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New York City: Mayor Accepts Falun Gong Truth-Clarifying Material on Broadway (Photos)
(Clearwisdom.net) Clearwisdom.net reporter Lin
Jing reports in New York: On August 29, 2004, while New York City Mayor
Bloomberg and New York State's Governor Pataki were walking along Broadway,
a famous street in the Theater district, they ran into a Falun Gong
practitioner from Canada who was distributing truth clarification fliers,
and accepted the fliers from the practitioner. On August 28, prior to the Republic National Convention,
more than a hundred Falun Gong practitioners from Toronto, Canada arrived in
New York City, to assist in public awareness activities that explained the
facts of the persecution to the wide range of people living in and visiting
New York. Practitioners participated in activites such as the "Great
Wall of Courage" where they line up for several blocks across from a
famous hotel where prominent people were staying and also the "Corners
of Courage" where practitioners held banners on each corner for several
streets to clarify the truth to the public.
In order to guarantee the security for the RNC, New York
police deployed police at every corner of the street. On August 29, Falun
Gong practitioners from Toronto were divided into several groups and
distributed truth clarification fliers along the 5th Avenue,
calling for an end to the persecution. On Broadway where there was a sea of
people, people saw Falun Gong practitioners holding up posters, unfolding
banners and distributing fliers. In the afternoon, RNC delegates in dark suits streamed
into Broadway in groups from all directions, many delegates showed interest
in the flyer Falun Gong practitioners distributed entitled, "How the
Persecution of Falun Gong Affects the US." Shortly after, in the company of more than 30
plainclothes police and 20 reporters from the media, three prominent figures
quickly walked down Broadway. A Falun Gong practitioner wearing a T-shirt
with words, "Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong," was standing in
the middle of the street distributing fliers. The practitioner came into
contact with the three VIPs, and handed out a flier to the one in the middle
first and to two others beside him. All the media caught the scene of the
two VIPs accepting the material. According to a bystander, the man in the
middle was New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the one beside him who
accepted the material was New York State Governor, George. Pataki. Falun Gong practitioners from Toronto noticed that most
of New York residents not only have learned about the truth of Falun Gong,
and the persecution in China through practitioners' truth clarification,
some people with a sense of justice also offered help and suggestions to
practitioners. A local university professor, stayed with practitioners for
an hour and learned about the facts of the persecution, he took the
initiative to tell practitioners where most of RNC delegates gathered and
where the VIPs gathered. Seeing practitioners being so quiet, he said,
"You must shout loudly to let those people hear your voices, let me
show you how." So, he shouted loudly to RNC delegates passing by,
"Please help stop the persecution of Falun Gong!" He said,
"You should be like those New Yorkers, be tougher!" Falun Gong practitioners' truth clarification activities
on weekend also included beautiful Chinese traditional dancing and waist
drum performance. In New York City's Central Park, practitioners' dance
performances became the focus of New York residents and the media. A
reporter from the New York Times lingered for several hours where
practitioners gave their performances, watching and interviewing
practitioners. Reporters from the well known NBC TV also interviewed the
practitioners. |