The Chinese government began its campaign of persecution toward Falun Dafa practitioners on July 20, 1999. As the one-year anniversary of the persecution drew near, some Toronto practitioners opened a photo exhibition entitled "A look back at the history of Falun Dafa during the past eight years." It ran from July 20 to 28, at the Chinese Cultural Center Exhibition Hall, located in downtown Chinatown. The intent of the exhibition was to let people learn more about the practice of Falun Gong and why it has attracted so many practitioners in just a few short years.
The exhibition was made up of twenty displays and included more than 100 pictures, along with detailed written text introducing the development of Falun Gong over the past eight years. It explained how Master Li held his seminars both in China and abroad. It also covered the reasons why more than 10,000 practitioners went to Beijing, on April 25, 1999, to appeal on behalf of Falun Gong; and how events have unfolded, since July 20, of last year up to the present time. During the exhibition, Falun Dafa materials were handed out, and volunteers offered instruction of the exercises without charge, as usual. Giant banners announcing the exhibition were placed on a number of major streets. Local Chinese newspapers also provided press coverage.
During the exhibition, the attitudes of many visitors changed from guarded and doubtful, to gradual understanding. People bought copies of "Zhuan Falun," Master Li's exercise instruction videotapes, as well as other Falun Dafa books. Some even began to attend group practice sessions regularly, after learning the exercises.
Many practitioners worked day and night to prepare for the exhibition. Everyone was happy and proud to have the opportunity "assisting the Teacher in the human world," and making a contribution to Dafa, no matter how small it is. At the same time, the practitioners also realized that they should do even more and are preparing to hold more exhibitions in the future.
