(Clearwisdom.net) On July 4, 2005, Champaign, Illinois held its annual grand Independence Day Parade. Falun Gong practitioners participated in this event for the third time and their performance was highly commended by the audience.

Falun Gong practitioners' group

Falun Gong practitioners' group

Upon seeing the practitioners' exercise demonstration and Fairy Dance, a woman from Wisconsin who was on vacation visiting Champaign exclaimed: "It is so beautiful!"

Practitioner Charles Lee, who is currently being illegally detained in China, is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and practitioners have visited the city a number of times to promote Falun Dafa and raise awareness of Charles' plight. Therefore, many local residents know Falun Gong pretty well.

Practitioner Hao Feng, a professor at UIUC, said: "This is the third time we've participated in this parade. We also offer regular 'Falun Gong free teaching' workshops at community centers and public libraries and these have been well-received."

Demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises on the float

Practitioners' perform Fairy Dance

Champaign practitioner Jacquelin Potter started to practice Falun Gong this March. She said that practicing Falun Gong not only gave her a healthy body but also gave her inner peace and compassion. She said that she could handle much better everyday conflicts and trouble.

"In China, one will be arrested for practicing Falun Gong and trying to be a good person. Such a brutal persecution breaks my heart. I hope that more people will help us end the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party so that the Chinese people can also enjoy freedom of belief," Jacquelin said.