On Feb. 13, Liberal MP Judy Sgro and Conservative MP Garnett Genuis hosted a special screening of the award-winning animated documentary “Eternal Spring” on Parliament Hill. The film depicts Beijing’s persecution of religious rights and is Canada’s selection in the category of Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. Directed by Torontonian Jason Loftus and animated by acclaimed Chinese artist Daxiong, the film pieces together events that occurred in China nearly 20 years ago, telling the story of 18 Chinese citizens who managed to tap into state cable television and broadcast uncensored news about the Beijing regime’s persecution campaign against Falun Gong adherents. The screening was held ahead of the 21st anniversary of the TV station hijacking effort that took place on March 5, 2002, in Changchun, the capital of Jilin Province. In English, Changchun means “eternal spring.”
In remarks before the screening, Sgro applauded the film for garnering numerous awards at festivals around the world, including the top audience prize at Canada’s Hot Docs, as well as the Hellenic Parliament’s Human Values Award in Greece. It has also received nominations among the world’s leading awards for documentary film (IDA Documentary Awards) and animation (the 50th Annie Awards), along with being named a 2023 finalist in the Social Impact Media Awards for Best Documentary Feature. “Eternal Spring” is the first-ever Mandarin-language film to represent Canada in the Oscars’ best international feature film category and the only film in 2023 to qualify in both the Best Animated Feature and Best Documentary Feature categories.
At the screening, Sgro said that she had “never seen anything like it” and praised the film for its ability to “easily absorb” and “understand” the suffering of persecuted Falun Gong adherents. Genuis added that the film “brings to light the struggle for freedom and justice” and should be an inspiration to those who continue the fight for freedom. Conservative MP Cathay Wagantall, who also attended the screening, said it’s of “very deep concern” for her to hear about so many incidents of Beijing’s religious persecution of Falun Gong, as well as campaigns targeting people of other faiths in China.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, consists of meditative exercises and moral teachings based on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. After it was introduced in China in 1992, it quickly gained widespread popularity due to its reported benefits to people’s physical and mental health. By 1999, the practice had attracted 70 million to 100 million adherents, according to official Chinese estimates. However, then-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin perceived that popularity as a threat to the regime’s totalitarian rule, and launched a violent suppression of Falun Gong adherents on July 20, 1999, in an attempt to eradicate the practice. In an effort to get the other side of the story out to the Chinese people, 18 Falun Gong practitioners in Changchun tapped into a state-run television network on March 5, 2002, and broadcast the videos “Self-immolation or Hoax?” and “Falun Dafa Spreads Worldwide” on eight channels simultaneously to 300,000 cable subscribers in the city.
The highly complicated and risky endeavour was successful, but the authorities immediately launched a massive sweep and arrested more than 5,000 Falun Gong practitioners. At least seven were beaten to death within days. Daxiong, who was forced to flee his hometown because of the police raids, recalls the event in “Eternal Spring” resulting from his interviews with the sole survivor who participated in the daring television station hijacking. He said at the screening that the film is “not necessarily just about Falun Gong, but about the truth” and how to uncover the lies of the Chinese regime.
Over the years, MPs and numerous other government officials across the country have voiced support for Falun Gong and denounced the CCP’s violation of religious rights. However, the persecution campaign in China continues, despite Canadian and international condemnation.