News and Events from around the World -- February 23, 2007

Issued by Clearwisdom Net

Content

  • Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (US-Canada) Is Formed

  • Atlanta, Georgia: NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular Debuts

  • Paris: Mainstream Media Support Chinese New Year Spectacular

  • Washington D.C.: Practitioners Attend Chinese New Year Parade



  • Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (US-Canada) Is Formed

    On February 12, 2007, the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG) has completed its preliminary work of organizing in four continents of the world. Four investigative branches have been successively formed. They are: CIPFG-Australia Branch, CIPFG-Asia Branch, CIPFG-European Branch and CIPFG-US-Canada Branch.

    So far, there are a total of 301 members in the investigation branches in the four continents, composed of people from different fields in different countries who are concerned about the human rights of Falun Gong. They include, national-level (federal-level) politicians, provincial and municipal-level government officials, religious and community leaders, organ transplant experts and doctors, international human rights and criminal lawyers, non-governmental organizations and groups, international media and human rights activists. The members of the organization are continuously expanding.

    The objective of the CIPFG is thorough investigation into the allegations that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) murdered Falun Gong practitioners for harvesting their organs to make profits, to expose the true situation that Falun Gong practitioners have been persecuted in mainland China, and stop the persecution. It also aims to hold accountable of those participants who have planned and implemented such inhuman killings for committing crimes against humanity according to international criminal law.

    Entering China for field investigation and evidence collection is an important step in completing this mission. Many countries and international organizations have expressed grave concerns and condemned the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong and murdering Falun Gong practitioners for harvesting organs for profits. They also support our efforts. Two Canadian investigators released investigation reports on July 6, 2006 and January 31, 2007, thus, we have sufficient reason to demand the CCP to open the places where Falun Gong practitioners have been illegally detained for us to investigate. (The report is available at http://organharvestinvestigation.net/)

    Coalition members stand ready to enter China to conduct investigation at any time. All members in the branches of the organization will unremittingly request the international community for specific assistance, until the CCP stops the persecution of Falun Gong group.

    The Australia branch and Asia branch of the organization have delivered letters in December 2006 to relevant departments of the CCP and its embassies overseas regarding entering China for investigation. As of today, about a month later, there is still no any reply. We think the CCP authorities should immediately make a positive and rational response regarding the organization's request for entering China for investigation. Life is precious, no time to delay!

    We respectfully tell the international community, the organization will combine all righteous strengths to ensure: crimes against humanity such as killing people for organs for transplantation, and the Olympics that respect for basic human rights will not exist under CCP rule.


    Atlanta, Georgia: NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular Debuts

    NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular debuted in Atlanta Civic Center on February 20, 2007. The Divine Performing Arts and Tian Yin Orchestra presented a wonderful show to near four thousand people in the audience. The weather became nice after several days’ rain and cloudiness.


    Dancing "Herding on the Mongolian Plains". Choreographer: Michelle Ren. Composer: Junyi Tan. Leading dancer: Liang Zhao and Xuntian Wu. Horses running, young Mongolian men are heroic and ride horses across vast grassy plains. Their strength and brave are manifested in the dancing.

    NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular show in Atlanta. Audience applaud at the end when all the actors come out on stage.

    Congressman Hank Johnson gives a speech in the VIP reception

    Mr. Issac Farris, President of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, gives a speech in VIP guest reception

    In a reception before the performance, Fourth District Congressman Hank Johnson, Mr. Issac Farris, President of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, Mr. Wu Jung-chuan, director of Department of Economic and Culture, Taipei Liaison Office in Atlanta, Speakers of County Councils of Fulton and Fulton Counties, and Wai Eng, Vice President of Finance of Comcast gave speeches and congratulated the Spectacular. Comcast is the largest sponsor of the show. Mr. Dorian McDuffie from the Office of Cultural Affairs represented Atlanta City Government and read a congratulatory letter.

    The Spectacular presented a variety of grand dances, vocal and instrumental solos and a live orchestra, the Tian Yin Orchestra. In addition, the Spectacular featured unique world-class backdrop designs using a high-end full-sized LCD screen, and presented a collection of world-class performances with purity.

    The performances began with the grand dance, "Creation." In the opening scene, heavenly beings gather. Looking down at our world, a Buddha expresses that he will go to earth and bring goodness to humankind, inviting the others to join him. He then appears in the Tang Dynasty as an emperor. The heaven beings become civil and military officials. They created the grand Tang culture as a model ancient civilization in China and across the world.

    The dance programs "Forsythia in Spring," "Herding on the Mongolian Plains," and "Rainbows" are colorful, bright and presented the authentic Chinese culture, which emphasizes harmony between Heaven, Earth and human beings, prosperous nature, the strength of men, and the elegance and femininity of women. The dances also presented the living environment that human being follow the arrangement of god: loving life and peaceful land.

    "Ladies of the Manchu Court" presented an imperial dance. The dancers are accompanied by royal Manchu-style music as they move gently in raised shoes. Manchu women were known for their elegance, refinement, and virtuous demeanor.

    Warm Mongolian people like to entertain guest with milk tea. "Mongolian Bowl Dance" presented beautiful Mongolian girls dancing with small bowls atop their head. The dancing is graceful and cheerful.

    Alto Jiangsheng Yang sang "Tiananmen Please Tell Me," which moved many audience to tears. The song describes that Falun Gong practitioners clarify the truth while suffering the persecution. The song states, "For precious Chinese, for you, for you, they never come back. Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is good! Their voices resound in the air." The song sung by Ms. Yang and was really moving!

    The show was concluded with the dance "Resounding Drums." After the show, audience stood up and applauded warmly for such an excellent performance.

    The spectacular presented the richness of Chinese traditional culture with pure arts and conveyed to the audiences the deepness of traditional Chinese culture. The show may arouse kindness and purity in bottom of hearts of the audience or deep thinking, which require that the performers have deep and pure minds and certain virtue levels. It is also the difference of NTDTV spectacular from other shows.

    The spectacular received many feedbacks and excellent comments from audience


    Ms. Koto, former CNN host, is being interviewed

    Ms. Koto, former CNN host, said during interview, "Absolutely Gorgeous!" to describe the show. She said that the costume, music and dance are all beautiful and she liked them very much. Each dancer appeared professional. She said this was the largest performance on traditional culture in the US she had seen.


    Mr. Subash Razdan, Chairman of Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, being interviewed

    Mr. Subash Razdan, Chairman of Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, praised the spectacular highly, especially the bright costumes and light music. He did not expect that the performance would be so excellent before he came to watch.


    Mr. Wu Jung-chuan, director of Department of Economic and Culture, Taipei Liaison Office in Atlanta, being interviewed

    Mr. Wu Jung-chuan, director of Department of Economic and Culture, Taipei Liaison Office in Atlanta, said that the performance portrayed Chinese people’s traditional culture: respecting the heaven and knowing life. Also the show let western people know the tolerance of Chinese culture.

    The spectacular also won the attention of media. CNN, with headquarters in Atlanta, contacted NTDTV one day before the performance and wished to interview the performers and composers. On February 20, after watching the performance, a five-people team of CNN waited about half an hour and finally interviewed the performers and composers of Divine Performing Arts. CNN reporters said the performance was top class.


    Paris: Mainstream Media Support Chinese New Year Spectacular

    Since December, 2006, the five major media in France have been advertising the upcoming Chinese New Year Spectacular in Paris on February 24, 2007. Some held drawings to give lucky readers tickets to the show.


    National TV advertises for the New Year Spectacular and held drawing of tickets to the show

    National TV Advertise for the New Year Spectacular on Website and Holds Drawing of Tickets to the Show

    In January this year, the national TV station France2.fr set up a special web page about the Chinese New Year Spectacular and published pictures, video, introduction to artists and Tang Dynasty costumes. The web page also links directly to NTDTV website.

    A drawing of twenty tickets to the show was held in December last year on the TV station's website. It was a great success. 5,550 people registered for the drawing. A representative of the TV station said the number has surpassed any number of participants for similar activities in the past.

    National Radio Station Runs Two Weeks of Commercial for the Chinese New Year Spectacular

    The forth largest radio station, France Bleu, has forty sub-stations around the nation. France Bleu ran commercials for NTDTV's Chinese New Year Spectacular for a week last year. It plans to run commercials for another week before the show.

    France Bleu interviewed two representatives of NTDTV. During the thirty-minute interview, they introduced the uniqueness of NTDTV as an independent Chinese language TV station aiming to revive the traditional Chinese culture. It holds annual Chinese New Year Gala in many cities around the world and provides great cultural programs to a large audience around the world. The two representatives pointed out that NTDTV was the first media that reported the SARS outbreak in China and persisted on reporting human rights violations and the sabotage of traditional Chinese culture by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In addition, it also offered high quality analysis of China's economy.


    Largest magazine in France introduces the Chinese New Year Spectacular.

    Largest Magazine in France Introduces the Chinese New Year Spectacular

    Femme Actuelle is the largest magazine in France. One million copies of the magazine are distributed every week. A two-page-long report about the Chinese New Year Spectacular was published recently on this magazine.

    The report introduced the beauty of the Chinese culture, the dazzling costume and the legendary fight between the good and the evil staged by the Chinese New Year Spectacular as well as the top level artists and band. It quoted the director of the band Mr. Chen Rutang who said his mission was to revive the spirit of the five-thousand-year-old Chinese culture destroyed by the CCP. The report said the audience would feel their energy recharged after watching the show.

    After visiting the website of NTDTV, the reporter and director were excited by the glory of the Spectacular. They planned to hold a drawing of tickets to the show. Several representatives of the magazine said they would buy tickets to the show after reading the report.


    Popular women's magazine holds ticket-drawing reception to promote the show

    Popular Women's Magazine Holds Drawing of Tickets to Promote the New Year Spectacular

    Vivre au Feminin is a popular women's magazine with a monthly circulation of 182,000. The editor was very happy to hear about the Chinese New Year Spectacular and planned to hold a readers' drawing of tickets to the show. She also wrote an introduction of more than one page on her magazine.

    Paris Local Radio Station Aired Free Commercial for the New Year Spectacular

    Judaiques FM is a local radio station of the Jewish community. It started advertising the New Year Spectacular for free in January.

    The radio station also scheduled three interviews to introduce the show. The first one was an in-depth report. It pointed out that NTDTV was an independent news source for all Chinese around the world, while all media in China were under the control of the CCP. The host also played two songs about Falun Gong during the interview.

    Judaiques FM interviewed a representative of NTDTV again during the Chinese New Year and asked him to introduce the tradition of the Chinese New Year and introduce the Chinese New Year Spectacular.

    Judaiques FM has scheduled another interview two days before the New Year Spectacular. If tickets haven't been sold out by that time, the host would encourage radio listeners to get tickets.


    Washington D.C.: Practitioners Attend Chinese New Year Parade

    On February 18, 2007, a Chinese New Year Parade was held in Chinatown, Washington D.C. More than ten thousand people from different communities attended the celebration. The government officers, the Council President of Washington D.C., and the council members sent their greetings to Chinese people. The mayor of Washington D.C. grants an award to the organizers of the Chinese New Year celebration.


    Dragon Dance performed by Falun Gong practitioners

    Spectators photographing practitioners

    Practitioners perform the waist drums.

    More than 20 groups attended the parade and the Falun Gong group was the biggest one. Practitioners performed the Dragon Dance, Lion Dance, Celestial Maiden Dance and their waist drums. The performances were warmly welcomed by the spectators.

    Practitioners were invited to perform the Dragon Dance and the waist drums again after the parade.

    Dr. Huang, who works at NASA, was one of the dragon dancers. He said: "Falun Gong practitioners perform the dragon dances every year in this parade. We are the only dragon dancers in the parade. After a few years of clarifying the truth, Chinese people learned more about Falun Gong, and our relationship with the Chinese community has become very good."

    After the parade, many people took photos with Falun Gong practitioners. Dr. Huang said: "I am very glad to see so many people like our group. I am also glad that they see the beauty of the traditional Chinese culture through our performances."

    It was the sixth time that Falun Gong practitioners attended the Chinese New Year parade. Professor Nieh Sen, one of organizers, said: "the situation has changed a lot during the last six years. The parade would not be so remarkable without Falun Gong practitioners." Mr. Wang Zhenhua, the president of the Chinese Association, said: "Falun Gong practitioners are great. They like to help people."

    One of the workers from the Chinese Association said: "Every year, Falun Gong practitioners come to Chinatown before the parade, helping us to make the great balloon arch. Other groups charge us $1000, but Falun Gong practitioners always give us the service for free."

    Dr. Yu, who always helps to make the balloon arch, said: "Although Falun Gong practitioners have been suffering from the persecution in the last seven years, we didn’t change our will. We are peaceful everywhere in the world. Our only pursuit is to stop the persecution. I feel glad to see that so many people learned the truth of Falun Gong, and I wish every kind people in the world a wonderful future."

    The newspaper Washington Post interviewed practitioners, and reported the spectacular performances by the Falun Gong group. On the website of the Washington Post, there is video of the parade, including footage of the practitioners’ performances.