Gain a deeper sense of what it was like in Changchun — or anywhere else in China — in the late 90s and early 2000s by moving through an expansive scroll of Daxiong’s artwork filled with individual interviews elaborating on the scenes. Each of us has a different perspective, journey, and story to tell.
When we first started to practice, there were thousands of us. We would fill up Cultural Square when we were doing the Falun Gong exercises. Seems like everyone was there.
Everything changed in 1999. It started with the awareness that we were being monitored. Then things escalated and you could really feel a change in the attitude towards Falun Gong.
Some of us tried to let the public and government know the truth. We knew it was a risk, but pressure was building, and we couldn’t let the lies go unchallenged.
Inevitably, we had to run or hide. Police were everywhere. You could be arrested at any moment on any day.
But nothing prepares you for the day when they finally take you. In prison, no one can help you. Faith is the only way to survive the horrors we witnessed and went through.
Some of us managed to survive, many did not. Some stayed, and some of us escaped. If you could get to Thailand or another country that takes refugees, you could leave your life behind to start anew. But for those of us who fled, we haven’t seen our families since.
Wang Liansu was a prisoner of conscience from September 2001 until December 2013. He managed to secure travel documents to the US, and was finally reunited with his wife and adult son.
Zhang Zhongyu was detained 10 times for his continued belief in Falun Gong between 1999 and 2007. He now resides in Vancouver, Canada.
After his detention in 1999, Wei Lisheng was forced into homelessness. He managed to escape to Thailand in 2007 and eventually the US in 2012.
Wang Jianmin was imprisoned for 5 year and escaped to the US in 2013 with his wife.
Fang Siyi and her husband managed to escape to Thailand, leaving her young daughter with family. They were reunited in Thailand, and now reside in Finland.
Daxiong left China on a work trip to France. He never returned, and he now resides in Canada with his family, telling his story through art.
As the persecution of Falun Gong continues in Mainland China, the millions of Falun Gong practitioners around the world remain resolute in their belief that Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance will win the end.