Staff Writer
Last July, the police came for Zhang Kunlun.
While visiting his elderly mother-in-law in northern China, the 60-year-old sculptor and Canadian citizen was taken from the woman's home, beaten and electrically shocked at the police station before being sentenced without a trial to three years in a Chinese labor camp.
Zhang, who was born in China, said his only crime was being a follower of Falun Gong, a banned spiritual movement that has drawn hundreds of thousands of Chinese followers. When Canada intervened, Zhang was released from prison after three months. Many other followers remain in prison, after two years of crackdowns by the Chinese government.
Zhang was in Nashville this weekend to repeat his story at the 40th anniversary Amnesty International conference. ''There are thousands who are still in jail whose voices cannot be heard,'' Zhang said via a translator. ''I need to speak for them.''
The conference, ''Face to Face: Confronting Torture in the 21st Century,'' drew a national audience of 700 to the Loews Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel.
Torture by police has been reported in 140 countries since 1997, according to a recent Amnesty report. The Nobel Prize-winning group works to free prisoners of conscience, oppose the death penalty and monitor human rights abuses inside prisons and out.
Zhang, an award-winning artist who lives in Quebec, said the experience of physical and mental torture has driven him to travel to 10 countries to speak on behalf of torture victims in China.
''The memories are extremely painful and are beyond words' description,'' Zhang said. ''Every time I recall those darkest days, I feel as if I am still being mentally tortured.''
Speaking out and practicing Falun Gong meditation, Zhang said, has helped him dispel the ghosts and develop a philosophy about his work.
''Only with a pure and peaceful heart can you create art that shines with a sacred spirit.''
Anita Wadhwani covers general assignments and Nashville communities. Contact her at 259-8821 or awadhwani@tennessean.com.
Copyright 2001 The Tennessean
A Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper
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Category: Falun Dafa in the Media
