the building, city government officials, staff, and people visiting the government building stopped to look at the photos.

During the last two and a half years, the San Diego local TV stations and newspapers have frequently presented reports about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. After viewing the exhibition, many members of the audience came to thank us. They said, "We have heard many reports before, but only through this exhibition have we been able to feel the peace and rationality of Falun Gong practitioners. Thank you for sharing with us these nice photos."

The serenity and beauty of Falun Gong outside of China and the brutality of the persecution of the practitioners in China formed a strong contrast. Many people stood for some time in front of the photos that showed Chinese plainclothes police brutally beating and arresting Falun Gong practitioners on Tiananmen Square, as well as photos whereby some practitioners were beaten so badly that they suffered from bruises and cuts over their entire bodies and some had even been beaten to death. They said, "It is shocking to see such use of violence in a civilized society of the 21st century. We hope more American local governments and people will be able to learn what Falun Gong practitioners have experienced, condemn the persecution and help to stop it as soon as possible." The one-week exhibition played a unique role in clarifying the truth of Falun Gong and exposing the evil persecution.

On the second day of the exhibition, a local practitioner made a speech in a city council meeting and expressed the local practitioners' appreciation to the city government for offering a proclamation to Falun Dafa. The practitioners introduced the journey of Falun Dafa and invited all of the attendees to view the exhibition. Later, a city official greeted the practitioner and said, "I have been to China. I have also received visits from Chinese officials. I am a Christian and I oppose any form of political brainwashing, persecution, forms of torture and killing. I know the persecution against Falun Gong and I fully support the righteous call of Falun Gong."  We were pleased to see that a city councilman came to pick up Falun Dafa literature and that he also wanted to learn more about Falun Gong. The practitioners were inspired and then called each office to invite the councilmen or their representatives to view the exhibition. As a result, five of the eight offices sent representatives to view the exhibition. After looking at the exhibition, they were moved and said, "I hope that I or my councilman can do something for you. Thank you for all that you have done. We'll let people around us learn about Falun Gong and have more people with righteous views to voice their support."

A city government staff said, "When I next see the Chinese officials, I'll tell them that the suppression of Falun Gong is wrong."

Many visitors were Chinese and came from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other areas. They were touched after viewing the exhibition and said, "This photo exhibition is shocking."

Posting date: 3/29/2002
Original article date: 3/8/2002
Category: Falun Dafa Worldwide
Translated on 3/8/2002
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2002/3/8/26230.html

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