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Austrian Falun Gong practitioners held a "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" Art Exhibition on June 16, 2006 in Payerbach. They aimed to expose the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong in the form of art, and at the same time convey the message of Falun Gong's "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." The mayor of Payerbach made an opening speech, saying that "These pictures tell you more than any media report in the entire world can tell you." He also hoped that "Let these pictures have a lasting effect on all of us, and let's go home with the intention to always and everywhere, not only in China, stand up against human rights violations."
The following is the translation of the opening speech:
The association ARS CARA (Austrian Association for Art and Cultural Exchange) has been on tour throughout Austria for quite some time. ARS CARA is hoping to expose the unending human rights violations in China.
This is China, which is viewed as the dream partner for all industrial nations worldwide. With a consumption potential of 1.4 billion people, its awakening economic power, China is seen to become in the foreseeable future the largest economic market on this earth.
This is most likely the reason why we, the "wealthy nations" (and I'm including Austria in this) have such a difficult time to constantly and with a lasting effect point to what happens in that country. One cannot, given the future economic benefits, alienate an economic partner of such magnitude!
Again the art, its artists and intellectuals have to take on the task that politics is unable to achieve: To constantly expose how [the Chinese government] runs roughshod over the human rights of the Chinese people (and we are referring to 100 million people at this time).
Dear ladies and gentlemen we in Payerbach can help, even if just a little, to achieve the end [of human rights violations].
Please, look at these pictures. Take your time! Each of these pictures tell an entire story -- a story that happens in that country [China] and will continue to happen. These pictures tell you more than any media report in the entire world can tell you.
Let these pictures have a lasting effect on all of us, and lets go home with the intention to always and everywhere, not only in China, stand up against human rights violations.
I thank you for being here tonight!
With rescue efforts from people from all walks of life, Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioner Liu Ding was released on the afternoon of June 22, 2006 from a detention center in Beijing. Liu Ding was illegally detained early this month in Beijing for distributing leaflets supporting the withdrawal of the CCP and its affiliated organizations. After being released, she was immediately escorted by the "police" officers to the Beijing Airport. She took the afternoon flight and arrived in Hong Kong in the evening. Before boarding the flight, the police illegally confiscated her China travel document.
Liu Ding recounted her 15-day illegal detention in Beijing. She was detained in a small room of 10-square meters with 13 other detainees. The conditions were very bad. But she kept doing the exercises and studying the principles of Falun Gong, and she also clarified the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong to her cell mates and officers who interrogated her. Her treatment was improved to certain extent. Liu Ding and her daughter Hu Ying who is in Hong Kong thank members of the Legislative Council Ho Chun Yan, Lau Wai Hing, Leung Kwok Hung and Cheung Man-kwong, as well as the Hong Kong government, including the Hong Kong Immigration Department for their rescue efforts.
Hong Kong Falun Gong practitioners and "Global Mission to Rescue Persecuted Falun Gong Practitioners" Hong Kong Branch call on the international community to continue paying attention to the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong in China. At present, four Hong Kong residents are known to have been sentenced to prison by the CCP for practicing Falun Gong, and three of them have been released. Eight more Hong Kong residents' relatives in the Mainland who practice Falun Gong are still being detained in forced labor camps or prisons.
On June 15, 2006, the People newspaper of Leipzig in Germany carried an article entitled "Her Life is Facing Danger", reporting the news that the wife of a Chinese student abroad has been arrested and detained because she practices Falun Gong.
Xiaoyan Wang and her daughter
The article talks about thirty-three-year-old Zhentong Zhang, who is from Dalian City in China and is now studying Communications and Technology at Leipzig University of Germany. On May 27, 2006, Zhentong Zhang's wife was about to go out to work when she was arrested by policemen in front of her home. This happened because Zhang's wife practices Falun Gong, as several tens of millions of other Chinese people do. Policemen rushed into her home and confiscated her computer, printer, external hard disks, Falun Gong books and leaflets.
Zhentong Zhang holding leaflets about Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted in China
Mr. Zhang disclosed to the People of Leipzig: Since 1999, the persecution of Falun Gong has been going on. Up to now, my wife has already been arrested three times. Her passport was confiscated a long time ago, so she cannot come to Germany to visit me and neither can I go back to see her. The persecution happening in China is, in fact, an action of severely trampling on human rights. The number of Falun Gong practitioners who have died as a result of the persecution has already reached 2,898. After the incident of the Chinese Communist Party removing organs from living Falun Gong practitioners, Mr. Zhang is very worried about his wife's fate: "I know that her life is now at stake. In China, prisons and forced labor camps are, without fail, the world's hell."
The article says: The participation of the Protestant Church in Leipzig also strongly expressed support for Mr. Zhang. The priests from Thomas's Church signed his name on Mr. Zhang's open letter to Angela Merkel, the German Prime Minister.
Mr. Zhang said: "The persecution of Falun Gong is extremely ridiculous. The reason why Falun Gong was banned in 1999 is only because of Jiang Zemin, former General Secretary of the CCP, who made an arbitrary decision and took preemptory action. His actions included jealousy and fear because Falun Gong practitioners outnumbered the CCP members by over 20,000,000 people. Up to now, many CCP members have also started to oppose the persecution. Such a situation shouldn't be allowed to continue, where Falun Gong practitioners are imprisoned by the CCP because they are firm in believing in the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance."
What is Falun Gong? Mr. Zhang explained to the People newspaper: "Falun Gong is a traditional Qigong in China and an ancient way of self-cultivation."
Haroldo Rodrigues, another Falun Gong practitioner who lives in Leipzig, accepted an interview from People. He is a piano teacher from Brazil and he settled down in Leipzig in 1988. He told the paper that Falun Gong is a practice of improving both body and mind, and not an organization. It has neither an organizational structure nor capital. Falun Gong accepts neither member's fees nor donations. That is why Falun Gong cannot be controlled, bribed, bought over or utilized by some others in China. Mr. Haroldo Rodrigues and those who share his interest get together and do the Falun Gong exercises at a place near the Children's Kursaal at 2pm every Sunday.
Zhentong Zhang is calling on all kind people in Germany to help and make great efforts so that his wife and eight year old daughter can re-unite with him. Mr. Zhang deeply believes that Leipzig is the right place to do such a thing.