The Mayor of Dover city, Delaware, welcomes Falun Gong practitioners; the governor of Delaware Thomas R. Carper declared Falun Dafa Week. (photo by Zhang Huichan) [Reported by the reporter Zhang Huichan from Dover, Delaware] The practitioners from Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Washington DC and local government officials opened a grand ceremony for the first Falun Dafa Week in Delaware at the modern activity center in Dover. The governor of Delaware, Thomas R. Carper, declared Dec. 4^th?0^th as Falun Dafa Week in Delaware. The entire event was undertaken under warm and peaceful circumstances in the cold winter. The governor encouraged the residents to get to know and learn the cultivation system of Falun Gong. James L. Hutchison, the Mayor of Dover city, gave his speech during the ceremony. He welcomed Falun Gong practitioners, and then read the proclamation of Falun Dafa Week in Dover that he signed. He pointed out in the speech that the greatness of the U. S. lays in its tolerance and multicultural heritage. Human beings should have the freedom of belief, cultivation practice and career. He definitely supported cultivation systems like Falun Dafa, which brings people health and reduces stress and he expressed his hope that Falun Dafa practitioners would have a more wonderful future. Michael Cebrick, the deputy chairman of the House of Representatives in Kent county, also attended this ceremony and proclaimed resolution 2139 which declares Falun Dafa Week The Falun Dafa delegates also read the congratulatory letter from Congressman Joseph R. Biden. In this letter, he believes that Falun Dafa transcends cultures and that the benefits of both mind and body are deeply rooted in Falun Dafa practitioners. There were also congratulatory letters from the Mayor of Wilmington, James H. Sills Jr., and other government officials. The practitioners demonstrated the five sets of exercises, introduced Falun Dafa to the participants and condemned the China authorities for persecuting and denouncing Falun Gong. Besides the picture displays, the latest movie," Falun Gongs Challenge to China", was aired. The famous producer Danny Schecter, who is the recipient of three Emmy Awards, made this movie. December 31^st, 2000