United States: New York's Chinatown Resounds with the Sound of the European Choir

At dusk on April the 10th, the sound of singing filled the whole of New York’s Chinatown as the European “Coming for You” Choir performed their songs for the Chinese people on the streets. After seeing the grand parade of three thousand Falun Gong practitioners, Falun Gong is no longer a strange term for the people in Chinatown. Many passersby stopped to watch the performances and applauded warmly.

The European “Coming for You” Choir was established at the beginning of this year, and is composed of more than eighty people from thirteen different European countries, and most are westerners. Among them are quite a few practitioners who were apprehended and beaten by Chinese police during their appeal for Falun Gong in Tiananmen Square. At the invitation of NTDTV, the Choir performed the song “Coming for You” at the first Global Chinese New Year Galas in New York and Paris respectively, and they moved many people’s hearts. This time they returned to New York and took to the streets, singing their heartfelt wishes in Chinese to the people.

Many choir members did not come to New York this time, so some other European Falun Gong practitioners were invited to participate in the rehearsal at the last moment. A practitioner from Germany, Steffen Munter, who once went to appeal in Tiananmen Square talked to a reporter: "The Falun Gong practitioners in China are unable to express their heartfelt feelings freely, and Chinese people seldom have the opportunity to understand the facts about Falun Gong. Our purpose is to perform for the audience in Chinatown and to express Falun Gong practitioners’ heartfelt feelings, and explain the facts to the Chinese people.”

Nearly thirty European Falun Gong practitioners participated in performances on the streets on April 10th and 12th. A Practitioner from Germany, Mr. Cao, participated in the performances together with his wife and daughter. His wife said that the feeling was so great, and they just felt like singing again and again. Danish practitioner Ida, who has practised Falun Gong for more than two years, said that she found many people still do not know about Falun Gong when she handed out flyers in Chinatown two days ago, and her purpose of participating in the performances was to tell people that Falun Gong is good.

Mr. Solomon, who is from Australia but currently works in Germany, told a reporter, "I am a makeshift performer. Since the Choir needed to enlarge its size, I thus joined it. I know that it is important for Chinese people because they have been poisoned badly, and we need to let them know the facts. We performed at three different places, and aroused many people’s interests. Many western practitioners enthusiastically handed out flyers to Americans, tourists and Chinese people. Once two Americans even couldn’t help singing with us. It was a happy scene to see so many tourists and fellow practitioners enjoy our performances.”