United States:: Falun Gong Practitioners Introduce Falun Dafa and Expose the Persecution in Manhattan, New York

From September 20 to 24, 2004, the 59th United Nations Summit was held in New York City. In order to allow leaders and representatives from different countries to learn about Falun Gong and the ongoing persecution in China, Falun Gong practitioners from across the world gathered in New York and peacefully explained the facts about Falun Gong to people.

Great Wall of Courage	Using signs to explain the facts, even until nightfall
Explaining the facts face to face

Sending forth righteous thoughts in front of the Chinese Consulate

A 14-year-old student takes part in the activities

Among the Falun Gong practitioners who went to New York to clarify the truth, there was a 14-year-old girl from Northern California. She had never been so far away from her home before. In order to raise public awareness of Falun Dafa, she came to New York. In addition, she was in charge of helping seven elderly practitioners who do not speak English. Each day, she helped them to take the subway to go to different Falun Gong activities.

She told me, "I came to New York to explain the facts, because it is an important thing to do. New York is such a big city. It is also a centre of the news media. We should let more people become aware of what Falun Gong is really all about and also tell them about the persecution that is going on in China." She said that every day in New York, she met many people who wanted to learn the practice and who asked for information about local practice sites.

A Christian sheds tears upon learning the truth

A practitioner talked to a Christian and told him that many people in China were killed simply because they believed in Falun Gong. The practitioner hoped that he would convey the message to his fellow Christians in his church. He answered, "Thank you, I will."

The practitioner brought him over to a look at a group of posters and related the plight of Ms. Jane Dai's family, whose husband was tortured to death in China because of his belief. Upon listening to the story, the man's eyes were full of tears. He said, "I will definitely pray for you all."

The torture exhibition

People from various financial circles pay attention to the persecution

Close to Wall Street, a female staff member from Chase Bank read some of the Falun Gong posters. A practitioner went up and told her that in China, many practitioners of Falun Gong had been tortured to death. The woman was astonished and said, "How come I did not know that! How come all the official news out of China only talks about good things?" The practitioner told her that in order to attract foreign investments, a few people in the Chinese government always control the media, so that the outside world cannot learn about the true situation, especially the facts about the human rights violations against millions of Falun Gong practitioners. The practitioner went on to explain that many toys and other products were manufactured by Falun Gong practitioners imprisoned in China's forced labour camps, without pay. Those products are exported to other countries including the U.S.

After listening to the explanation, the woman clearly expressed her wish for the persecution to end. She also signed the petition prepared by practitioners calling for an end to the persecution.

After viewing the posters and the live torture re-enactment, a man who works on Wall Street asked whether these were actually happening in today's China. A practitioner answered "yes," and told him that the persecution and these tortures are currently going on in China and that what was being demonstrated was only a tiny part of the true situation.

The gentleman said that many American companies invest in China. Why would they continue to invest after they learnt about the truth? The practitioner said, "Because there are still many people not aware of the persecution in China, against those who believe in Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. We believe when people are all aware of the truth, they will then make the right judgement."

New Yorkers: "What can we do to help you?"

Upon learning about the truth, many New Yorkers wanted to donate some money to help. Some people asked what they could provide to help practitioners. Some asked, "You only asked us to tell the facts to our relatives, friends and to write letters to our Congressmen/Congresswomen, are these enough to help stop the persecution?" Practitioners said, "If one did something wrong, or if he killed another person, what he fears most was to let other people know about it. If people from all over the world are all aware that it was the former Chinese President Jiang Zemin who initiated the persecution, the persecution will end." Hearing that, passers-by said, "Now I get it and I will tell my friends about this."

Passers-by who sign the petition say that the persecution is wrong

On-lookers learn about Falun Gong and the persecution

A passer-by said, "Falun Gong meditation is so peaceful. I don't understand why China (Jiang's faction) would treat you this way!" A practitioner told her that people practice Falun Gong to improve their health and become good people by following the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. Many people felt good about the practice and wished to learn and practice Falun Gong, which was introduced by Mr. Li Hongzhi. However, out of his jealousy, the then-Chinese leader, Jiang could not tolerate it. He then abused his power and started this brutal campaign to suppress Falun Gong. At least 1,000 practitioners have died from the persecution.

When a Westerner signed the petition, this reporter went up to ask him why he signed it. He said, "The persecution is wrong, because it is not right for people to suffer the torture simply because of their practice. That is absolutely wrong. I think Falun Gong is a kind of art." He said that people should be righteous and that people should live together in a harmonious way.

He felt the peaceful field when practitioners practiced the exercises. Then he and his friends followed along with the practitioners and learnt the movements.

More and more New Yorkers are awakening. Under the situation that more and more evil factors are being cleared away, and there are fewer and fewer evil factors left, people's knowing sides are becoming more and more clear. A New Yorker picked up a leaflet from the floor and read it while walking. The scene touched practitioners. Previously, it was practitioners who picked up leaflets that had been thrown to the floor, and now passers-by are doing so too. People are awakening and they are longing to learn about the facts.