(Clearwisdom.net) Sunday, May 8, 2005 was Mother's Day. But Li Huagui, a mother aged over 60 in St. Louis Missouri, had a holiday mixed with happiness and worry.
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Falun Gong practitioners' procession
The happy part of the day included the Valley of Flowers parade in the City of Florissant, a suburb of St. Louis. This is the fourth time that St. Louis Falun Gong practitioners were invited to take part in this parade. As in previous years, the Falun Gong procession was warmly welcomed by spectators, and cheers and applause accompanied the practitioners all along the way. Many people pressed their hands together in the heshi gesture to salute the Falun Gong practitioners. Ms. Li and other two women practitioners carried three round placards printed with the words, "Truthfulness," "Compassion" and "Tolerance," and walked nearly two hours to the parade's end. Though the weather was hot, Ms. Li was very happy. Before she came to America, she was incarcerated in a forced labor camp in China for eight months because of telling people that Falun Dafa is good and for exposing the truth of the persecution. So Ms. Li treasures the freedom outside of China where practitioners can display the beauty of Falun Dafa to people. Her oldest son and daughter-in-law were in the parade too, because they are also Falun Gong practitioners. The whole family participating in this Fa-promotion activity together made this Mother's Day more meaningful to her and the applause and cheers from the spectators perhaps were her best Mother's Day present.
Ms. Li and other two women practitioners carrying the placards reading,
"Truthfulness" "Compassion" "Tolerance"
But Li Huagui worried about her youngest son, Fang Dan, who was recently detained in China. On the morning of April 14 2005, personnel from the Shenzhen City 610 Office and policemen from the Shenzhen Hutian District Police Station and Shenzhen Shatou Police Station stormed into Fang Dan's work unit and abducted him while he was working. That same day, Fang Dan was illegally detained at the Futian District Temporary Detention Center. As of today, he has already been detained over 15 days but he has not yet been released. His family members have tried to visit him several times and they wanted to send him some clothes, but their requests were all rejected by the authorities. The lawyer hired by the family was not allowed to see Fang Dan either. Fang Dan is not a Falun Gong practitioner. A policeman said he was detained because he downloaded a copy of the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and gave it to a Falun Gong practitioner.
Ms. Li Huagui said, "Fang Dan didn't do anything wrong. What he did was the same as what we are doing here today, that is, to bring the truth and beauty [of Falun Dafa] and to clarify the truth to more people. This is a good deed. Now the Communist Party is frenziedly arresting people, not only Falun Gong practitioners but also people who support and help Falun Gong. This exposes the panic of the persecutor. They have come to a dead end. We will continue to clarify the truth, and stand up against the persecution. I believe that the people in Mainland China will be able to cheer for Falun Gong openly in the near future."
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