On the afternoon of November 30, 2000, about 50 Falun Dafa practitioners from New Jersey, Philadelphia and other places gathered in the city of Trenton, capital of New Jersey State, to attend the award ceremony for Falun Dafa, held by the Mayor of Trenton, the President of New Jersey State Senate, and the President and some Members of New Jersey State House of Representatives.
The award presentation was held in the central hall of the city government building. In the center of the hall, a banner; "Falun Dafa --- Zhen-Shan-Ren (Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance)" was hanging. Around the hall, Falun Dafa picture boards were displayed, depicting the information about how widespread Falun Dafa has become around the world in the past eight years, and the brutal persecution of Falun Dafa carried out by Jiang Zemin and his followers in the past year. Colored balloons reading " Falun Dafa" in English decorated the hall.
At 4:00PM, the ceremony began. A practitioner first announced the month of December 2000 to be "Falun Dafa Awareness Month", and the first week of December to be "Falun Dafa week" in New Jersey. He also briefly introduced Falun Dafa, how widespread Falun Dafa is in New Jersey and he spoke about the support and the awards granted by many state, county and city governments and officials.
Then, the representative of the Mayor gave a speech, he read the proclamation issued by the Mayor, and proclaimed the week of December 4-10, 2000 to be "Falun Dafa Week" in the city of Trenton. The proclamation states, " Falun Dafa consists of four gentle exercises and a mediation. They have proven to have wonderful physical and mental health benefits. Individuals have been empowered to leave behind addictions and bad habits, families to live in harmony together, and communities to embrace what is virtuous and life-affirming." "It is primarily these powerful effects on practitioners' physical health, mental stability and spiritual being that has spread Falun Dafa around the world."
Afterwards, the President of the New Jersey State Senate, Mr. Turner, the President of New Jersey State House of Representatives, Mr. Gusciora, and the representative of New Jersey State House of Representatives, Ms. Coleman, announced "The Joint Legislative Resolution of New Jersey State Senate and Sate House of Representatives" to affirm and honor Falun Dafa and Master Li Hongzhi. The resolution says, " Under the guidance of the founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi, Falun Dafa helps its practitioners to improve their health, purify their mind, uplift their spirit, and deepen their understanding of themselves." " This legislative organization acknowledges Falun Dafa week, and honors Falun Gong practitioners in the area of Princeton for their devotion and commitment to this advanced cultivation practice system."
After that, a representative for the practitioners expressed sincere gratitude to Mayor Palmer, the President of the State Senate, Mr. Turner, the President of State House of Representatives, Mr. Gusciora, and the member of the State House of Representatives, Ms. Coleman, and presented them with Zhuan Falun as a gift.
As the Council of New York City recently proclaimed "Falun Dafa week" and honored Master Li Hongzhi, a practitioner read the Thank -you letter from Master Li to the New York City Council.
Finally, six practitioners demonstrated the five sets of exercises of Falun Dafa.
Since Jiang Zemin and his followers cracked down on Falun Dafa last year, New Jersey practitioners have stepped forward to make continuous effort to clarify the truth about Falun Gong to the public and untiringly spread Falun Dafa. They also took part in community activities. Falun Dafa, therefore, has been widely recognized and honored by governments and people from all walks of life in New Jersey. According to the incomplete statistics, more than 40 various awards have been honored to Falun Dafa and Master Li Hongzhi by many state, county and city governments and officials in New Jersey.
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New Jersey Practitioners
December 1, 2000
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