May 2, 2002

Joan O'Neill, President
Canadian Tulip Festival
106-112 Nelson St.
Ottawa, ON K1N 7R5

Dear Joan:

I was quite chagrined to learn that pressure from the Chinese embassy has apparently led to the exclusion of a boat from the Falun Gong group in this year's Tulip Festival flotilla.

As you know, Falun Gong is an active organization in our community, involving many residents, and they participated in last year's flotilla.

As I understand it, Falun Gong's boat did not carry any political slogans denouncing the human rights abuses of the Chinese government; only the key beliefs of the group, namely "truth, compassion, tolerance".

Exposure to the words "truth, compassion, tolerance" may be enough to throw Chinese embassy officials into fits of discomfort and anxiety, but the comfort of foreign governments should not be your guiding principle. The Tulip Festival is a colourful springtime celebration of our national capital. It is also an opportunity to show off our city to visitors from around the world.

Giving into a foreign regime's desire to stamp out a religious group they don't like should never be considered. It betrays our country's tradition of respecting freedom of speech and freedom of religion and it undermines the idea of the Tulip Festival as a celebration to bring the community together.

I do hope you will reconsider this decision and the dangerous precedent it sets.

Sincerely,

Alex Munter, Councillor

City of Ottawa