Witnessing the Anti-Torture Exhibits in New York

By Ling Defeng

(Clearwisdom.net) There were huge crowds of people at New York's Union Square during the Republican National Convention on August 30, 2004. Among the groups appealing there was Falun Gong. Many practitioners in the group were wearing yellow T-shirts with the words "Falun Dafa is Good" and "Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance", while others played the role of torture victims in anti-torture exhibitions, standing still in their poses like statues, with dozens of Falun Dafa introductory pamphlets lying in front of them. Near the exhibits were practitioners who were distributing flyers, answering questions or explaining what Falun Dafa is to those who were interested or simply curious. The scene was so quiet and peaceful that it contrasted strongly with the noisy streets nearby.

The live anti-torture exhibit demonstrating how Jiang's regime in China has been persecuting Falun Gong practitioners stunned many New Yorkers. While many people were walking towards the exhibits with smiles, they quickly turned dignified and showed their solemn silence as soon as they saw the torture displays. Tearful, many of them took pictures of the exhibits.

With the scorching sun directly overhead, the practitioners who were meditating could feel the pain on their skins. Holding the same posture for an hour or more under the blazing sun, practitioners played the roles of both victims and abusers - police officers in China. With their faces full of bruising makeup they looked so horrifying that many felt it inappropriate even to go to a public bathroom while in makeup. To avoid going to bathroom, many participants refrained from drinking water. Sweating under the burning sun and reluctant to drink water, they were dehydrated and their lips were parched.

The sacrifice of the practitioners motivated many people to come over to learn what Falun Dafa is. It also triggered the goodness in people's hearts. A western lady quietly left a bottle of water next to an elderly practitioner who was "suffering" the torture of the Tiger Bench. As a female practitioner in her sixties was untying her ropes on the "Hanging Torture" exhibit to finish her torture show, a western man came over, hugged and kissed her, disregarding the ugly makeup on her face and her sweat from standing a long time in the sunshine. Apparently, the gesture expressed a lot of things that the man wanted to say deep in his heart.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2004/9/4/83331.html

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