(Clearwisdom.net) August 17, 2005 was the 60^th anniversary of Indonesia's independence. It has become a tradition that a parade is held on the weekend closest to the anniversary. On August 20, the parade was held on TG Pinang Island. Falun Gong practitioners from Singapore and Indonesia participated in the parade with a waist drum team and exercise demonstration.

The waist drum team performs for the mayor by invitation

The waist drum team from Singapore was eye-catching in the parade

Exercise demonstration float moves through streets and lanes

Though it was cloudy on Saturday, many people still came out to watch the parade. More than 100 groups participated in the parade, including beautiful wedding and festival costumes of the various races and nationalities in Indonesia.

Waist drum team

Costumes of various nationalities

A practitioner from Singapore participating in the parade for the first time said, "I recall that two years ago we came here to introduce Falun Dafa to the public. The Indonesian people, especially Chinese people here, had been misled by the Chinese Communist Party's slander and lies. They even spoke abusive words towards us. Through two years of truth clarification and setting up practice sites and Fa-study groups, the participation of practitioners this time is welcomed in the parade."

The parade started at 1 p.m. and suddenly there came a heavy rain. As people were hurrying to avoid the rain, the mighty sound of waist drums appeared like a wave and stunned the busy street. Everyone became quiet and listened to the sound of the practitioners' drums. All along the parade route, onlookers accepted truth-clarification literature and asked for information about practice sites and where to buy "Zhuan Falun" in Indonesian.

The parade ended at 6 p.m.