(Minghui.org) I passed by Chinatown during my business trip to Chicago earlier this month, where I suddenly heard Falun Gong exercise music. I turned to the direction of the music and saw a few older Falun Gong practitioners doing the exercises quietly, despite drizzling rain. I was very touched by their calmness and persistence. The scene of their group exercise reminded me of the large-scale Falun Gong events in Chicago years ago.
Falun Gong practitioners do exercises quietly in drizzle in Chicago's Chinatown.
A young practitioner meditates next to the display boards.
Shortly after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the persecution of Falun Gong in China, Falun Gong practitioners in the United States held several anti-persecution activities on the square in Chicago's Chinatown.
More than 800 practitioners from throughout North America held a two-day experience sharing conference in Chicago in June 2001. A large-scale group exercise, press conference, parade in downtown and Chinatown, and a petition at the Chinese Consulate were held on June 23, 2001.
About 300 Falun Gong practitioners participated in the morning group exercises. The parade procession started from the the busiest street, Wentworth, around noon, and proceeded through all of Chinatown. A police motorcade headed the parade. Many people came out of stores, watched the parade, and got Falun Gong introductory materials. Chinatown was filled with powerful and righteous energy.
Fourteen years have passed, and the group exercise site in Chicago's Chinatown is still active. The elderly practitioners were doing their exercises in a confident and stately manner. Hidden behind the seemingly slow and ordinary movements was extraordinary tenacity, the exact spirit that made Falun Gong stand firmly despite the brutal persecution.
One young practitioner was distributing Falun Gong flyers and talking to passersby, telling them the facts about Falun Gong. He told me he had a full-time job, but had been coming to help at Chinatown every weekend for the past three years.
