News and Events from Around the World -- November 30, 2005

Issued by Clearwisdom Net

During the evening of November 27, 2005, the 74th annual Christmas parade was held in Hollywood, California. Falun Gong practitioners participated in this celebration for the first time, and brought to the audience the blessings of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance."

The annual Hollywood Christmas Parade started in 1928, and was suspended for three years during World War II. This year's annual parade is the 74th. The parade route included Hollywood Blvd and Sunset Blvd, 3.2 miles in total. The sponsor had estimated that tens of thousands of people would watch on the way, and millions of people would view it on TV. Many audience members came to the spot several hours in advance. Some people came with the whole family, and brought campstools and blankets.

The parade procession was composed of drum and bugle corps, equestrians, floats, classical cars with government officials and Hollywood stars, and fire engines. Santa Claus gave out small gifts to children on the way and extended festival greetings to the spectators.

The Falun Gong contingent composed of practitioners from Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, including a dance group, a waist drummers group and a float. It was the only Chinese group in the parade. The waist drummers group, composed of nearly 100 practitioners who wore golden yellow costumes, was very eye-catching. Wherever the contingent went, there would be vigorous drumming, singing of the song "Falun Dafa is Great," and music of "Pu Du" and "Ji Shi," echoing in the sky.

The Falun Gong contingent's lively and majestic waist drummers group, elegantly dancing "celestial maidens," huge pink lotus float, plus the brilliant and colorful costumes, gave the audience a pleasant surprise. People constantly exclaimed, "Wonderful!"

In the live TV broadcast, when the singing of "Falun Dafa is Great" entered the scene, the host said, "Look at those yellow costumes, outstanding." The hostess also praised, "Those girls' costumes are beautiful. Look at that lotus float, really fantastic." The host and hostess said to the viewers that Falun Dafa was first introduced by Mr. Li Hongzhi, and currently there are more than a hundred million people practicing around the world.

Practitioners in the dance group were like a group of celestial maidens coming to the human world. They held flower baskets, elegantly danced to the spectators lining the street and greeted them, "Merry Christmas!" People in the audience shouted back loudly, "Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" Applause and singing echoed each other. When the parade was over, many people had photos taken with practitioners.

On November 4, 2005, at 3:00p.m.. Falun Dafa practitioners read the "Falun Dafa Association Announcement" to officials in front of the Chinese Embassy in Stockholm.

It was pointed out in the announcement: "Since 1999 when the dictator Jiang Zemin initiated the bloody persecution of Falun Gong in China, the CCP has relied upon state power and an array of CCP terrorist mechanisms under its control to suppress innocent Falun Gong practitioners to the greatest extent possible. Under Jiang and the CCP's menace, many province- and city-level officials have acted as ringleaders or collaborators in the torture and killing of Falun Gong practitioners. Using their official positions, they have participated in this persecution to varying degrees, not only as initiators, co-conspirators and ringleaders, but also as aiders, abettors, and other types of accomplices.

"During the past six years, through peaceful resistance and a courageous degree of endurance, Falun Gong practitioners have clarified the truth to the people the world over. People who were previously deceived have awakened or are in the process of learning the facts. As a result, they have refused to join the persecution...."

"At this critical historical moment, the Falun Dafa Association has made a special announcement: From today on, overseas Falun Gong practitioners will file civil or criminal lawsuits against all important government or CCP officials who participate in or continue to implement the persecution of Falun Gong and as a result, commit new crimes in addition to those they have already perpetrated against Falun Gong. ..."

"The CCP regime is against heaven's will, and is about to collapse. It is now having difficulty sustaining the persecution. Heaven's final judgment of these evil criminals is imminent. However, one of the purposes of the sacred FA of Falun Gong is to save people, including people in all social statuses. Even for those who have committed wrongdoings, there is still an opportunity for them to abandon the evil path and choose to be good. For all those who have committed crimes against Falun Gong but want now to correct their mistakes, they can submit, under safe circumstances, a guarantee statement or regret letter to Minghui (Clearwisdom Net) or to any regional Falun Dafa Association to be archived. We will not investigate the various crimes of those who are determined to correct their mistakes. However we will continue to monitor their actions."

After reading the announcement, practitioners demonstrated the five sets of Falun Gong exercises. Passers-by stopped and watched the demonstration. They asked for leaflets and talked with practitioners to find out more about Falun Gong and the persecution.

To read the full Falun Dafa Association Announcement, please see