(Minghui.org) May 13 marked the 22nd anniversary of Falun Dafa’s introduction to the public. More than seven thousand practitioners from over 50 countries gathered in New York City this week and held a series of events to celebrate this special day.
Following an experience-sharing conference on May 13 , practitioners held a grand parade the next day near Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, a park located on 47th Street between First and Second Avenues, and dubbed the “Gateway to the United Nations.”
On May 15, a group of practitioners from the U.S. and Canada returned to Dag Hammarskjold Plaza to hold banners and do the Falun Dafa exercises in groups.
According to event organizer Mr. Wang Zhiyuan, the purpose of these activities was twofold. Practitioners wanted to showcase the beauty of Falun Dafa and continue to expose the ongoing persecution against this peaceful practice by the Chinese Communist Party. It is every practitioner’s hope that more and more people will join them in condemning the CCP for its oppression of law-abiding citizens and bringing to an end this persecution.
Mr. Wang pointed out the significance of the location of the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, which is right across from the United Nations, “As we hold events here, we are also sending a message to the entire world that Falun Dafa is good and the persecution, especially forced organ harvesting from living Dafa practitioners, must come to a stop!”
Two Minghui correspondents interviewed some practitioners and spectators on May 14 and 15 near the Plaza. Below are what the interviewees thought about the parade and practitioners’ truth-clarification activities.
Grand Parade on May 14
“Great Wall of Truth”: Practitioners Hold Banners with Truth-clarification Messages
Group Exercises at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
Chinese Tourists Surprised by a Special Greeting: “Falun Dafa is Good”
Lorraina Kabacinski: a practitioner from New York
Lorraina Kabacinski is a practitioner from New York. Deeply drawn to the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, she switched to Falun Dafa after teaching Taichi for 15 years. Not long into her Falun Dafa practice, one of her good friends, also a practitioner, was arrested while visiting China and spent three years in a Chinese prison.
Lorraina was troubled that many people still lacked a deep understanding of the severity of the persecution in China. Her friend’s ordeal made her realize that she must work hard to spread the word about what’s going on in China. She could see that many people were shocked when told about the persecution facts, especially the live organ harvesting.
On May 15, she met quite a few Chinese tour groups at the Plaza. Every time she saw them, she greeted them by saying “Falun Dafa is Good” in Chinese. Many Chinese visitors were surprised to hear such words from her, but seemed to be in agreement with her.
A Pennsylvania Practitioner Exposes Live Organ Harvesting
Yvette Scarlett: a practitioner from Pennsylvania
Ever since Yvette Scarlett started her Falun Dafa practice 13 years ago, she has benefited tremendously. Her health improved, and she became much calmer and peaceful. She no longer worries so much about money and how to handle interpersonal relationships. Whenever conflicts arise, she knows to look within to identify her own fault.
She told the Minghui correspondent that she came to New York to share with people her positive experiences with Dafa and the unreasonable persecution of this wonderful practice. She wanted to clear up people’s misunderstandings about Dafa and expose the persecution, especially the live organ harvesting carried out by the CCP.
Peaceful Demonstration Is Most Powerful
A local resident named Ray pointed out that anything aiming to promote peace is beneficial to society, and peaceful demonstration is oftentimes most powerful and most likely to succeed. He agreed violence would only make things worse and inhibit dialogue between conflicting parties. He appreciated the fact that Dafa practitioners have been protesting the CCP's persecution in a non-violent manner for so many years.
A Practitioner from Canada: Same Actions, Different Consequences
Liang Biao: a practitioner from Canada
Liang Biao is a practitioner currently living in Canada. He told the correspondent that he was free to distribute flyers in New York and other places outside of China, yet his mother Huang Xiuchao was once incarcerated at Shaoguan Prison in Guangdong Province for four years for doing the same thing. It wasn’t until after repeated requests from the Canadian government and practitioners outside of China that his mother was released.
Mr. Liang said, “Such sharp contrasts in the treatment of practitioners says clearly that the CCP doesn’t care about human rights no matter how it tries to glorify itself. The persecution of Falun Gong is a huge human rights tragedy.”
According to Mr. Liang, the policeman who arrested his mother was awarded 3,000 yuan. As a matter of fact, many perpetrators’ bonuses and promotions are tied to their efforts to persecute practitioners. “The police beat my mom, a 66-year-old woman, after they failed to shake her faith. Unfortunately, my mother’s ordeal is not an isolated event. Similar cases have been playing out in China during the past 15 years.”
Awakened Chinese: Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Is What the World Needs
Ms. Chen, a well-traveled woman who has visited more than one hundred countries, watched the entire parade procession. She used to harbor some misunderstandings about Falun Dafa, but she was deeply moved by the practitioners’ efforts to expose the persecution. She raved at the grandeur and peacefulness of the parade and said, “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is what the world needs.”
Another Chinese spectator felt the same way. Mr. Shi, originally from a Northern Chinese city, marveled at the parade, “This is the first time I’ve ever seen such a large scale parade. It’s unbelievable that the police were helping direct traffic and make sure the parade a success. Every aspect of the parade was well executed!”
Speaking of the persecution, Mr. Chen said, “In China, the CCP has numerous rules banning people from doing this or that. It’s great here in the States you have the freedom of speech!” He also felt Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is beneficial to society.
Director of Development of Friends of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza: Dafa Activities One of the Best Organized
Anne Hersh: Director of Development of Friends of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza
An elegant lady videotaped practitioners’ group exercises with great interest. It turned out she was Director of Development of Friends of Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. Anne Hersh told the Minghui correspondent that Dafa activities were one of the best organized events ever held at the Plaza.
She was amazed that so many practitioners of different age groups and from various backgrounds were able to stay so attentive to what they were doing. She appreciated the fact that practitioners took care of the Plaza without littering, and she sent her best wishes for a successful event.
She revealed that she actually started doing meditation not too long ago, so she knew well what kind of effort it took for practitioners to remain in tranquility during their Dafa exercises. She felt if everyone could calm down and take a deep breath, the world would be more peaceful and beautiful.
She knew about the persecution already and hoped more people could join practitioners in their efforts to condemn the CCP and stop the persecution.
Chair of Ukrainian National Women's League of America: Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Is Key to World Peace
Iryna Kurowyckyj, Chair of Ukrainian National Women’s League of America, agreed that Falun Dafa is a very precious cultivation discipline. She pointed out that the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is key to world peace. If everyone can follow such a principle, we can then tolerate and work well with each other. Otherwise, the world may well remain in turmoil.
Born in Ukraine, Iryna moved to the States with her family at age five. Back then her home country was suffering at the hands of the former Soviet Union and the Nazis, with many people killed. She felt for practitioners in China and expressed her hope that more people will stand up to help bring an end to this ruthless persecution.
People of All Stripes Marvel at the Parade
Sophia Rose was deeply moved after watching the parade. The persecution saddened her and she hoped for a quick end to the persecution.
Jadwiga Kuszaj, who immigrated to the States from Eastern Europe, was also touched by the parade. She was especially impressed that Falun Dafa is being enjoyed by people from so many different countries, including India, South Korea, Japan, Australia and some nations from Europe, and South America. She said that the parade certainly helped people who had no idea about Falun Dafa know about the practice and the relentless persecution of it in China.
Tony Locsin, a Filipino working as an auditor for the United Nations, had always been interested in meditation in ancient Chinese culture. Seeing the peaceful participants in the parade, he was eager to find out more about the practice. He sincerely hoped one day there would be an open environment in China, so that people of different faiths would be tolerated and could freely exercise their right to practice their belief.
Daniel Batista, a legal professional, marveled at the parade and immediately understood that the practitioners were using a peaceful way to expose the persecution in China. He agreed that more people needed to know the truth. He offered to help spread the word in whatever way he can, including social media. He indicated he’d check out more facts about the persecution online.
A New Yorker Returns to the Plaza to Learn More about Falun Dafa
Ernesto saw the parade on May 14 while going to the United Nations to attend an event. He became very curious about Falun Dafa and the persecution after receiving a flyer. He returned to the Plaza next day to watch the practitioners’ group exercises.
A practitioner chatted with him, and he sighed after learning more about the persecution. He couldn’t comprehend why the CCP would persecute such a peaceful group of people following the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
A Physician Thanks Practitioners for Telling Him about the Persecution
Sim, a physician living in one of the high-rise buildings near the Plaza, was taken aback when told about the persecution that has been going on for 15 years. He had some knowledge of the CCP oppression of Tibetans since he was from India, but he never knew about the persecution of Falun Dafa. Though as a doctor he was aware of live organ harvesting, he had no idea about how severe it is in China.
Sim thanked practitioners for sharing the persecution facts with him and expressed his strong support for them.
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2014/5/16/联合国前展示真相-让正义伸张-292259.html
