By Ru Qiao

(Clearwisdom.net) It is still very hot and humid in New York during August. On August 14, Saturday, it was quite cloudy and seemed to be going to rain any time. However, it never did. Manhattan was still very busy and of course quite noisy on the weekend. On a corner of the intersection of 60th street and Lexington Avenue, looking from a distance, one could see about 20 people displaying something. Passersby often stopped to take a look, while many of them showed astonished faces.

The anti-torture exhibition		The anti-torture exhibition		A lady was shocked by the brutality of the persecution
Viewers of the exhibition		Many people sign practitioners' petition in support of Falun Gong		While fellow practitioners demonstrate torture methods or Falun Gong exercises, a young lady distributes fliers to passersby

Following their astonished vision, I saw a shocking scene: A lady with short hair sat in a chair with her legs tied to a long bench. Her hands were tied behind her back, her face had some wounds, and her clothes had scattered bloodstains. Next to the bench, there was a burning coal stove and a heated iron bar.

Next to the lady, a man was hanging by his bound hands to a wooden frame. His face had a lot wounds, too. Behind them, there was a man, who seemed to be a policeman, in a black suit and a black hat with a black baton in hand.

This was an anti-torture exhibition organized by Falun Gong practitioners. It used real-life models to show what is happening in China.

Photos and text in posters explained what Falun Gong is, its development in the 12 years since its first introduction to the public in 1992, and the persecution in China since July 1999.

A lady in a yellow shirt told passersby: From 1999 to the present, more than 1000 Falun Gong practitioners in China had been persecuted to death. In labor camps, detention centers and prisons, practitioners have been subjected to more than 100 torture methods including shocks with electric batons, beatings, tiger bench, etc. What we are showing here are only a few of them--the real situation is much worse and more brutal than this.

Upon learning the practitioners' story, some passersby felt than the Chinese authorities were unreasonable, some felt indignant, some also used their cameras or cell phones to take pictures of the exhibition. They all felt that the torture happening in China is horrific and brutal. Many signed the practitioners' petition to voice their concern against the persecution.

An elderly lady was squatting in a small iron cage. She came from Canada. I asked her: "How do you feel?" She said: "Squatting in such a small space is of course not comfortable. However, in China, practitioners are suffering much more pain and they are suffering for their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Therefore, I come here to show the world their suffering so that all people will know and thus take actions to end this persecution."

These Falun Gong practitioners were very peaceful with very good demeanor. A policewoman on duty told two policemen who just came to the area, "Relax, they are very peaceful."

Several other groups of practitioners also staged anti-torture exhibitions on other streets of Manhattan and distributed fliers to passersby.

People who live and work in this world business center should all come to view this exhibition and learn the truth about Falun Gong.

Posting date: 8/19/2004
Original article date: 8/18/2004
Category: Falun Dafa Worldwide
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/8/18/82058.html

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