Czech Republic: The European Falun Gong Marching Band Makes a Successful Debut on Czech National Day

November 17th, 2007 was Czech National Day. As Czechs celebrated the ending of the communist party’s atrocious rule on this day eighteen years ago, the Falun Gong Devine Land Marching Band composed of nearly one hundred Falun Gong practitioners, was invited to participate in the celebration marking the National Day this year. The band brought something special to the people in Prague on this special occasion.

At midday with the conductor’s commands, the music of “Falun Dafa Is Good” was performed by the Marching Band in the square of the Old Town, which was a prelude to the grand parade. Reporters waiting at the square took out their cameras to take pictures of the Band’s magnificent performances one after another.

As the national day happened to fall on Saturday this year, the two sides of the streets were crowded with a lot of spectators. They seemed to wait for the Divine Land Marching Band there. The magnificent music performed by the Band deeply touched the spectators’ hearts. Many of them were even hand in hand swaying along with the music and walked behind the procession. In fact, Czechs are born music lovers.
Known as the “Boulevard of Sculpture,” Charles Bridge is the hub connecting the new Town and the old town and is often packed with people. When the Band crossed the bridge, many pedestrians stopped to appreciate the magnificent performance. Many of them exclaimed: “Great! Wonderful!”

Mr. Zhu, a spectator from Germany, said, “People from the area once ruled by the totalitarian Communist regime for several decades tend to be indifferent; however, the people in Prague today turned out to be completely the other way around. Instead, their reaction was very positive to others.”

Mr. Chen, a trumpet player with the Band, said, “Although the parade took a long time, I didn’t feel a bit tired today. At the sight of the kind hearted people here who seem to look forward to the truth about Falun Gong, I felt some kind of strength running out of my heart.” Mr. Chen added that Falun Gong practitioners intended to demonstrate the goodness of Falun Gong and the benefits they have gained from cultivating to the general public through the performance of the Divine Land Marching Band.

A local Falun Gong practitioner said, “Some local practitioners did distribute Falun Gong flyers to people here, but it’s the first time for us to know Falun Gong through such a very positive and direct way.”
The parade lasted until about 4 p.m. and the practitioners held a brief press conference in front of the Presidential Office Building to call on the Czech government to pay attention to the brutal persecution in China. At the end, the Band performed “Drums and Trumpets Shake the World in Ten Directions”, "Ode to Joy" and other works once more for the audience. They rounded off the parade in a burst of applause.
In the evening, three local television stations and two radio stations reported the parade, spreading the magnificence of Falun Gong to every family.

The grand parade in Prague was over, but it left behind many things for people to ponder over. Everywhere in this old city there is historic architecture. The entire city has perfectly preserved many architectural works created in various periods since the middle ages. What had made this beautiful European city escape from the Communist party’s devastation in the 20th century?

In comparison, the five thousand year old Chinese divine culture is not so lucky. The Great Cultural Revolution launched by the Chinese Communist regime has completely destroyed Chinese cultural heritage and ruined its people’s conscience and natural instinct. Breaking away from the communist spectre is not only something urgent, but also truly a way out for all the Chinese people.