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In August, the Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance International Art Exhibition arrives in the city of Ghent, known for its rich history and culture. This is the third time that the exhibition has been held in Belgium. The exhibition hall "Hof van Ryhove", situated in the town centre, was built in the middle of the 12th century. From the 13th century to the 16th century, it belonged to important merchants and politicians in Ghent, and is now one of the three biggest exhibition venues for art in the city.
Ghent TV station RVS sent a reporter to the hall on the first day to cover the event. Moreover, news about the exhibition was broadcasted on the same evening to people around the country, with the segment used every half an hour until midday the next day. Many people came to visit the exhibition after seeing the message on TV.
 A practitioner introducing a painting to the audience |
 A corner of the art exhibition |
The Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance International Art Exhibition was opened officially on Friday August 4th, exhibiting nearly 40 pieces of paintings by Falun Gong practitioners. The exhibition will last for a month, opening from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Thursday and Friday afternoon and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Saturday.
Many important politicians wrote letters to express their regret of not being able to attend the inaugural ceremony of the art exhibition because they were on holiday away from the city. Minister of Culture Bert Anciaux expressed in his letter that he hoped that the exhibition would be a huge success and that it would attract more public attention.
The President of the Ghent City Tourism Centre attended the opening ceremony. After listening to the explanations and viewing the paintings, he said that these pieces were moving and transcendent. He said he hasn't seen such good art for a very long time. Afterwards he took lots of Falun Gong flyers and promotional posters, saying that he would help with promoting the exhibition and recommend it to tourists who come to him for consultation.
Many visitors were shocked at the fact that in the world today the Chinese Communist Party's genocidal persecution against Falun Gong practitioners is still going on. Many people did not understand why these people who live peaceful lives and who strive to improve themselves by cultivating the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance are being so brutally suppressed by the CCP.
An audience member looks at the painting intently
A gentleman in his thirties went to the tour guide after taking a good look around the exhibition and said that he was a painter. He said that the high standard of the paintings really amazed him and he particularly praised the painting "A Tragedy in China", saying that this piece can compete with the masterpieces of Rembrandt -- the most famous Belgian artist. Some other art enthusiasts suggested that this be submitted to the Louvre.After seeing the painting "Coming for You," an older lady said she was very glad to see Falun Gong practitioners standing up to express their beliefs. She said that if she was younger, she would go to Tiananmen Square to appeal as well, just like those practitioners. She had tears in her eyes and expressed her gratitude to us for sharing those paintings with her.
One of the coordinators of this art exhibition, Mr.
Matthias
Slaats, talked about how in the process of preparing for the
exhibition, he and
other Falun Gong practitioners who were voluntary helpers, were
profoundly moved
time after time by the profound inner meanings portrayed in these works.
From August 1st to the 10th, 2006, the fourth Truthfulness- Compassion-Forbearance International Art Exhibition in Finland was held in the Kannelmki Library in Helsinki.
 Practitioner explaining the paintings |
 A person signing the petition to support Falun Gong |
Falun Gong practitioners told the staff in the library about Falun Gong's spreading widely in over eighty countries in the world, receiving hundreds of proclamations and the inhumane methods used by the Chinese Communist Party to persecute Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China since July 20, 1999. Some of the artists themselves have been illegally detained and persecuted in Mainland China.
Soon after the exhibition was set up, the library staff became the first visitors and afterwards they complimented us on the paintings.
On the table practitioners laid out information about the practice in many different languages, a guestbook, petitions to oppose the persecution and self-made paper lotus flowers.
As a visitor came through the door, a practitioner would give him a delicate paper lotus flower in welcome and tell the story depicted in the nearest painting, "Daddy Come Home": The little girl in the painting is named Fadu. When Fadu was eight months old, her father Chen Chengyong was beaten to death in China by the CCP just for speaking out for justice for Falun Gong. Ever since, Fadu has travelled over thirty countries all over the world with her mother to tell people the facts and call on everyone to stop the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. They came to Finland three times to call for people to end the suppression together.
After listening, a lady was puzzled and asked, "Why is Falun Gong persecuted in China?" The practitioner took a copy of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party off the table and told her that these articles exposed the CCP's evil nature and its hatred and jealousy towards Truthfulness-Compassion--Tolerance. The lady asked, "What can I do to help you?" The practitioner replied, "Find out more about the persecution of Falun Gong and the evil nature of the CCP, and tell the Finnish government, media and those around you about it."
Mother and son sign the petition to support Falun Gong