Taiwan Practitioners' Experience Attending Washington DC Fa Conference (Photos)

By Dafa practitioners in Taiwan

(Clearwisdom.net) July 20 marked the fifth year of Jiang's Group's persecution of Falun Gong in China. In order to awaken people's conscience and help more people learn about the truth, many Dafa practitioners in Taiwan traveled to Washington DC to attend the Falun Dafa conference and other activities. They included retired people, employers, employees, civil servants, teachers and homemakers with their children. All of them have benefited both physically and mentally from practicing Falun Gong. They used their own vacation time and money to travel a long distance to DC, some even transferred three to four flights to get a lower airfare. Though the price for plane tickets had doubled from last year, there were still more than 500 practitioners who managed to attend.

As soon as we arrived in Washington DC, we headed for the site of the Anti-torture Exhibit. The reenactment of the torture methods attracted the public's attention. Some people were stunned at seeing this, wanted to learn more about the situation, and condemned Jiang's group's inhuman persecution. One woman said, "Well done!" She also asked for some materials for her friends and asked if there would be more such exhibits. She promised she would invite her friends to see it. A tourist from China expressed that he had witnessed the the persecution against Falun Gong in China, and he wanted to learn more about Falun Gong. He learned that he could download Falun Gong books and exercise instruction video from Internet and thanked us.

A police woman in Washington DC views the anti-torture exhibit

Parade in Washington DC

Taiwan practitioners peacefully appeal in front of the Chinese Embassy

Youth Bicycle Team heading for the Chinese Embassy

The Great Wall of Courage

Streams of people view the anti-torture exhibit in Boston

Practitioners in Washington DC have been peacefully appealing in front of the Chinese Embassy in the US daily to urge Jiang's group to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. On the morning of July 23, 2004, some Taiwan practitioners arrived at the Chinese Embassy to peacefully appeal and welcome the bicycle team effort "Save the Kids Persecuted in China." Some of the team members rode from Toronto, Canada. A few of them gave speeches at the press conference, condemning the persecution and urging the authorities in China to stop poisoning the minds of teenagers and young people in China's educational system.

More than a thousand practitioners from around the world participated in the Great Wall of Courage prior to the DC Falun Dafa conference. They wore bright yellow shirts, and held banners and truth clarification photos, lining up on sidewalks. Many people passing by were attracted and many requested materials ino rder to find out more about the truth of Falun Gong.

Teacher came in person to the DC Fa conference and taught the Fa for over 20 minutes. Many practitioners shed tears at seeing Master. Listening to Master, many practitioners realized the urgency of our responsibility and felt that we should seize the opportunity to do well in our cultivation and truth clarification activities. Experiences of practitioners who gave their speeches were touching and urged us to be more diligent in cultivation. Some practitioners from Taiwan expressed after listening to fellow practitioners' experience sharing, they had seen their shortcomings. When encountering similar difficulties, they simply gave up, while the practitioners who gave speeches, however, persisted all the way until the end.

On July 25, after the conference, practitioners traveled to Boston to take part in truth clarification activities. The parade was spectacularwith practitioners holding wreathes with photos of Falun Gong practitioners who have died as a result of the persecution in China led the procession. After that was a display vehicle on which there was a live anti-torture exhibit. The atmosphere was solemn. There were also a lot of banners and photos introducing Falun Dafa's popularity around the world. Many tourists took photos and watched the parade for quite a long time and were reluctant to leave. Some people gave us a thumbs-up gesture and some pressed their hands in front of their chests as a sign of respect to us.

Press conference in Boston

Parade in Boston

Parade in Boston

The next day, the Democratic National Convention was scheduled to begin in Boston. Many politicians were staying in hotels near the conference site on July 25. As the US presidential election was drawing near, there were also many reporters from different media outlets from around the world. It gave us a good opportunity to clarify the truth about Falun Gong. While parading in the streets of Boston, a waist drum group and a Tang drum group were at the rear of the procession. The front of the parade had set off about an hour before the drummers at the rear began. The procession was indeed grand. Some Taiwan practitioners dressed in costumes of different nationalities, reflecting how Falun Dafa has spread everywhere and been enthusiastically received in Taiwan.

One practitioner from a village in Taiwan expressed that after the 18-hour flight, he arrived in a foreign land, and he could display Falun Dafa's beauty to the western people in the form of traditional Chinese Tang drumming on the streets. It was an unusual experience for him. People waved to us on the sidewalks, or took photos, applauded as we marched by, or gave us the thumbs-up. Boston police led our procession and helped maintain traffic. When the sound of our drums resonated in the sky, the practitioner forgot all about his fatigue from the previous day's activities.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/8/3/80884.html

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