(Clearwisdom.net)
After three years of abeyance, The Sino-American Human Rights Dialogue finally resumed with the first talks being held on October 9 - 11 at the U.S. State Department in Washington D.C. Practitioners gathered right in front of the building where the human rights talks were taking place, and stayed there for 3 full days calling for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
The talks were held not long after Washington D.C. and New York were attacked by terrorists. America was at war and the situation was very tense in D.C. Even though D.C. practitioners had just learned about the Human Rights Dialogue and did not have sufficient time to prepare for activities, they had the full support from practitioners across the U.S. and Canada, as well as other countries. They successfully organized an experience sharing conference, a candlelight vigil and peaceful appeal activities in a very short time.
D.C. practitioners learned about the human rights dialogue just 10 days before the talks began. Obtaining permits to hold various activities became an essential prerequisite. Fortunately, the D.C. practitioners had built a very good relationship with the Capitol Police. Therefore, the officer in charge of permits made an exception and issued location permits for activities by working overtime on the weekend. Meanwhile, other related activities, especially the appeal in front of the U.S. State Department, were also approved in an unusually short time. Some of the approved sites were sensitive locations that had been previously cordoned off. These facts show the understanding and trust the Capitol Police have toward Falun Gong practitioners.
The Washington D.C. activities were held about the same time as the Asian and Pacific Experience Sharing Conference in Australia. Practitioners attending the D.C. events all had their local Hongfa to do. However, they also understood the extraordinary significance of the events in D.C. and the importance of confronting the Chinese Human Rights Delegation. With the same goal in mind, more than 600 practitioners overcame the difficulties of time, jobs, and finances to participate in the D.C. activities. Many practitioners stayed for all four days of activities. They cooperated with each other smoothly in distributing flyers, holding banners and demonstrating the exercises.
When the event concluded on October 11, practitioners presented a plaque and dozens of thank-you cards to the Capitol Police to sincerely thank them for their support of Dafa and Dafa activities. The plaque has Zhen-Shan-Ren carved both in Chinese and in English. The police chief happily accepted the plaque and cards, and was extremely pleased with the practitioners' conduct. He said wholeheartedly, "I have never seen any protest as peaceful as Falun Gong's."
A female American practitioner has a friend that works in the State Department. After seeing the practitioners' appeal, her friend wrote in an email to her, "The scene of Falun Gong's appeal was so peaceful that it made a deep impression on me." Her friend also asked whether she knew anything about Falun Gong. The practitioner replied proudly, "I am one of them."
Category: April 25 Events
