Poland: Falun Gong Practitioner Zhang Cuiying held a Painting Exhibition in Warsaw and Received a Warm Response

Zhang Cuiying, a well-known traditional Chinese artist, ended her painting exhibition in Warsaw on the 5th of March with a notable success. Her two-day exhibition of over fifty fine paintings attracted a large audience and was reported by TVP, a national TV broadcaster, the Polish Daily, Journal and RMF-FM Radio.

Coupled with the beauty and wonder of the paintings, the life story of the painter herself is also very intriguing. Born and educated in China but now an Australian citizen, Zhang Cuiying is a Falun Gong practitioner. After trying to hand an appeal letter about Falun Gong to the People’s Congress in China on the 5th of March 2000, she was arrested and spent the next eight months in prison. “I was beaten and thrown into male prison cells,” She says, “and while I showered, male inmates and policemen watched and tried to humiliate me.” Eventually she was released due to the intervention of the Australian Government at the end of 2000.

“A Chinese artist came to Warsaw and appealed to bring an end to the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China,” TVP reported, “More than 10,000 practitioners were thrown into custody and labour camps. Many practitioners were tortured to death and lots of them lost contact with their families.”

RMF-FM, one of the biggest Radio broadcasters in Poland, also reported on the exhibition. “Zhang Cuiying, the well-known artist who was thrown into prison and persecuted by China’s ex-president Jiang Zemin, is going on a painting exhibition tour of Poland…”

The exhibition also gained support from Paul Poslus, an MP in the Department of Justice. He made a speech denouncing the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and showing his support after he cut the ribbon for the opening ceremony. Senator Maria Szcosca came to meet Ms Zhang on the second day. As an essayist and writer in ethics, she expressed her respect for Ms Zhang’s persistent pursuit of justice and the peaceful way of Falun Gong.

A reporter from The People’s Daily appeared at the exhibition and presented fresh flowers to Ms Zhang with his best wishes. Later several other Chinese officials turned up respectively. One official showed close interest in how Ms Zhang’s arthritis was cured by practising Falun Gong; his mother has been suffering the same disease for years without cure.

Ms Zhang said that she appreciated the support and kindness of the people of Warsaw for her second painting exhibition, and she also visited the President’s Office, the Premier’s Office and the Supreme Court during her exhibition tour.

Ms Zhang has visited more than a hundred cities in forty countries, exhibiting her paintings and appealing to bring an end to the persecution in China. The message she leaves people with is always clear: “Falun Dafa is good! I will not stop until the persecution ceases.”