United States: Activities During the UN Summit Former Prime Minister of Canada Cordially Greets Falun Gong Practitioners from Toronto on the Streets of New York

From the 20th to the 24th of September, 2004, the 59th Session of the UN General Assembly was held in New York. Heads of governments and senior officials from countries around the world converged in New York to attend the summit. Falun Gong practitioners from Toronto, along with Falun Gong practitioners from around the world, also gathered in New York to display the beauty and peace of Falun Gong to the public, in the hopes that government officials and the media could learn about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong initiated and directed by former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, who also extended the persecution and hate propaganda to other countries.

During the summit, Falun Gong practitioners held a series of activities to inform people about the persecution, including press conferences, live anti-torture exhibitions, the "Great Wall of Courage," and group practice of the Falun Gong exercises. Practitioners from Toronto joined the activities by handing out leaflets and holding signs on street corners. During this one week of activities those participating in these activities met many delegates and media members that attended the summit, handing out Falun Dafa information and materials to them, and explaining to them the facts about Falun Gong and the persecution happening in China. Practitioners also noticed that more and more New Yorkers have learnt the truth about Falun Gong, and they condemned the persecution and supported the Falun Gong practitioners' righteous acts. On the one-week trip to New York, there occurred many interesting stories. The following are several episodes.

Live anti-torture exhibit beside the hotel where delegates of the summit stayed	People learn the facts beside the anti-torture exhibit	People are startled by the brutality of the persecution
People carfeull view the exhibition	People who learnt the truth sign the petition to condemn the persecution

Former Canadian Prime Minister Carefully Saves Falun Gong Material

On the 21st of September, the first day of the Toronto practitioners' visit to New York, they came across former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien on the street. When he was Canadian prime minister, Mr. Chretien had expressed his concern many times over the Jiang regime's persecution of Falun Gong. In October 2001, when he attended the APEC Summit in Shanghai, Mr. Chretien expressed his concern to the Chinese leader over China's human rights situation, especially the suppression of Falun Gong. With the help of the Canadian Government, more than fifteen Canadian Falun Gong practitioners and their family members were rescued and released from detention in China. Prior to this time, Canadian practitioners have clarified the truth to MP's of all levels in the Canadian government, and delivered a lot of Falun Dafa materials to them.

As recalled by two practitioners who ran into Mr. Chretien, during the UN summit, he and two other MP's saw Falun Gong practitioners in yellow T-shirts once again on the street. He smiled in a friendly way to the practitioners, nodded and passed by. One of the practitioners pointed at them from the behind, and said, "I'm from Toronto." Mr. Chretien and the two MP's immediately turned their heads and started to wal back to them, happily shaking their hands. When a practitioner told Mr. Chretien that they were from Canada, he showed them some folded Falun Gong material in his pocket. A practitioner recognised that the material was the one Canadian practitioners made and delivered to these MP's previously. Practitioners were very pleased that Mr. Chretien still carefully kept the material for such a long period of time.

A Restaurant Owner with a Kind Heart

Several practitioners from Toronto walked along the street to hand out materials and talk to people while holding photo display boards with the words, "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance," and photos of people practising the Falun Gong exercises and also the brutal persecution. When they passed a restaurant near the Chinese Consulate, the restaurant owner was standing right in front of the entrance. Practitioners just passed by him, and heard someone call out from behind, "Stop." They thought this owner did not see clearly the content of the display boards and wanted to stop them and look carefully. This restaurant owner had previously received Falun Dafa materials and learnt the facts. He hoped practitioners would walk around in his restaurant holding the display boards to allow every customer to take a look at them and learn the truth. The practitioners walked around along all the tables in the restaurant while holding the display boards. The restaurant was full of people wearing suits. They all turned around to see such an unusual sight in the restaurant.

The owner also requested a stack of materials from practitioners, and followed behind the practitioners' display boards to pass out literature to people at each table, telling them, "This is Falun Dafa something very good." Or "This is the persecution happening in China, please take a good look at it!" After the stack of materials was gone, he asked for another stack so that they could be handed out. Finally before the practitioners left, the owner shook hands with them and wished them good luck.

Be Sure to Bring the Exhibition and Exercise Demonstration to Our School

When several practitioners held an anti-torture exhibit at the site of the World Trade Centre, and handed out materials and explained the facts about Falun Gong, they saw a group of young girls who were tourists, and walked up to them to hand out some materials to them. These girls saw that practitioners' exercises demonstration was beautiful and also felt startled by the brutal persecution. One girl told practitioners that she was in charge of a human rights group at a university. She hoped practitioners would go to her school so that the students could also see the beautiful exercise demonstration and the anti-torture exhibition. She said if practitioners wanted to come, she could reserve a place and arrange a time immediately. She also said that their human rights group has branches in several dozen universities in the United States, and that practitioners could also go there to hold such exhibitions.

She expressed that she would like to help practitioners contact other schools and bring such beautiful exercises and information regarding the persecution to those universities. Finally, before this group of young ladies left, they left their contact information and hoped the practitioners would get in touch with them as soon as possible.

The World Needs "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance"

A woman from Peru worked at the building near where Falun Gong practitioners were holding an anti-torture exhibition. The first time she passed by it she was startled by the brutal persecution exposed through the anti-torture exhibition . At the same time, she was deeply attracted to the peaceful and harmonious exercises and "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance," and expressed that she would like to learn the exercises on the spot. Later, she told practitioners that the night before she saw practitioners, she had a dream. She dreamt that a group of people were holding an activity at the place of our anti-torture exhibition. Some children approached her and started to paint some Chinese characters that she didn't recognise on her coat. She also heard some beautiful and peaceful music in her dream. Today, as soon as she walked to the place of anti-torture exhibit, she heard the exercise music, and it was exactly what she heard in her dream. She saw "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" on the leaflets and came to realise that they were the same words those children in her dream wrote. She immediately learnt to do the five sets of the exercises, and happily requested more materials from practitioners, saying that she would mail them to her friends and family members in Peru. She also hoped that practitioners would introduce Falun Dafa in Peru. She said people in Peru are very much in need of such beautiful exercises and "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance."

When practitioners were holding display boards and handing out materials, they also met many New Yorkers, who after learning the facts that enquired earnestly about where to learn the exercises, and how to help stop the brutal persecution. A young man got hold of the information about practice sites in New York, and thanked practitioners for letting them know what Falun Gong is, why the persecution is taking place and bringing such beautiful exercises to New York. He hoped practitioners would tell others to be carry on with their activities no matter what; they must keep it up allowing all New Yorkers to learn the truth. The practitioners told him that they will definitely keep it up, and also told him that it was not easy for Falun Gong practitioners to do this. In order to help more New Yorkers learn the truth, practitioners travelled from around the world using their own savings and vacations to join the activities. The young man nodded and shook practitioners' hands to express his thanks and said, "You are remarkable."

Looking at the back of the young man who left, practitioners said in their hearts, "Please rest assured, New Yorkers, Falun Gong practitioners will definitely keep it up, to spread the truth of Falun Dafa to every corner of Manhattan, allowing Falun Dafa to be planted in the hearts of all New Yorkers."