Canada: A Special Gift for Canada's Capital on Canada Day

Tuesday, July 1st, 2003 was the 136th anniversary of the founding of Canada. About 75,000 visitors from across the country and all over the world gathered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to celebrate.

A grand celebration was held. Governor General of Canada Adrienne Clarkson and Canada's Prime Minister Jean Chrétien made speeches. Civil groups and artists from across the country offered wonderful performances. Many Canadians expressed that they are happy and proud to live in such a free and great country.

Falun Gong practitioners gave a performance on the east side of Parliament Hill, a prominent and bustling area. Performances included classical dancing, folk dance, martial arts performance, musical instrumental performance, and exercise demonstration, attracting tens of thousands of visitors who stopped to watch... Falun Gong practitioners' performances became one of the focuses of the celebration. Applause and acclamations could be heard frequently. A Canadian resident from China expressed that Falun Gong displayed the beauty of oriental culture to the Canadian community in a form of folk arts, it is worth of commending. A Western man watched the performance and said, "Falun Gong practitioners' performances are the best today!"

The host of performances introduced, "The dancer Ms. Zhang is a 63 year-old Falun Gong practitioner." The audience exclaimed and gave her a warm applause. Some Chinese tourists from Ohio were amazed and said, "I thought she is only in her forties. Her performance is wonderful." A coordinator of the activity wished tourists passing by a Happy Canada Day. He said, "We appreciate the Canadian people's support for Falun Gong over last four years." One Falun Gong practitioner told a reporter that he met Canada's Prime Minister and expressed thanks to the Canadian government for the support of Falun Gong.

At 6:00 p.m. prior to the conclusion of the celebration, rain began to fall. When the rain let up, the sky cleared and a spectacular scene appeared. A double rainbow spanned the sky. People were all amazed at the scene and many tourists shouted out, " Wonderful!" "Canada is a fortunate country." "It's a special gift for the Canada Day."