Falun Gong Practitioners Obtain Support From the Chinese Public Institute in Boston

On the 8th of August, 2004, Boston's Chinatown Mid-autumn annual Festival Ceremony was held. The ceremony was hosted jointly by Falun Dafa practitioners and the Chinese Public Institute in Boston, marking an end to the split between the groups, which had lasted for the past five years. The person who is now in charge of the Chinese Public Institute has consistently given his respect and understanding to Falun Dafa practitioners over the past several years. He deals with things fairly and openly and has a sense of justice. In the election at the end of last year, he stood out and won a lawsuit against the person who was in charge during the previous session. The joint celebration of the Mid-autumn festival can be seen as a good beginning for what will hopefully be a long period of harmony and mutual cooperation. In contrast, the person who was previously in charge of the Chinese Public Institute had discriminated against and excluded Falun Dafa practitioners over the past several years in order to cater to the Chinese Consulate.

The Chinese Consulate spread hatred, creating disharmony in the community

Ever since Falun Dafa was introduced in Boston in 1995, practitioners have strived to maintain a good relationship with the Chinese Public Institute and the Chinese community. Several practitioners who work in Boston's Chinatown have seen great improvements in physical and mental health since they started practicing Falun Dafa, which is generally recognised by the community. The Chinese Public Institute once lent space to practitioners free of charge so that they could come together to study the teachings of Falun Gong and practice the exercises, enabling people in the community to find out about Falun Gong so as to be able to start to practise.

However, once the former Chinese President Jiang Zemin and his regime started to persecute Falun Dafa in 1999, the person in charge, who gained the position with the support of the Chinese Consulate, started to discriminate against those who practise Falun Dafa. They inhibited them the right to use the space to practise in the Mid-autumn and in other ceremonies, they tried to prohibit practitioners from practicing in front of their own rented booth. In order to keep Falun Dafa practitioners from displaying posters so as to let people know the truth about Falun Gong, they applied for park permission before others had a chance to apply, which they then just left vacant. The reason for such action is all as a result of orders by the Chinese Consulate.

Some Chinese living outside of China discriminate against Falun Dafa practitioners or are even hostile to them. This doesn't come from a personal like or dislike for Falun Dafa, but the dependent relationship to Jiang's regime based on economic interests. Many people follow the Chinese Consulate's direction because they fear that their own business and the benefits of their families in China will be harmed if they refuse. For others, they are lured into this type of behaviour because they want to receive more profits in return.

It was reported that many people involved with the Chinese Public Institute in the previous session have business contacts with Mainland China. Such financial ties are used by Jiang's regime to exert influence and create hostile incidents against Falun Dafa practitioners outside of China. Examples of such incidents include the Les Presses Chinoises libel case in Montreal, the violent beating of a practitioner in New York City, and the discrimination case occurring at an anti-SARS benefit concert in Boston. In each of these cases, the perpetrators had financial ties and business relationships with Mainland China.

Ms. Wang Yiquan, a Falun Gong practitioner in Boston, related the following story. In the middle of March and at the beginning of April this year, practitioners accepted the invitation of the Chinese Public Institute to work as volunteers, helping the people in Chinatown fill out their tax forms. Ms. Wang said: "The first time I went there, I wore a yellow sweater with "Falun Dafa" printed on it. One of the volunteers from the Chinese Public Institute was an older lady who came from China. On that day, when she saw what I was wearing, she shouted: 'Why do you wear this sweater?' I could tell she was really nervous. I said: 'I am a Falun Dafa practitioner, so naturally I wore it.' She paused for a while and said: 'Hmm, ok, freedom of belief.' Later on, when she saw that the practitioners were busy the whole day, helping people one by one without complaint and without even bothering to stop to have lunch, she was touched. She said to us: 'The class origin of my family in China is not good. We were censured in every political movement. I am really afraid of any movement. My children are still in China and were once questioned about my situation in the USA. Now, there are spies in Chinatown who know everything about me. So I do not dare to be affiliated your Falun Dafa. Otherwise, my children in China could be affected.'"

Chinese Public Institute come to see the truth about Falun Gong

Facing various difficulties, the practitioners maintain compassionate hearts and persist in explaining the facts about to the community. Due to the practitioners' unrelenting efforts, the person who is currently in charge of the Chinese Public Institute has expressed sympathy and understanding to Falun Dafa. In the activities they have held since he took charge, no restrictions have been imposed. Practitioners have been able to have a booth and perform on stage, adding variety and making the events more interesting. At the Mid-autumn ceremony of this year, the organiser said to practitioners: "It's good to see Falun Dafa's booth again. Thank you all for your support."

At the beginning of the year, the person in charge of the Chinese Public Institute sought out Falun Dafa practitioners, inviting them to provide help in filing tax returns for those people who do not know English. Practitioners utilised their weekends to volunteer, earning acclaim in the Chinese community. The activity expanded from the single session that was planned to three sessions, and then expanded again to a total of five sessions. When the person in charge saw Falun Dafa practitioners putting their hearts into helping people, even skipping their lunch to do so, he was very touched and bought snacks for the practitioners. Because they believed in the goodness of Falun Dafa and organised this activity, the Chinese Public Institute earned praise from the Chinese community.

On the other hand, even though practitioners have clarified the truth to them many times, the people that used to be in charge have not changed their attitudes and continued to discriminate against practitioners. Due to their bad reputation in the community, the previous officers were all replaced in the elections of the Chinese Public Institute last year.

The facts prove that, despite the persecution, Falun Dafa practitioners are becoming more and more respected and accepted. When practitioners told the older lady mentioned above that Bo Xilai and Chen Zhili and others have been sued in various countries around the world, she said: "Such people should not be allowed to go back to China. They should be brought to justice on the spot."