With its myriad of acts, costumes, politically-incorrect slogans, clowning, and general lightheartedness, parade participants and spectators alike clearly share and value freedom of expression.
Ann Lau, Chair of Visual Artists Guild, was selected as the 2009 “Thorny Rose” recipient for her outspoken criticism of China’s human rights record and her tenacious prodding of Pasadena’s city council to take a public stand against China’s abuses before last year’s Rose Parade, which honored the Beijing Olympics.
Standing in the back seat of a vintage car, Ms. Lau waved to the parade-goers as she led the parade down the streets of Raymond Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.
Trailing Ms. Lau, supporters of various human rights organizations formed “China’s Great Firewall” to highlight the Internet censorship in China and the continuous imprisoned of internet writers, journalists, and religious persons.
“I think this a chance to present it in a non-serious way, but that people will be more accepting of it. People are waving and echoing what we say. We are telling them, ‘Tear down this Great Firewall’ and they echo [us]. And they see pictures of people who are prisoners of conscience [in China]. It gives them a personal touch to it so they have a connection. Hopefully we’ll get people to be better informed about what’s happening in China.”
During the parade, as spectators waved and clapped, Ms. Lau’s marching group would occasionally stop to perform a brief skit in which people dressed as computers were surrounded by others holding banners that read “China’s Great Firewall.” A young man dressed as a fireman would then run around the group throwing water on the banners. Meanwhile, people behind carried pictures of Chinese prisoners of conscience, and others dressed as Chinese police would chase after them. At one point, everyone would yell “China: Tear down this Great Firewall,” and then the firewall would collapse.
Ms. Lau also wanted to give a message to the mayor. She said, “Mayor Boogard: Please, tell China to tear down this Great Firewall, and it will benefit not only people in China, but people in the United States. We need to have transparency especially now with the food safety issue. It’s very important now to have freedom of information and freedom of the press so that if anything happens with food safety, it will help people in American; it will also help the people in China.” She was referring to a handful of food scandals in China over the past couple of years, the most recent of which – melamine, found in dairy products both in China and the United States.
Ms. Lau hasn’t let this brief brush with stardom go to her head. “[This award is] not just for myself. It’s for everyone in the city of Pasadena who has helped to support human rights issues in the year that we were here in Pasadena. There are so many people I’d like to thank: the former mayor of Pasadena, Bill Paparian; the NAACP president of Pasadena, Joe Brown; Father Jared from the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Pasadena, and others. They have encouraged me to speak out and have written op-eds in the newspaper.”