(Clearwisdom.net) On December 30 and 31, 2004, the "Uncompromising Courage" Art Exhibition and "Journey of Falun Dafa" Photo Exhibition were held at the Pekanbaru Mall in the city of Pekanbaru. There were many viewers, many of whom were shocked at the facts revealed in the exhibition. Those with upright thoughts said, "The brutal persecution against Falun Gong practitioners is so inhumane. The perpetrators must be brought to justice."

People viewing the art exhibition

People viewing the art exhibition

Many people asked: "Why are you holding such an exhibit?" "What's your purpose of coming here from far away?" "Do these things really occur in China?" "Are they still happening?" "Why is Falun Gong banned in China?" Practitioners answered their questions and clarified the truth peacefully and kindly. People sighed with emotion after hearing their explanations and thanked the practitioners after accepting truth-clarification materials.

Explaining the facts of Falun Gong

Little practitioners doing exercise demo

There were many viewers, but there was also interference. On the first morning of the exhibition, staff from the supermarket manager's office told us to take down the paintings exposing the brutal persecution; otherwise the exhibit could not be held there. They claimed the bloody scenes in the paintings would have a negative affect on children and other viewers.

One viewer stepped forward and said to the staff, "You are wrong. The persecution is happening in China. It is a violation of human rights, belief and freedom. These paintings show people about a righteous appeal for justice. What is dangerous about that? What is there to be afraid of? There is no bomb that will explode here. Children can differentiate between kindness and evil after viewing this. Their wisdom will increase. I will bring my children here to have a look and let them differentiate between kindness and evil, good and bad, and let their young innocent hearts know that there is still such brutal persecution occurring in the civilized world. Dictators and inhuman and cruel perpetrators must be exposed to the world!" We learned later that this gentleman was an artist and scholar.

We talked about the matter and decided not to agree to this request. Clarifying the truth is right and benefits people. We decided to communicate further with the manager's office.

In the afternoon, we were called to the manager's office. The staff still insisted that we take down the paintings exposing the persecution. We explained the facts further: "We have come here from far away with our own money and time, not for ourselves, but for people to know that a brutal persecution is still occurring in China, after five years. One of us has a five-year-old child. The paintings are no risk to children since the paintings can educate children. They know that evil people meet with retribution and that people have to answer for their conduct."

Though the staff insisted we take down the paintings exposing the brutal persecution, we did not accept their request but continued clarifying the truth in a peaceful manner. Some practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts every fifteen minutes to eliminate interference in other dimensions.

Viewers came continuously and expressed sympathy after learning the facts. The exhibition continued until the end at 10 pm on the second day as scheduled.

Group practice in front of a Mosque

Teaching a beginner the exercise

During the exhibition, the practitioners introduced Dafa to the public and established the first practice site in Pekanbaru. From December 31, 2004 to January 3, 2005, three practitioners stayed in Pekanbaru and taught beginners the exercises. The beginners will set up more practice sites in Pekanbaru and introduce Dafa to people there.