Texas: Art of Zhen Shan Ren Exhibition Opens in Plano, Dignitaries Moved by Artworks

(Minghui.org) The Art of Zhen Shan Ren (Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance) International Exhibition opened in the Courtyard Theater in Plano, Texas on June 2, 2021, and will be up for a month. Local elected officials and community leaders attended the opening ceremony on the evening of June 2. 

According to Vivian, an event organizer for the Southern USA Falun Dafa Association, the sponsor of the event, the exhibition has toured over 900 cities in 50 countries worldwide. She said the 22 pieces of artwork on display in Plano reflect the beauty of Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) and practitioners’ unyielding spirit in face of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution. 

The month-long Art of Zhen Shan Ren International Exhibition opened on June 2, in the Courtyard Theater in Plano, Texas

Texas State Senator Angela Paxton, the primary author of Resolution SCR3, which was passed this April and condemns the Chinese regime’s “vile practice of forcibly removing human organs for transplant,” sent a video greeting to the art exhibition. She praised Falun Dafa practitioners for all they have done, and stated that she would continue to curb the CCP’s vile practices together with practitioners.

Texas State Representative Matt Shaheen gives a speech during the opening ceremony.

Texas State Representative Matt Shaheen, the sponsor of the same resolution in the State House of Representatives, said that in the face of the CCP’s serious human rights violations, forced organ harvesting, and atrocities committed over the past many years, “We have a clear standing and condemn them.” He called the resolution an important reflection of the stance of the House, the Senate, and the governor of Texas. 

Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Yao recounted his experience of being imprisoned and persecuted by the CCP when he was in China. He was disabled due to the torture, but later recovered by practicing Falun Dafa.

Maria Tu, Plano City Council Member, welcomes the Art of Zhen Shan Ren to Plano.

Plano Council Member Maria Tu, originally from Taiwan, welcomed the Art of Zhen Shan Ren to Plano. She said the fact that she won the election showed that Plano was a city of truth, compassion and inclusion.

Mr. Young Sung, Carrollton City Council Member, at the opening ceremony

Mr. Young Sung, Council Member for the City of Carrollton, praised the superb artworks. He said that he could see the pain of people living under Communism through these paintings, which reminds people of the importance of safeguarding what they have, and paying attention to the CCP’s violation of human rights. He planned to promote the art exhibition in his city. 

Ms. Elbia Flores, a Community Multicultural Commission member in the City of Garland, invited the exhibition to Garland.

Ms. Elbia Flores, a member of the Community Multicultural Commission in the City of Garland, said that she found the art exhibition moving, thought-provoking, and educational. She invited the exhibition to her city, because she felt that local citizens, especially students, would see what was happening in China through the art exhibition.

Dr. Lydia Ortega, a retired professor of economics, said the art exhibition was unexpectedly moving and attractive.

Dr. Lydia Ortega said that everyone should pay attention to what’s happening in China, because early Christians also experienced persecution. With tears in her eyes, Dr. Ortega described the painting in which the wife of a Falun Gong practitioner who died from the persecution clasps her hands in front of her chest in grief. Dr. Ortega said she could feel the character’s steadfastness in suppressing her sadness. She also learned that Falun Dafa enhances one’s wisdom. Referring to the painting “Manhattan Meditator,” she remarked, “Like in one of the paintings, a woman mediates in noisy Manhattan, and radiates positive energy to the people around her. So many beautiful things about Falun Gong!”