By a Falun Gong practitioner in Sydney
On Falun The Falun Gong entry has Following the marching band When the Falun Gong entry was In 2000, when the Chinese Communist Party attempted to extend
June 3, 2006, Falun Gong practitioners were invited to participate in the Thirty-first
City Festival Parade in Blacktown, the largest suburb of western Sydney. The parade
attracted over 80 entries, and about 80,000 spectators lined both sides of the
street along the route to watch. When Falun Gong practitioners passed by them,
the audience on both sides of the streets exclaimed, “Falun Gong, Falun Gong!”
Gong practitioners warmly received in the parade
been invited to participate in this event for the seventh time. At the front of
the Falun Gong procession was the Divine Land Marching Band. More than sixty Falun
Gong practitioners wore blue caps, dressed in blue coats and light yellow trousers.
They played the song, “Falun Dafa is Good.”
was a float on which lovely young practitioners in golden yellow exercise suits
were doing the sitting meditation. Behind the float came the colorful and beautiful
Fan Dance, and “Celestial Maidens” in elegant Tang Dynasty costumes gracefully
dancing to the melodious music. The waist drum team brought up the rear. Vigorous
drumbeats conveyed the message of “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” The audience
along the parade route constantly applauded.
close to the presiding stage, the DJ's introduction was heard from the loudspeaker,
“Falun Dafa is also called Falun Gong, through meditation and exercises improving
one's physical and mental health. It is also a traditional Chinese self-cultivation
practice. It promotes the universal characteristics of 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.'
It has been spread to over eighty countries in the world. There are more than
100 million practitioners. The five sets of exercise are easy to learn and free
of charge…”
its persecution of Falun Gong to Blacktown City, the city officials and organizers
of the parade resisted the pressure from the CCP's Consulate, and insisted
on inviting the Falun Gong group to participate in the city's festival parade.
Several years passed, and Falun Gong practitioners' peacefulness and elegant
demeanor have taken root in people's hearts, and won support form righteous
city councilors and kind people from different races and nationalities in the
city.
Posting date: 8/June/2006
Original
article date: 7/June/2006
Category: Event