(Clearwisdom.net) On the evening of April 28, 2002, Chinese Vice-president Hu Jintao visited New York City. Despite the rain, more than one hundred Falun Gong practitioners from the New York area gathered in front of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, Hu's New York residence, to peacefully conduct group exercises and send forth righteous thoughts. The practitioners also held banners that read, "Falun Dafa is good;" "Truth, Compassion, Tolerance" and "Jiang Zemin: Stop the national terrorism against Falun Gong!"
Besides Falun Gong practitioners, that same night, Tibetan protest groups and a group of several hundred members of a "welcoming team" hired by the Chinese consulate were also present. The protest voices of the Tibetan group and the noise from the "welcoming team" formed a sharp contrast to the practitioners' serene and harmonious atmosphere. Suddenly, a couple of people who had often attacked Falun Gong on orders of the Chinese consulate in the past brought some people who didn't know the truth. They ignored police officers' warning and pushed to the front of the group of Falun Gong practitioners and tried to cover up the Dafa banners. The leading person even loudly shouted anti-Falun Gong slogans in order to cause trouble.
The Falun Gong practitioners were not moved. Together they sang, "Falun Dafa is good" and then continued to do the exercises and send forth righteous thoughts. They also told the police officers about the brutal persecution Falun Gong practitioners suffer in China and that the purpose of their gathering was to let visiting Chinese people learn the truth [about the persecution], news they don't have to access to in China, and to show them the fact that Falun Gong is spreading more broadly all over the world.
After learning these facts, the police made timely adjustments: they allowed the practitioners to stand right across the street from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The police also effectively stopped the people who tried to harass the practitioners with police cars and police barricades. The conspicuous Falun Dafa banner was unfurled, facing the hotel.
After midnight, Hu Jintao walked into the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel amidst the loud protest of Tibetan groups, the noise of the "welcoming team" and the harmonious exercise music of Falun Gong.
Category: April 25 Events
