(Clearwisdom.net) The Unity: Journalists of Color 2004 Convention was held on August 4-8, 2004 at the Washington Convention Center in DC, with more than 7,000 journalists attending. On August 7, practitioners demonstrated the exercises on the lawn outside of the conference site. Practitioners also reenacted methods the Jiang faction uses in China to torture Falun Gong practitioners and displayed photo boards explaining the facts about the persecution. Many journalists and passersby stopped to find out more.
The day was fine and cool. The scene of dozens of practitioners' peaceful exercise demonstration on the lawn formed a sharp contrast to tragic and touching live torture exhibit. Huge banners were set up with the words, "Falun Dafa-Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" " All this is happening in China," "Let's work together to end the persecution," and "Bring Jiang Zemin to Justice" in both Chinese and English. Western practitioners' introduction and explanation, accompanied by touching music slowly broadcast to passersby, created a dignified atmosphere.
  Reenactment of torture method: Burning with a hot iron rod |
 Hammering bamboo sticks under fingernails |
  Ms. Wang is reenacting slave labor |
  People are shocked |
  Journalist and passersby watching |
  Explaining to a journalist about the persecution |
  Learning the exercises |
 Children are learning the exercises |
The anti-torture exhibit was located at a place where most journalists entered the convention center. Many journalists and passersby were shocked by the torture scenes. They accepted practitioners' flyers and asked about Falun Gong and the persecution of practitioners. Several journalists told practitioners that they had once reported on Falun Gong, but there were also journalists who had never heard about Falun Gong. A journalist said that it was shocking, like massacre during WWII. Why is all this still happening? Several more journalists saw the exhibit and asked practitioners for information about Falun Gong practitioners in their local areas. They also left their name cards for future coverage of Falun Gong. A female journalist couldn't interview practitioners in the morning because of the conference, but she promised to come in the afternoon. She indeed came and took many pictures of each torture method. A host of a program from a certain TV station in Alaska invited practitioners to participate in their one-hour Talk Show program. A cameraman from a Spanish media outlet who was passing by stopped and took photos. Some practitioners went inside the convention center to introduce Falun Dafa and persecution facts to some media outlets' booths. A journalist from a big newspaper on the west coast interviewed practitioners, asked them to demonstrate the exercises and took photos.
Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Ge, a senior accountant in Washington DC, said that the purpose of holding the anti-torture exhibit is to explain to the western media and passersby the facts of persecution, and at the same time hope the western media show due concern and report the crime of genocide taking place in China.
Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wang, who reenacted a torture method, once was sent to a labor camp in China for a year. She said that what they could reenact is only the tip of the iceberg compared to what Falun Gong practitioners are suffering in China. During her one-year of forced labor, the painful screams she heard when Falun Gong practitioners were being tortured was enough to make one suffer mental trauma. She was forced to do slave labor-wrapping chopsticks. The conditions were terrible. They were not allowed to have a bath in six months. With no sufficient water for washing, while wrapping chopsticks, their hands were often dirty and toilet water often overflowed in the area where chopsticks were placed. The labor camp still delivered all the chopsticks to big hotels or exported them overseas. Ms. Wang also reenacted the scene of slave labor while she was in labor camp.
Many passersby were deeply shocked at seeing the exhibit. Many people asked, "What can we do for you?" "How can I help Falun Gong practitioners?" Several Americans asked for a badge with the words, "I support Falun Gong," and said they would like to wear this for a day. A local resident learned about the facts of Falun Gong and brought his four children to learn to practice the exercises from practitioners immediately. A student from a journalism school learned about the persecution of children who practice Falun Gong, and his tears welled up in his eyes.
In order to make the exhibit successful, many practitioners silently contributed a lot. A practitioner who designed the torture methods exhibit in Chicago flew to Washington DC the previous evening to help design this exhibit. Many practitioners from North Carolina and Philadelphia drove several hours in the early morning to help out.
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Category: Rallies & Protests
