On February 27, 2005, nearly 2,000 Falun Gong practitioners from across the world held a grand parade with the theme, "Journey of Fa Rectification" in San Francisco. The participants were from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea and other Asian countries, as well as European countries such as Germany, Russia, France, and Iceland.
At around 7 a.m., practitioners went to the Justin Herman Plaza to take part in large-scale group exercises. At around 12:10 p.m., the parade set off. Along Washington Street, the parade passed through San Francisco's Chinatown and Stockton Street, and concluded at Union Square in the shopping centre area.
The waist-drum troupe led the procession, full of power and grandeur. Practitioners brimmed with energy and vitality and the sound of the drums awakened the good side of people's nature and their sense of justice.
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| Falun Gong procession | Coming for you |
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| Waist-drum troupe | Minghui School |
According to one of the parade coordinators, Mr. Lu Hui, this parade was meant to tell people that Falun Dafa is great. The main text of Falun Dafa, the book Zhuan Falun, has been translated into more than 20 languages and distributed around the world. Since Falun Dafa was introduced to the public in China, it rapidly spread to the entire country because of its miraculous health benefits. At present, Falun Dafa is practised in more than 60 countries around the world and its practitioners are from many different nationalities.
Mr. Lu Hui stated that Falun Dafa has been warmly received around the world. Unfortunately, out of his jealousy, Jiang Zemin abused the entire state apparatus of China and utilised all kinds of evil means to persecute Falun Gong practitioners in an attempt to force them to give up their belief in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. Up to now, 1418 Falun Gong practitioners including an 8-month-old baby, women and senior citizens are verified to have died from the persecution.
Mr. Lu also said that the persecution has lasted for almost six years. Because of the Chinese Communist regime's deceptive propaganda, many overseas Chinese people have been misled and do not understand Falun Dafa. San Francisco is one region where many Chinese people live. Through this series of large-scale activities, we hope to let more people--especially the Chinese people residing in the San Francisco Bay area--learn more about Falun Dafa.
Mr. Lu continued, "We also held live reenactments of some of the torture methods used against practitioners in China. The tortures suffered by women practitioners are especially cruel. A number of Falun Gong practitioners have been tortured to death. As a result, their children were forced to become homeless. Therefore, we wish that kind-hearted people could help rescue these orphans."
Mr. Lu pointed out that because Jiang Zemin has committed countless crimes, Falun Gong practitioners have filed lawsuits against him for torture, crimes against humanity, and genocide in 15 countries. His accomplices have also been sued by practitioners in about 30 countries. As people learn more and more about Falun Gong, the voices of justice to appeal for an end to this bloody suppression have become stronger and stronger.
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| Calling for Jiang Zemin to be brought to justice | Calling for the rescue of Charles Lee |
Allan, a police officer in charge of security and order for the parade told practitioners afterwards, "You are the most peaceful of the numerous parades that I've ever seen. Other processions are often yelling and shouting. Your procession is so long and can be compared favourably with the San Francisco Lunar New Year Parade. From the beginning to the end, you've been so peaceful!" Allan said, "No matter how many times you want to hold parades, we are willing to lead the way and maintain order for you."
When the parade passed through Chinatown, a great number of Chinese people stopped to watch. Some people followed the song "Falun Dafa is good" and hummed. Some couldn't help sighing in a low voice, "Wow, such a long procession."
One lady couldn't stop applauding when watching the parade. When this reporter interviewed her, she said, "I don't practise Falun Gong, but I absolutely support Falun Gong, because those who practise Falun Gong are all good people. I believe that Falun Gong is righteous Fa. Today, I saw so many good people who practise Falun Gong and they gave so many wonderful performances. There are also children and people from different countries among them. They are really trying to eliminate humanity's evil nature and improve their xinxing (heart or mind nature). You are spreading the best Buddha principles in the human world, and therefore, I absolutely support Falun Gong."
A young man from Vietnam told a practitioner, "We are from a communist country. We understand that the communist party is really bad. It does not allow people to enjoy the freedom of belief."
Upon seeing the procession with theme, "Bring Jiang to Justice," some spectators said, "He is really bad and bad people should be punished!"
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