(Clearwisdom.net) A great amount of public attention was generated when Liu Qi, the Mayor of Beijing and vice president of the Beijing Olympic Committee, was sued in the United States for crimes against humanity. This happened as tourists and reporters from all over the world joined the local residents of Salt Lake City in celebrating and practicing the Olympic spirit of peace and humanity. On February 9, 2002, many media including CNN and Agence France Presse attended a press conference held by the Falun Dafa Information Center and their attorneys. Residents from Utah and tourists were shocked to learn about the lawsuit and expressed their belief that law, justice and the Olympic spirit cannot be trampled.
During the time of the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, there were a lot of people on the streets of Salt Lake City. Several practitioners stood beside the street holding signs, which had brief information about the press conference. The people who saw the signs were shocked and could hardly believe it. Many asked with confusion, "Good heavens! Why can such things happen?"
Kindhearted people probably can never understand why people would ever persecute those who practice Truth-Compassion-Forbearance. It is even harder for them to understand how someone could dare to attend the Olympics having committed such crimes. But, for those whose consciousness is already lost in their own sins and karma, the Olympic spirit of peace and humanity has probably been forgotten a long time ago.
The Winter Olympics drew together people who love peace. It also provided them with information about Falun Dafa. While standing in the cold wind, we were greeted many times with much praise. Some shouted while walking, "Falun Gong! You did it great! I saw you before and attended your gatherings! Thank you all! You're doing the right thing! I support you. Keep it going!"
Two young people came to the side of our press conference after seeing our messages and asked practitioners, "What can I do for you?" They also said indignantly, "How can we allow such people to attend the Olympics? It is insulting the Olympics. I will write to the President."
Practitioners met with some of the members of the Chinese delegation on different occasions. Regretfully, you could sense their fear from their words and manner. They were afraid that others would see them talking in a friendly manner with Falun Gong practitioners, and they were afraid that they would be reported after going back to China.
Some of them expressed their sympathy cautiously, but suggested that we should not have activities during the Winter Olympics. Practitioners then told them patiently that the sooner the persecution ends the sooner China will head to prosperity. Practitioners also and pointed out the discrepancies in the self-immolation video. The members of the delegation changed their minds during the discussion.
At the beginning, the Chinese delegation people thought that we were against them. But after hearing our explanation, they understood our attitude that practitioners always wish the athletes success. One practitioner smiled as he told a member, who held strong prejudice, that if the Chinese delegation won a gold medal, he would jump up and cheer.
It pains our hearts to think that we are all Chinese but they live under such a heavy burden. Some delegation members asked us not to disclose what we talked about after they learned that we are Falun Gong practitioners. We certainly understand their situation. A western practitioner who had appealed in Tiananmen Square came and told us that he felt that the Chinese people live under a kind of fear that is beyond description. We Practitioners truly feel sorry for the Chinese delegation's situation.