News and Events from around the World -- May 14, 2005

Issued by Clearwisdom Net

Content


  • Taipei: Enjoying Beautiful Flowers and New Greenery on Mother's Day and Celebrating World Falun Dafa Day

  • Hong Kong Epoch Times' Open Letter to Hong Kong Residents:

  • "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance International Art Exhibition" Has a Positive Impact

  • Russia: Falun Dafa at the Second Health Expo in Moscow


  • News and Activities from Around the World

    Taipei: Enjoying Beautiful Flowers and New Greenery on Mother's Day and Celebrating World Falun Dafa Day

    On Sunday May 8, Mothers' Day, Falun Gong practitioners in Taipei conducted activities to celebrate May 13, World Falun Dafa Day. Practitioners invited their mothers, other family members and friends to join them to enjoy beautiful flowers and new greenery at the Shilin Presidential Residence.

    It was rare that cool breezes were blowing during the usually hot May weather in Taipei. At the Shilin Presidential Residence, the mountain is green and the water is clear, with birds singing and the air scented with the fragrance of flowers. The scenery is quite beautiful. After 9 a.m., hundreds of tourists flooded into the Shilin Presidential Residence. Practitioners set up stands to serve fruits, tea, and ice water free of charge to tourists. In addition, several media outlets also joined the activity to congratulate the Falun Gong practitioners' festival for World Falun Dafa Day.

    Painting from nature was the activity that children enjoyed most. A good number of young children carried their drawing boards and paper and chose a pretty place to draw from the scenery. In their paintings, one could see the spinning Falun emblems, balloons imprinted with words, "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." Some wrote, "Falun Dafa is great!"

    Tourists attentively viewing posters illustrating the journey of Falun Dafa and other truth-clarifying materials

    Practitioners also held a "Journey of Falun Dafa" poster exhibit on one side of the pavement. Several dozen historic photos depicting the worldwide spread of Falun Dafa were displayed. The photos showed scenes, including grand character-forming by more than 10,000 practitioners and peaceful exercise demonstration. Each photo attracted people's attention.


    Performance by Minghui kindergarten

    Rhythmic storytelling to the accompaniment of clappers


    Waist drum troupe's performance


    Performance by Minghui kindergarten


    Little Red-cap drum troupe's performance


    Ensemble of Chinese traditional instruments: "Pu Du" and "Be Saved"

    At about 11 a.m., it stopped drizzling and the sky became clear and sunny. Numerous tourists were moved by the practitioners' warm hearts and the festive atmosphere of Falun Dafa Day. They stopped to watch and enjoy the musical performances, including the New Tang Dynasty Drum Troupe's "Majestic Thunder," a performance on violin, Zheng (a traditional Chinese instrument), flute, Erhu (a two-string traditional Chinese instrument) and lute, practitioners' solos and chorus, a performance by the "little red cap" drum troupe, and the Minghui kindergarten band and waist drum troupe.

    The New Tang Dynasty Drum Troupe's "Majestic Thunder" opened the concert. The practitioners' ensemble of instruments was soft and melodious. Each solo and choral performance was very touching. The little practitioners' innocent and lovely performance won rounds of applauses from the audience. The waist drum troupe, in traditional costume, brought people something fresh and new. Many practitioners' family members and friends were aware that the performers are Falun Gong practitioners who are students or teachers from prestigious universities or high schools, professional musicians or housewives. These practitioners used their spare time to practice for the performance. People were all amazed by the practitioners' talents and their effort to promote Falun Gong.

    The performance in the afternoon attracted even more people, and even the steps of the stage were crowded with audience members. The performance concluded with a chorus by all performers, "Falun Dafa is Good." Guests in the audience also joined the chorus.

    Although many people had not known about Falun Gong before, the practitioners' kind, amiable and modest attitude and demeanor left them with a very positive impression. They therefore also joined the chorus. In the end, the practitioners demonstrated the five sets of Falun Gong exercises and concluded the celebration as a beautiful evening set in.

    Performers and audience singing together, "Falun Dafa is Good"

    On Mothers' Day, mothers who practice Falun Gong are able to celebrate the warm holiday with family members. Unfortunately, in Mainland China, countless mothers who practice Falun Gong are suffering from the inhuman persecution. They are either imprisoned, tortured, or forced to leave home and become destitute to avoid being detained. They are unable to reunite with their family members. Nevertheless, under the situation that Falun Gong practitioners from all over the world and governments of many countries send out their voice of justice to suffocate the evil persecution, we believe that the evil persecution doesn't have much longer to maintain its feeble existence. The day when all mothers are able to freely practice Falun Gong will come soon!


    Hong Kong Epoch Times' Open Letter to Hong Kong Residents:

    May 12, 2005

    The Hong Kong's Epoch Times on paper stands (Epoch Times image)

    Dear Hong Kong Residents:

    The Epoch Times in Hong Kong is facing the crisis of having its printing terminated. We need your support to help us overcome the difficulty we face as a result of losing our current printing house service.

    In Hong Kong, the "oriental pearl," under the dictator rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), The Epoch Times has come through hardships side by side with Hong Kong residents for almost four years. However today, in the city with the most prosperous printing enterprises, The Epoch Times is facing the danger of having its printing terminated.

    Due to fear of people learning the truth, the CCP has exerted hard and soft pressure on the printing house that prints The Epoch Times in Hong Kong. The printing house has decided to terminate its printing service on May 14.

    We would like to take this opportunity to thank this printing house for its services for our newspaper in the past.

    Under the CCP's pressure, The Epoch Times is experiencing great difficulty contacting printing houses. Today, we expose what we have encountered to the public, reveal to the Hong Kong and international communities the crisis concerning freedom of the press in Hong Kong, and the pressure and difficulty facing a newspaper that dares to expose the CCP and publish reports forbidden by the CCP (such as issues concerning Falun Gong, Taiwan, human rights, China's financial crisis, etc.). We sincerely hope that the Hong Kong people will give moral support for The Epoch Times, and support printing houses that have the courage to print The Epoch Times under the current circumstances, so as to uphold freedom of the press in Hong Kong!

    The CCP is blocking news in China, and establishing and buying off media overseas. It threatens international media not to report on the Falun Gong persecution, the editorial series "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party," and the wave of withdrawals from the CCP triggered by it. The CCP is afraid of letting overseas Chinese learn the real situation in China, which would help them realize the false impression of peace put up by the CCP. Hence the CCP is attacking The Epoch Times worldwide, including arresting Epoch Times reporters in mainland China and harassing Epoch Times' overseas staff.

    For almost 4 years, with the support from Hong Kong residents, The Epoch Times in Hong Kong has developed from a weekly publication to a daily one. Since January 3, 2005, The Epoch Times has served its readers five times a week for free. The Epoch Times' unique characteristic of reporting the truth without fear of power and influence is obvious to all. The Epoch Times website has been recognized by Human Rights in China as the best website in providing information for mainland China.

    The media carries the social responsibility of exposing the truth and upholding justice. This is the principle The Epoch Times adheres to. Starting in November 18, 2004, The Epoch Times published globally the editorial series "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party" that gave an unprecedented, thorough and deep analysis of the CCP's evil nature. It exposed countless crimes the CCP has committed towards the Chinese nation and Chinese traditional culture. It delivered the final judgment on the CCP and predicted its imminent demise. Since its publication, over one million copies of the "Nine Commentaries" special issue have been printed and freely distributed in Hong Kong alone.

    The experience of protesting Article 23 has taught us that we must say "NO" to the CCP in order to preserve the core values of Hong Kong: freedom, government by law, democracy and human rights. The publication and distribution of The Epoch Times in Hong Kong illustrate the tenacious vitality of these core values and prove that the universal values of honesty, kindness and tolerance will not yield to brutal tyranny. We are searching for a printing house for The Epoch Times, and we hope that any printing house willing to print The Epoch Times in Hong Kong will contact us as soon as possible. We also believe that only by exposing the CCP's dirty tricks can we prevent the next business from becoming the CCP's victim.

    Our fellow residents who have suffered from the CCP's atrocities, The Hong Kong Epoch Times needs your support!

    Supporting Hong Kong's Epoch Times is supporting yourself and our future generations.

    http://english.epochtimes.com/news/5-5-12/28705.html


    "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance International Art Exhibition" Has a Positive Impact

    The "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance International Art Exhibition" held by the Falun Dafa League in all Taiwan universities and colleges was on display from April 25-29, 2005, in Room 104 at the No. 1 Student Event Center, Taiwan University. Although it was midterm examination week, the grand and peaceful atmosphere of the exhibition attracted crowds of students and the general public.

    As stated in the introduction, "A group of extraordinary artists from all over the world, realizing the truth of the universe and human life through following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, reflect their comprehension and experience of life, and show the road leading to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." In addition to being skillfully painted, each picture depicts the spirit and connotation of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. The paintings created a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere for the exhibition. The relics of culture captured in this artwork made an unusually deep impression on the viewers.

    Some people, moved by the artwork, wanted to know more about the current situation of Falun Gong practitioners in China, while others asked for an introduction to Falun Dafa, hoping to understand the practice. Besides explaining the significance of the artwork and the spirit they express, the hosting practitioners also welcomed questions about Falun Dafa and raised awareness of the persecution. Moved by the uncompromising courage of the practitioners in the paintings, some members of the audience took the initiative to tell practitioners about other venues for such events.

    Some were interested in qigong and wanted to know how it was related to Falun Dafa. Some Christians asked about Falun Dafa's view of the universe. Practitioners gave detailed explanations, and the mood was very agreeable.

    Many people lingered for a long time in front of the artworks, shocked by both the boundless power of the paintings and by the tragedy of the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of people believing in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Today, in the 21st century, a time when respect for freedom of belief has become generally accepted worldwide, the CCP is still conducting such an inhuman and cruel persecution. The exhibition reflects these facts truthfully, combining art and reality, depicting both the beauty of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and the cruelty of the persecution.

    The exhibition room was not large and could only hold a limited number of paintings, yet the mourning face of a little girl in the painting featured on the door, entitled "Homeless," attracted many people to come in and see the exhibition. Sensitive to the needs of the audience, practitioners either offered explanations or let them view quietly, hoping they would attain a greater understanding of the beauty of Falun Dafa and knowledge of the cruel facts of the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong.

    The exhibition closed on the afternoon of April 29. Through this exhibition, more people learned the truth behind the persecution and gained a greater understanding of Falun Dafa.


    Russia: Falun Dafa at the Second Health Expo in Moscow

    On April 26, 2005, the second "Health Expo" in Moscow was held on the first floor of the Moscow City Hall. The Moscow Falun Gong Association was invited to participate in this expo, and occupied the second stall from the entrance to the building.

    Although these two days were weekdays and people were at work, visitors were still coming in a continuous stream. Falun Gong practitioners demonstrated the five sets of exercises and performed traditional Chinese dancing. The organizer and audience gave the thumbs up sign to our performances. When the expo was closing, the Moscow City Administration awarded a proclamation to the Moscow Falun Gong Association, praising its active participation.


    Falun Dafa stall

    Requesting truth-clarifying materials and VCDs

    Demonstrating the five sets of exercises

    Audience in front of the stall

    Audience in front of the stall

    Audience in front of the stall

    Demonstrating the exercises in front of the stall

    A proclamation issued for the Moscow Falun Dafa Association

    Despite the expo lasting only two days, a great number of people came to understand what Falun Gong is. The visitors, including professionals, doctors, officers and those from other walks of life, all wanted to explore Falun Gong from different angles. Almost everyone asked for more information Video-CDs, bookmarks, greeting cards and paper lotus flowers were popular. Following the introductions or watching the demonstration of the exercises, some people immediately showed their intention to learn the practice. They wrote down the locations of the nearest exercise practice sites.

    Some people put forward questions which revealed confusion as to why the Chinese Communist Party has persecuted such a wonderful meditation method. Practitioners told them that the essence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is evil. It preaches atheism and is based on falsehood, hatred and struggle, so the CCP will naturally oppose Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. People generally nodded in agreement at the responses of the practitioners.

    Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200505/26462.html