(Minghui.org) May 13 is World Falun Dafa Day and this year was the 30th anniversary of Falun Dafa’s introduction to the world. Mayors of four Florida cities—Davie, Orlando, Aventura, and Cooper—proclaimed May 13 as Falun Dafa Day in their cities.

Proclamation from Mayor Buddy Dyer of Orlando

The proclamation from Orlando reads, “For years, Lake Eola Park has been a place to learn the practice of Falun Dafa, a Chinese spiritual practice that combines meditation and Qigong exercises with a moral philosophy centered on the tenets of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. Through moral rectitude and the practice of meditation, practitioners of Falun Gong aspire to better health and ultimately, spiritual enlightenment.

“In 1999, the Chinese Regime, which estimated that 70-100 million Chinese were practicing Falun Dafa, launched a brutal all-out campaign against the peaceful group on a nationwide scale. The ongoing suppression has potentially claimed hundreds of thousands of lives according to researchers. Since 1999, numerous western governments and human rights organizations have expressed condemnation of the Chinese government’s suppression of Falun Dafa.”

Proclamation from Mayor Greg Ross of the Cooper CityProclamation from Mayor Enid Weisman of the City of AventuraProclamation from Mayor Bradley T Dantzler of the City of Winter Haven

Background: What Is Falun Dafa?

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Millions of people who have embraced the teachings—which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance—and learned the five exercises have experienced improved health and well-being.