(Clearwisdom.net) On August 15, 2006, Falun Gong practitioners held a "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance Art Exhibition" in the Lord Rank Room of the Wesley House in Cambridge. The opening ceremony was attended by Mr. David Howarth, a member of the British Parliament, Mr. Robert Dryden, Mayor of Cambridge, Ms. Joanne Gray, a staff member of Cambridgeshire in charge of community learning and development, Mr. Jim Stirmey, representative of the Wesley House, a Cambridge city councilor and several local artists.

Mr. David Howarth delivers a speech at the opening ceremony

A visitor viewing a painting

A practitioner explains the persecution to a visitor

In the opening remarks, Mr. Stirmey hoped that visitors would benefit from the two-week art exhibition, and he looked forward to professional discussions about the paintings displayed in the exhibition. In Mr. David Howarth’s speech, he reminded the UK government and the international community that in addition to paying attention to China’s economic growth, they should also watch over China’s human rights issues.

Mr. Howarth commented that he was very glad to see the art exhibition held in Cambridge, as the paintings revealed a serious problem in China, the severe persecution of Falun Gong. He indicated that he had started a campaign in the Parliament to closely track China’s infringement against the freedom of belief. He also pointed out that even though China’s economic situation has undergone drastic changes, nothing has changed in terms of human rights and political reforms. He insisted that Western countries should take China’s deregulation as a business opportunity only when human rights are not sacrificed. Therefore, he called upon the UK government and citizens as well as all the people in Western countries to bring up human rights issues to the Chinese Communist regime, especially those related to freedom of belief and freedom of thought.

Mrs. Shu made a statement on behalf of Falun Gong practitioners. She gave an account of the persecution that she and her family members and friends had suffered in China because of practicing Falun Gong. She urged all of the people who were aware of the truth to help stop the persecution.

Mrs. Arezoo Miraftabi, a coordinator for the art exhibition, also gave an introduction to the audience about the brutal persecution that the Chinese Communist regime has committed against Falun Gong. She highlighted the crime of organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist regime.

After visiting the art exhibition, a retired art lecturer and sculptor said that the art exhibition would bring Chinese culture to western society and encourage appreciation of Chinese culture. He added that holding art exhibitions is a good way to leave a deep impression on people. From this art exhibition, he understood the situation of Falun Gong’s persecution in China, and he knew the efforts made by the UK government to stop the persecution was not enough.

The 43 works displayed in the art exhibition were categorized into four subjects, including the wonderfulness of practicing Falun Gong, the brutal persecution against Falun Gong, voices of those against the persecution around the world, and "Justice will prevail over Evil." All of the paintings were created by Falun Gong practitioners. Among them, three have been cruelly persecuted in China because of practicing Falun Gong. This was the third time that this exhibition has been held in Cambridge.