In 2002, Falun Gong activists hacked into a state TV station in China
The documentary Eternal Spring reveals how they did it — and what happened after
In March 2002, activists from the outlawed spiritual movement Falun Gong hijacked a state TV station in Changchun, China. Their goal was to counter the government narrative aimed at suppressing their practice.
In the aftermath, police swept the city in search of the saboteurs. Hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners were detained, and 15 were sentenced to prison terms of up to 20 years; many faced torture and abuse, and several died in prison. Many Falun Gong followers were forced to flee China. Internationally renowned illustrator and comic artist Daxiong, known for the Justice League and Star Wars franchises, was one of them.
The documentary Eternal Spring retraces the events of the hijacking. Combining 3D animation, using Daxiong's art, with present-day interviews, the film brings to life a story of defiance and harrowing eyewitness accounts of persecution.
Falun Gong in China
Daxiong discovered Falun Gong when he was 21.
"What Falun Gong teaches is simple, really," he said in the film. "You cultivate your heart and improve your character and that leads to better physical and mental health."
Falun Gong originated in Changchun, where thousands of followers would gather at practice sites throughout the city. "The government couldn't allow such a large group to exist under its rule," Daxiong said.
On July 22, 1999, the government banned Falun Gong, saying it was a "threat to social and political stability."
Since then, practitioners have been detained by police and pressured to renounce their beliefs; others have been sent to labour camps. Many report being tortured.
A news report featured in Eternal Spring shows Falun Gong materials being burned. "In China today, the government says it's destroyed more than a million books and posters belonging to the spiritual movement called Falun Gong," the reporter said.
Falun Gong is practiced in dozens of countries, but China is the only one where its followers are persecuted.
The hijacking
In 2002, a small group of practitioners in Changchun devised a plan to hack into a state TV signal and play a video about Falun Gong's teachings.
"The goal of hijacking the TV was to set the record straight," one practitioner said in the film.
"If you're silent in the face of persecution and look away when people are dying, are you still human?" said another.
Daxiong disagreed with the hijacking at the time. He believed it would worsen the violent repression of Falun Gong. In Eternal Spring, he speaks to some of the people who were directly involved, and his views begin to change.
Eternal Spring is a story about people determined to speak up for political and religious freedoms, no matter the cost.
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