Canada: Falun Gong Practitioners Hold Event in Front of Parliament Hill on Canada Day

July 1, 2008 was the 141st anniversary of the founding of Canada. To honour the occasion, Falun Gong practitioners held a day of celebratory activities in front of Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Tens of thousands of Canadians witnessed the goodness of Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) through a variety of artistic performances by the practitioners, including a waist drum performance, a Divine Land Marching Band performance and traditional dance.

Waist drum performance	Divine Land Marching Band performance
The audience enjoys the performance by the Divine Land Marching Band	Four-year-old Paige imitates a Falun Gong exercise movement

Eastern and Western art forms display the goodness of Falun Dafa

Canada Day is one of the grand festivities for residents in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Parliament Hill was packed with a sea of revellers on July 1, but the day was also for people from different nationalities and art groups to display their talents. Since 2000, local Falun Gong practitioners have been clarifying the facts and spreading the goodness of Falun Dafa through various approaches.

Besides distributing introductory information, displaying photos and demonstrating the Falun Gong exercises, Falun Gong practitioners brought the goodness of Falun Dafa to Canadians in artistic form this year.

Ten young practitioners presented a Chinese traditional waist drum performance, which was joyful and exhilarating. A traditional Chinese folk dance was performed to display to the audience the facts depicted in the book Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and to communicate that "without the Chinese Communist Party, there will be a New China." The Divine Land Marching Band performed "Falun Dafa Is Good" and other pieces. A variety of artistic performances attracted tens of thousands of Canadians to stop and watch. Many tourists had photos taken with Falun Gong practitioners to keep this beautiful moment forever in mind.

Concern about the persecution, hoping to practise cultivation

After learning about the facts, kind-hearted Canadians showed their sympathy for the persecuted Falun Gong practitioners in China. An older lady asked a practitioner why the CCP cannot tolerate the existence of such a beautiful practice. She said, "In Canada, Falun Gong practitioners will absolutely not meet with such persecution, it's lamentable that the persecution is happening in China, but you are safe here."

Many tourists watched the exercise demonstration, and said that they wanted to learn to practise Falun Gong. Four-year-old Paige saw the exercise demonstration, and struggled away from her mother's hand, and stood in front of Falun Gong practitioners, attentively imitating the fourth set of exercises. Her charming innocence and earnestness amazed the audience. When being interviewed, Paige said, "I like practising Falun Gong."

With persistent truth clarification in the past years, some Chinese people whose minds had been poisoned by the CCP's propaganda have begun to realise the truth. Many Chinese people voluntarily went up to Falun Gong practitioners to listen to the facts and ask for information. Several Chinese people asked the practitioners to help them quit the CCP and its affiliated organisations.

Mr. Xiao, who recently won a Volunteer Award issued by the Chinese Community Service Centre, was moved by Falun Gong practitioners' perseverance in their peaceful resistance against the persecution. He has been voluntarily delivering The Epoch Times newspaper for the staff at the community service center and to new immigrants who come for service at the centre in the past six years. On Canada Day, he came to help practitioners distribute leaflets.