United Kingdom: Anti-Torture Exhibition during Edinburgh Tattoo Draws Lots of Media and Public Attention

On the afternoon and evening of Friday the 6th of August, an anti-torture exhibition was held by Falun Gong practitioners in Edinburgh. This coincided with the world-renowned Edinburgh Military Tattoo event. The exhibition focused on a few of the hundreds of brutal torture methods used by the Jiang Regime to persecute Falun Gong practitioners in China. Stage make-up and mock-up torture devices were used to powerful effect, drawing the attention of all that passed by.

Although only four types of torture were displayed, it was enough to awaken thousands of people to the reality of the suffering in China. The event was held near the world famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which attracts thousands of tourists to the already busy city. This year the Chinese People’s Liberation Army are taking part. Practitioners took this opportunity to expose the crimes of the head of the PLA Jiang Zemin in his personal vendetta against Falun Gong.

The exhibition attracted a lot of media attention and was shown on Scottish TV. One of the organisers of the exhibition Christina said that amongst the media present were photographers from The Guardian and The Herald. A reporter from a press agency and a journalist from America interviewed practitioners at length. The reporters asked Christina whether Falun Gong is against the visit of the PLA and she explained that this is not the case but the visit does provide a good opportunity to expose the crimes of PLA head Jiang Zemin. She was able to explain about the lawsuits against Jiang Zemin to the reporter so that they could understand more deeply Jiang Zemin’s responsibility in the persecution of Falun Gong.

Christina, like other practitioners, found the Scottish people very easy to approach to sign a petition to bring Jiang Zemin to justice. They understood the situation very easily. Over 1,600 petition signatures were collected, providing many opportunities to directly explain about the persecution to people. Many Chinese people took leaflets and talked to practitioners. Some had come to Scotland on holiday to watch the PLA at the Tattoo. Some were very supportive of Falun Gong practitioners’ actions and very understanding of the situation of persecution that Falun Gong practitioners are facing in China.

5,000 leaflets explaining about the anti-torture exhibition were distributed reflecting a high level of public interest. Many other leaflets about Falun Gong were also distributed very quickly.Before the tattoo started, thousands of people queued up waiting to go into the venue. The queue stretched back down the street past the anti-torture exhibition. Practitioners formed a small choir and sang the song “Coming for You” to the people in the queue as they moved past.

By the entrance to the Tattoo itself, practitioners performed the five sets of Falun Gong exercises and handed out leaflets. After the Tattoo finished, those who took part passed by the exercise demonstration. The small choir sang as the Chinese performers from the PLA passed by. They then carried on singing as the Tattoo audience made its way out over the next 30 minutes. Many people were touched by the singing and took leaflets. One policeman asked a practitioner to pass a message to the choir that the singing was very beautiful. The police were very supportive of practitioners throughout the day and had enquired whether practitioners were returning the next day. They mentioned that practitioners are welcome in the future.