Interview with Rev. Dr. Kenneth Brooks, Member of the Advisory Board of Friends of Falun Gong
Rev. Dr. Kenneth Brooks is a fine artist whose artwork is in the Vatican and the Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is an accomplished political cartoonist, social activist, professional writer and editor. He sits on the advisory board of Friends of Falun Gong, USA (FoFG USA), a U.S.-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the freedom of belief of persons who practice Falun Gong. FoFG USA's members don't practice Falun Gong, but rather, they support the human rights of those who do.
Reporter [R]: First of all, Dr. Brooks, thank you for taking the time and talking to our readers.
Dr. Brooks [B]: Thank you.
R: Dr. Brooks, could you tell our readers how you became involved with the Friends of Falun Gong?
B: My wife and I attended a Falun Gong presentation by a practitioner. We were very impressed with the practice and the benefits it brings people. After these experiences, it was impossible to understand the Communist's policy against it. It seemed that the regime in China was just as terrible as Hussein's Iraqi regime. Many facts, testimonies and even photographs supported this astounding conclusion. Here in this new century was a crime against humanity by every known religious and democratic standard.
I realized that something should be done, must be done. If not now, when? If not me or you, who? Therefore I pledged my talents and time, for whatever use they could be, to help those millions of persecuted people following this gentle way.
R: I have seen some of your artwork in your studio. Your pieces are quite striking and inspiring. You did a painting, Dark Circus II (http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/12/2/16445.html), that you dedicated to the first US-government sponsored photo exhibit about Falun Gong, which was held at the Greater Rochester (NY) International Airport two years ago. Could you tell our readers why you chose that title and what you were expressing in that piece?
B: I was surprised to learn this painting has been seen by over four million travelers and thousands of others through several web sites. A few hundred have been mailed as postcards. To answer your question; the work was large, approximately 6 by 9 feet, and done in oils. Titled "Dark Circus II," it was in stark contrast to a normal circus with its laughter and bright lights. The Roman numeral II pointed out the continuation of terror, persecution, imprisonment, and torture as official policy. A Policeman dominates the right border as the instrument of this policy. The viewer will have their own interpretation of the figures, but make no mistake, it is not a happy painting. I do intend to paint another when the persecution is stopped. That will be a happy painting.
R: I understand that you wrote a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee in September of 2001 to nominate Mr. Li Hongzhi, founder of Falun Gong, for the Nobel Peace Prize. Could you share with our readers what prompted you towrite that?
B: The evidence of persecution, cited by many organizations as well as other countries, is overwhelming. The facts presented are credible and certain. The Communist Regime has no moral justification for it's continuing persecution of these people who follow the teachings of this kind, gentle compassionate and tolerant man. World recognition could do much to change the situation.
R: It seems to me that paint, canvas, brush, and pen are all ways that you have used to express your feelings and convictions. I've read your essays, such as the Shoemaker's Neighbor, and A Worm's Life. By reading your writings, it's clear that you have a lot of knowledge about Communism and Communist societies.
B: At age 20, President John Kennedy asked what I could do for my country. Two months later I was in the Air Force. My direct enlistment for navigator school was changed to Air Evacuation Medic because I wanted to save lives rather than take them. This was at the beginning of the Viet Nam war. I used to faint at the sight of blood as a teenager, but now was sometimes up to my elbows in it. For the next few years, myself, my peers, our Doctors and Nurses fought daily, sometimes hourly battles with pain and destruction. Many times we won, other times we lost. That experience has never left me. I do know about pain and suffering caused by the hand of our fellow man.
As I listened to him once, Lech Walensa told us that when the Communist Regime fell in China, the bodies would surface. There would be multiple millions of them. They were killed for their dissent or the appearance of dissent or because they were educated, or because their neighbors falsely accused them. They would be tortured because they practiced Falun Dafa. Their families were also charged for their association with them. I believed Walensa then because he was in a position to know. I believe him still.
R: The Wall Street Journal said on March 31 that the world should cut all travel links to China for the "grossly negligent" way it has handled the SARS. Calling it the "price of China's initial cover up", the Journal expressed that a global quarantine may be the only way to get the Chinese government to act responsibly. What's your thought on this?
B: The Chinese government often mis-states situations within its borders. Under the guise of "protecting social stability" they undermine it. Totalitarianism is the reality there and humans within it have never counted for much. This SARS situation has shown the world how little the Chinese regime values human life. Many of us already knew that, and it's clear in how they are handling Falun Gong. But now, everyone knows it and the world can't turn a blind eye to that fact anymore.
R: We saw that FoFG has done an extensive campaign for Dr. Charles Li, an American citizen and a Falun Gong practitioner, who was arrested and later sentenced to three years in prison by the Chinese regime. As a board member of FoFG, what do you think about this case, and what do you think the American people and government should do for Dr. Li?
B: Several of my advisors have said any protest should not be made personal, that emotionalism should be avoided, and that culture and sophistication of argument should prevail. Words need redefining and made clinical in their descriptions, they say. Thus, killing innocents are, "Collateral damage numbers." Imprisonment is "restricted movement." Torture and rape are "re-education."
Belief demands my voice be as loud as the screams from the torture cells. As torture, rape, death, destruction, and imprisonment can only be personal, let me say without apology, this communist regime is evil, lying, criminal, and genocidal, unfit for any form of rule.
Mr. Li is an American Citizen. His being held is a slap in the face to our government, our Dept. of State and the citizens of this country.
R: A lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Illinois, which name the Chinese regime's leader Jiang Zemin as a defendant for crimes of genocide as well as conspiracy between him and officials from the "610 Office," who planned and schemed to deprive scores of U.S. citizens and permanent residents of their civil rights. What can you see as significances of this lawsuit and its impact on the regime?
B: Whether he is convicted or not, this lawsuit is sure to scare him. It's obvious that he fears for his future, as he should, because of all that he has done. I hope this lawsuit not only scares him, but everyone else that is committing these sinister acts.
R: Dr. Brooks, thank you very much for your insightful views and candid sharing.
B: It's truly my pleasure.