Parade Celebrates Falun Dafa

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CHICAGO—Hundreds of spectators lined the streets in Chicago’s Chinatown to watch a parade highlighting the spiritual beliefs of Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, and the disturbing reality of its persecution in China.

According to Sen Yang, President of the Midwest U.S. Falun Dafa Association, “We want to show America and Chinese people what Falun Dafa is. Many in America don’t know about the peaceful practice and some may have incorrect views about Falun Dafa because of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda.”

About 200 practitioners from across 12 Midwest states joined the parade. The rhythmic sounds of traditional Chinese drums was a sharp contrast to a group of women, dressed in white, who solemnly carried framed pictures of practitioners who were tortured to death or murdered by authorities in China, solely because they practiced Falun Dafa.

“People all over the world should enjoy freedom of religion and assembly,” Yang stated. “People take that freedom for granted here in the United States, but as Falun Dafa practitioners we are fully aware of the tragedies that follow when these freedoms are restricted. We are not only fighting for our own rights, but for the rights of people all over the world to be granted this freedom.”

Many practitioners who participated in the parade wore yellow-silk suits and carried signs that denounced the CCP for their crimes against humanity. They also carried colorful banners stating," Truthfulness Compassion Tolerance”—the primary principles of the practice.

There are tens of millions of people around the world practicing Falun Dafa, a traditional Chinese self-cultivation system that has been found to improve mental and physical wellness through a series of exercises, meditation and development of moral character.

“We want support, not in money, but support to condemn the CCP persecution,” Yang exclaimed. “People can do this by calling their Congressional representatives. The persecution has gone on for 10 years now with over 3,000 practitioners confirmed dead, but those figures do not really disclose the true picture of the situation.

"Many practitioners are missing and have not been seen or heard from for years. We know the CCP harvests organs from practitioners and sells them on the open market. So only when this persecution ends will the real tragedy be revealed.”