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The 105th Philadelphia Mummers New Year's Parade launched the new year on January 1, 2006. It was the fourth time that Falun Gong practitioners in Philadelphia were invited to participate. Once again, they brought the beauty of Falun Gong to the American audience.
With more than one hundred years of history, the Mummers New Year's Parade has become a unique way of celebrating New Year's. Fifteen thousand parade participants in costumes or masks and floats with different themes marched on Broadway from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Falun Gong held banners reading, "Truth, Compassion, Tolerance", "The World Needs Truth, Compassion and Tolerance" and "Falun Dafa Is Great." They performed a dragon dance, lion dance, fan dance, portrayed a big head doll and Monkey King Sun Wukong, and demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises. Parade spectators kept cheering for them. Many Chinese-Americans were happy to see the only ethnic Chinese group in the parade and were proud to see Falun Gong bringing the peace and beauty of Chinese culture to mainstream American society. A Chinese-American lady said, "It is the most beautiful performance I have seen today!"
Parade spectators cheer the dragon dance, lion dance, fan dance and
Monkey
King Sun Wukong
Using speakers, Falun Gong practitioners spoke to the spectators about Falun Gong, traditional Chinese culture and the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. An American man said "How are you?" to this reporter in standard Chinese. He said, "I have been to China many times. Beijing, Shanghai...I like Chinese culture. I also treasure our freedom in the United States, which doesn't exist in China."
 Reporter of WB17 interviews Falun Gong practitioner |
 ABC records the Falun Gong practitioners' performance |
A young practitioner who did the dragon dance was interviewed by WB17. He said, "We are all Falun Gong practitioners. I am very happy to bring Chinese culture to an American audience. The dragon dance is hard work. Chinese dragons are different from American dragons. They stand for good fortune. They will bring you good fortune and happiness." This practitioner started doing dragon dances three years ago.
WB17 did a live broadcast of the whole parade. When introducing Falun Gong, the host thanked the Falun Gong practitioners for their years of effort of introducing the colorful traditional Chinese culture to Americans.
It is a tradition for many Americans to participate in the Mummers New Year's Parade. A man dressed in a Chinese costume from the Qing Dynasty led the parade procession. He said, "I started participating in this parade at the age of three. This is my thirty-third year." A huge Chinese character for "Peace" stood out on the float. Traditional Chinese culture has won over more and more people's hearts.
In spite of snow and sleet, Falun Gong practitioners from Norway and Sweden held an activity on Karl Johan Street, the main street in Oslo, on December 10th, International Human Rights Day. The purpose of the activity was to expose the Chinese Communist regime's crimes against Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Falun Gong anti-torture exhibit held on Karl Johan Street, Oslo, Norway
On November 24, 2005, two women Falun Gong practitioners in China, aged forty-two and fifty-one, were arrested from home in the middle of the night. They were taken to the Dongchengfang Town Police Station in Zhuozhou City, Hebei Province, where they were interrogated, beaten and raped by the police in Hebei Province on November 25. This happened at the same time as the UN's Special Rapporteur on Torture's visit to China. The practitioners hope that the international community can focus on the persecution of Falun Gong in China and spotlight the human rights atrocities that the Chinese Communist regime is responsible for.
During the activity, the practitioners re-enacted a torture scene to illustrate the persecution and to help the passersby understand some of the suffering that Falun Gong practitioners in China have to bear. With a loudspeaker, a practitioner talked about the persecution and about the practice of Falun Gong, to give the people walking down Karl Johan Street that afternoon the opportunity to hear about the persecution. The exhibition caught people's attention and many people expressed their support for Falun Gong and condemned the persecution.
On the morning of November 5, 2005, Hamburg practitioners read the announcement of the Falun Gong Association outside the Chinese Consulate in Hamburg. The announcement included a warning to all people who actively participate in the persecution and to those who continue to take part in the persecution of Falun Gong. They were informed that any further criminal participation in the persecution will initiate investigations and upon the conclusion of those investigations they will be taken to court.
Hamburg practitioners Read the Announcement of the Falun Gong Association outside the Chinese Consulate
The declaration reads as follows: "As of today, all officials from the Chinese provinces or cities throughout China, as well as leading officials of China's Communist Party (CCP), who bear major responsibility, and who again, as well as continue to persecute Falun Gong practitioners, will be called through civil and criminal charges to task by Falun Gong practitioners worldwide, the minute they step foot outside Mainland China. Criminal liability will be ascertained and punitive damages in form of financial compensation will be assessed."
Also, charges against Embassy and Consulate staff will be filed, as soon as their role in the overseas persecution of Falun Gong and its practitioners is determined. Grounds for filing charges include consular activities carried out under pressure by the Chinese regime, such as spying on overseas Falun Gong practitioners, as well as harassing and putting pressure on practitioners by such staff. Cases in point, in Germany and worldwide, are the passport renewal or extension denials for no reasons other than practicing Falun Gong. Such activities were recorded on a number of occasions in Hamburg. At this time, a practitioner from Göttingen is experiencing problems concerning passport renewal.
The announcement also clarifies that for those who abstain from
persecuting
Falun Gong practitioners in the future, the following applies: "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."