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On the morning of September 16, Hu Jintao left the Waldorf Hotel to catch his plane to Vancouver, Canada. When Hu Jintao left, except for the Falun Gong practitioners who remained outside the Waldorf in the rain for the whole night, none of Hu’s welcome group was present.
When asked, one Falun Gong practitioner said they only look at Hu Jintao and his delegates with compassion. They hope these people will cherish this rare opportunity to understand the truth about Falun Gong, stop the persecution [of Falun Gong in China] and choose a bright future for themselves.
Hu Unsuccessful in Throwing Off the Crowd
Before Hu left the Waldorf Hotel, he tried to throw off the crowd by faking his departure. After 9 am, a group of the CCP delegates left the Waldorf Hotel in several minibuses and small cars. Just after their departure, someone appeared and said that Hu Jintao had already left.
The Falun Gong practitioners were not moved by this message. They still held up big banners delivering clear messages to Hu: “Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing, Zhou Yongkang to Justice,” “Bring the Police Responsible For the Persecution of Falun Gong to Justice,” “Hu Jintao, The Time That God and People Give To You Is Limited.” Around 10:40 am, Hu finally showed up outside of the north gate of the hotel. He quickly walked to his car. Falun Gong practitioner shouted to him, again delivering their messages, “Falun Dafa is good” and “Hu Jintao, the time that God and people give you is limited.”
Under the cover of six to seven mini-buses, Hu’s car fleet left the Waldorf hotel with Falun Gong practitioners’ slogans echoing in the distance.
“Not Just Because of Hu”
Around 2,000 Falun Gong practitioners took part in a parade and appeal during this UN Summit. They all came from different areas, and were from all walks of life, from the elderly to mothers with infant in arms.
Around one hundred of them were from Taiwan. A practitioner named Ms. Hong from Taiwan said she came here with her over 70-year-old mother on September 14, and both of them had stayed in front of the Waldorf until 4:00am the next morning.
Another practitioner, Mr. Xu, a computer engineer from Chicago, said he arrived in New York at 12am on September 13, and joined the vigil in front of the Waldorf hotel immediately. He also joined the appeal in front of United Nations and a parade the next day. Without rest, he again appealed in front of the Waldorf Hotel the night of September 14, and after that took an early flight back to Chicago the next morning.
Mr. Xu said, “I want to do my best to help Hu Jintao understand the truth about Falun Gong, to wake him up, and for him to have a clear understanding about the current situation and stop the persecution. What I do is not only for him. He is in a particular position during this historical time. Waking him up could help wake up more Chinese people.”
New York Police Gave Falun Gong the Best Position to Appeal
Chinese consulate officials had been complaining to the New York police about the areas given to the Falun Gong practitioners to do their appeal, and they were pressuring the police to move the practitioners farther away.
Falun Gong practitioners were able to explain to the police about the persecution of fellow practitioners in China, and how the brutal persecution continues even after Hu took power. Millions of mainland practitioners have no way to appeal against the persecution, so overseas Falun Gong practitioners deeply treasure the chance to appeal. What they want to do is just to let Hu know the truth, and to get him to stop the persecution of Falun Gong immediately.
The police showed their understanding, and repeated several times that they would give Falun Gong practitioners the best location they could, closest to the Waldorf Hotel.
Falun Gong Practitioners Want to Be Together With “Welcome” Group to Let Them Know the Truth
During Hu’s arrival, The CCP government hired many overseas Chinese to form a “welcome” group. They also brought quite a number of people from mainland China to “welcome” Hu.
During Hu’s arrival on September 13, the Falun Gong group and Hu’s “welcome” group were positioned side by side. Many members of the “welcome” group had to pass by Falun Gong practitioners’ location to get to their place. They all had a good eyeful of the big Falun Gong banners, and many were able to talk with the Falun Gong practitioners.
Falun Gong practitioners also told the police that they didn’t come to protest or welcome Hu. They just wanted Hu and all Chinese people to know the truth about Falun Gong, which is the real reason why they wanted to be together with the “welcome” group.
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