(Clearwisdom.net May 15, 2003) Tuesday, May 13th was "World Falun Dafa Day" and also the day that both heaven and earth celebrated. Falun Gong practitioners in Toronto held grand "World Falun Dafa Day" celebrations on Philips Square, the plaza fronting the City Hall, to commemorate the eleventh anniversary of Falun Dafa's introduction. More than 1000 Toronto residents and government officials joined this grand celebration.
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This is the third time that Toronto practitioners have conducted royal
celebrations at the City Hall Plaza, which left a deep impression on Toronto
government officials and local citizens. A few weeks earlier, practitioners
advertized this event to local residents through the media. They also sent out
beautiful invitation cards imprinted with the words,
"Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" to all government officials.
Under the situation that almost all large-scale activities on the City Hall
plaza were cancelled because of SARS, this celebration effectively demonstrated
Falun Gong practitioners' contributions to the local community, and support of
the government. Especially under the circumstance that the Chinese community was
under attack due to SARS, Falun Gong practitioners' endeavors were especially
esteemed, which was fully reflected from the Provincial assemblyman's speech
prior to the grand parade.
Philips Square is where the Toronto government is located. The square was
decorated with hundreds of colorful balloons, various kinds of bright-colored
flags, chromatic hand-made paper pinwheels and an elaborate stage. The entire
plaza was filled with a holiday atmosphere.
The celebration began at noon. A Falun Gong practitioner gave the opening
remarks. A specially invited guest, Toronto City Council member, Mr. Michael
Walker, and Mr. Bas Balkissoon delivered speeches. Mr. Hong Shizhong, the leader
of the local Chinese community and Chairman of the Toronto "Friends of
Falun Gong" also gave a speech. Proclamations to honor Falun Dafa Day and
congratulatory letters from local and national government officials were also
read during the ceremony.
Following the ceremony, four practitioners dressed in fairy costumes set free
50 birds of peace to commemorate the Falun Gong practitioners who have lost
their lives due to the brutal persecution. It also praised their pursuit of
Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and their persistent, peaceful appeal, and
at the same time honored the Canadian people's values of justice and peace.
Accompanied by music, the birds of peace circled the plaza four times and
gradually left. The scene was quite touching. City council member, Mr. Michael
Walker was almost moved to tears.
The excellent performance, which included singing, dancing, instrument
performances, and short plays, displayed the rich and long-standing Chinese
culture. On the plaza, practitioners also demonstrated and taught the Falun Gong
exercises.
Practitioners delivered nearly 10,000 petition signatures they recently
collected to the Toronto Mayor and City Council. A yellow ribbon full of
petition signatures was delivered to the Mayor's office. Toronto practitioner
and artist, Ms. Wang Yanying painted two traditional Chinese paintings and
presented them to the Mayor of Toronto to express Toronto residents' gratitude
towards his help in rescuing their family members persecuted in China, and
encouraged the Mayor to further openly support Falun Gong and help stop the
persecution.
During the event, the invited government officials from different levels,
together with Falun Gong practitioners, promoted the spirit of
"Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" to society.