On September 5, the Chinese President arrived in New York for the Millennium Summit meeting at the United Nations. On the same day, several hundred practitioners from New York, many other states around the country, as well as Taiwan, Canada, and countries in Europe held a parade on the main streets of Flushing in Queens, New York. Practitioners expressed their concerns about the persecution of Falun Gong in Mainland China and appealed to the Chinese government to stop the suppression of Falun Gong.
The parade was held from 4 to 6pm, during rush hour. There were only two to three hundred practitioners expected to participate in the parade. However, as the parade advanced, more and more practitioners from other regions and countries joined in and the number of practitioners totaled over five hundred. The parade, directed by police, marched along the main streets in Flushing Chinatown. It seems that the attention of the people in Chinatown were all attracted by the parade: passersby stopped and asked for introductory materials; many people in the car rolled down their windows and asked for flyers or newspapers; the store owners came out and watched the parade.
The blue sky and white clouds were a perfect backdrop for the team of yellow-clad practitioners marching in the parade. The long line of practitioners wearing the yellow T-shirts stretched for several blocks and looked like a bright dragon. One side of the street was full of cars, while the other side was the parade. It seemed that the world was covered by the serenity of Falun Dafa. The scene was so peaceful and tranquil at this moment, Dafa practitioners were melted into supreme benevolence through "assisting the teacher in the human world." At this moment it seemed that the everyday people were astonished by the universal truth of Zhen-Shan-Ren, and they forgot about their worries.
A middle-aged Chinese man was following along with the parade. He told a practitioner that his wife is also a Falun Gong practitioner in China, and went to Beijing to appeal a few times. For this she received a three-year jail sentence. The man expressed that he could not understand how such a thing could be allowed to take place.
Prior to the parade, the local police who came to help lead the parade did not know much about Falun Gong. However, after spending time in the parade, the officers came to admire the practitioners and their orderly manner and peacefulness. They made an exception to allow us to play Dafa music on the street. The officers even redirected traffic to allow the practitioners to complete two sets of exercises.
Reporters from local Chinese media came to photograph the scene and interview the practitioners.
After two hours, practitioners demonstrated the exercise sets one more time and the parade was concluded successfully. Through this parade, Falun Dafa was presented to the local community and people were given the opportunity to attain the Fa.
September 5, 2000
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Category: Rallies & Protests
