(Clearwisdom.net) On February 16, 2008, the weather finally warmed up in northern Taiwan. On the streets of Taoyuan, one could see a group of people promoting the Truthfulness-Compassion- Tolerance International Art Exhibition. There were ladies dressed up as palace maidens and fairies, children playing waist drums, and the Divine Land Marching Band. Together they spread the joy of the Chinese New Year. Many residents took the flyers the practitioners were passing out and visited the art exhibition.
The Divine Land Marching Band promoted the Truth, Compassion, Tolerance International Art Exhibition in Taoyuan
The Band contributed to the positive atmosphere.
Palace maidens and fairies gave out flyers
Palace maidens and fairies handed out flyers
Visitors enjoyed the beautiful paintings.
Visitors listened to the guide at the exhibition explain the paintings.
After seeing the paintings, middle school students signed the petition to support ending the persecution of Falun Gong.
The Sound of Drums and Gongs Attract People to Take the Flyers
The sound of the waist drum team and the marching band drew attention from the residents. People came out of their homes, restaurants, clinics, and shops to watch the spectacle. They gladly took the flyers given to them by the group.
A shop owner asked for more flyers to give to his employees and customers. Another restaurant owner quickly posted the flyer in the front of his restaurant to inform the customers. Some people on their scooters stopped to take pictures of the group; some drivers rolled down their car windows to ask for a flyer.
Ms. Liu Mei-Chu is a volunteer worker at a library in Pingjen City. She and her daughters listened to the stories behind the paintings at the exhibition. Ms. Liu said that the artists were very professional. She understood the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong in China and thought it was "too brutal to be believed." She was glad her daughters came to understand what is happening in the world and learned how to cherish and care for those who suffer.
Three students from the Shih-Men Junior High School, Huang Nuan, Wei Jiaxi, and Zhang Ping, said that this was the first time they have heard about the persecution of Falun Gong. They signed the petition calling on Beijing to stop the persecution.
The painting guide Qianhui said a mother was going to stop her sons from looking at the paintings, feeling that the torture was too brutal for young eyes. Her son asked why the people in the paintings didn't look like they were in agony. Qianhui told him that the endurance came from a practitioner's firm belief. In the end, the mother was glad that her children had the opportunity to learn about such courage and determination.
An older man shared after he saw the paintings, "The Exhibition should be held on school campuses to inspire young students to be kind and to learn that there is retribution for bad deeds. Heaven is watching."
Ms. Qianhui said that some art teachers and painters wanted to know where the artists of the paintings currently reside and were curious about Falun Gong. Some of them even borrowed the book Zhuan Falun, wanting to read it.
A visitor who was a painter asked a guide, "I only saw persecution, not the beauty you talk about." The guide told him, "The beauty lies within the fact that practitioners still want to tell people the facts about Falun Dafa and at the same time enduing the violent suppression for the past eight years. There are more than 100 million practitioners around the world since Falun Gong was first imparted to the public in 1992. If you ask me where the beauty of Falun Gong is, you have to read Zhuan Falun yourself." The visitor realized the persecution is still ongoing and was interested in reading the book too.
A visitor Mr. Zheng said, "This is a persecution so brutal that we can't imagine it, hence every painting is very shocking." Many visitors, after learning of the persecution, agreed to sign the petition to call for the end of the persecution.
The paintings displayed in the Exhibition are works from painters and sculptors such as Zhang Kunlun, Zhang Cuiying, Chen Xiaoping, Fan Hong, and Zhongde. Their paintings tell people of the world how practitioners endure the hardship of the persecution. Some of the artists have been through illegal imprisonment and torture themselves.
