On the morning of November 14, 2001, Falun Dafa practitioners from New York City and the Canadian SOS! Rescue Walk Team held a press conference in front of the Chinese Consulate. This event was the fourth and final press conference, in New York City, for the SOS! Walkers, before they would complete their mission by delivering their appeal letter and signatures to the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan.
Representatives for the Falun Dafa Information Center began by presenting a press statement, which was first read in English and then in Chinese.
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Next, the SOS! Walkers read their Letter of Appeal to U.N. General-Secretary Kofi Annan. Zhu Ying read the letter in English and Zhu Lili read it in Chinese.
Amy Lee then presented her experience of the brutal persecution in Mainland China, first in Chinese and then in English.
Somebody inside the consulate building was filming our press conference.
The event was concluded by reading letters of support written to the SOS! Walkers from the Bronx borough president -- Fernando Ferrer and the Brooklyn borough president, Howard Golden. A local TV reporter covered the event and a Reporter from the World Journal (Chinese language newspaper) interviewed the four Walkers after the press conference.
Immediately after the press conference, the Walkers and about 15 practitioners walked across Manhattan on 42nd Street to the United Nations building on 1st Avenue.
Because the U.N. General Assembly meetings are currently in session and because of the recent terrorist attacks, security around the U.N. was very tight. When the walkers first approached the security guards, they were told they could not deliver the letter or signatures and that they would have to leave the area. Everybody sent forth righteous thoughts and eventually a practitioner was able to speak with the U.N. security office, who agreed to send somebody down to accept the letter and signatures. Eventually a security officer came down and accepted the letter. He had to call down two additional officers to bring the signatures back into the U.N. office. He assured us that the letter and signatures would be delivered to General-Secretary Kofi Annan's office.
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Two New York City Parks Department employees expressed their support for the Dafa practitioners in China and gave a 'thumbs up' for the SOS! Walkers 750 mile trek.
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Category: Rallies & Protests
