San Jose, California: Falun Gong Well-Received in Chinese New Year Parade (Photos)
By Kerry Huang/Ying Wang from San Jose
(Clearwisdom.net) On January 29, 2006, the annual Lunar New Year
Parade of Vietnamese-Americans was held in San Jose, California. The Falun Gong
practitioners' procession deeply impressed the audience. Some observers stated
that the practitioners were displaying the beauty of Falun Dafa through their
artistic performances. A Vietnamese practitioner Ms. Lee Meiyan told us, "This is the sixth
year that our practitioners have participated in the event, and the Falun Gong
contingent is well-received. According to the tradition of Vietnam, Vietnamese
are the descendants of dragons and divine beings, so we perform the dragon
dance, the celestial maidens' dance and the waist drum group. We want to bring
an atmosphere of health and festiveness to the parade." Ms. Lee said that the organizer is very supportive of Falun Gong. When they
applied for parade entry, the organizer said, "We were waiting for your
application." When the Falun Gong contingent was passing by the stage, the organizer said
that, "Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a high-level cultivation
practice of mind and body. It can also help open one's mind and wisdom."
The introduction was done in both English and Vietnamese. United States Congressman Mike Honda was part of the parade and stopped to
watch the practitioners' performance. When asked to comment on the Falun Gong
contingent's performances, he stated that he had known about Falun Gong and
enjoyed the performance. He said, "Who wouldn't like it?" He also
wanted to wish the Chinese people a happy new year. Mr. Omar, a spectator, complimented the Falun Gong practitioners' colorful
costumes and beautiful music. When he learned that Falun Gong was being
persecuted in China, he was shocked. He said, "I see. You could not
practice lawfully in China, so you displayed the beauty (of Falun Gong) through
these artistic performances. When asked if he knew of the contingent in front of him, a Vietnamese
spectator named Viet said, "That's Falun Gong, right?" He said,
"I support them. I support the downfall of the Chinese Communist Party, and
I hope that Communist in Vietnam will fall. I like Falun Gong very much, and I
should take part in it. I wish you a Happy New Year!" Linda, the organizer of the parade, told a reporter, "Our celebration of
the New Year is to help the younger generation remember Vietnamese traditions.
More and more groups have participated in it each year." When talking about
the Falun Gong contingent, she said, "Falun Gong comes to the parade every
year. The group is very beautiful, especially the ribbon dance, the dragon dance
and the waist drum performance. We are so pleased to have so many community
entries participating." Ms. Dolores Carr, a judge of the parade, said, "In San Jose, we welcome
all groups to the parade, welcome the diversification of the community, and our
community is a whole body." She expressed that the practitioners' dances
are very elegant.
Banner reading "Falun Dafa,
Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" in Vietnamese
Falun Gong contingent
The world needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance
Waist drum group
Dragon dance
Fan dance
Spectators having their photos taken with practitioners as the
background
Audience taking pictures
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/1/30/119786.html
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