(Clearwisdom.net) On January 20, 2011, the last day of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Hu Jintao's Washington DC visit, local practitioners continued protesting the persecution of Falun Gong near the JW Marriott Hotel, where Hu was staying.
The practitioners quietly held banners reading in both Chinese and English, "Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang to justice," "Stop persecuting Falun Gong, " "Falun Dafa is great" and others. Some practitioners did the Falun Gong exercises to music from a loudspeaker. Their peacefulness formed a stark contrast with the surrounding "welcoming " crowd and other protest groups.
Practitioners in the Washington area continue protesting the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong near the Marriott Hotel where Hu was staying
“Welcoming” group learns the facts
Many people in the “welcoming” group walked closer to watch quietly as the Falun Gong practitioners did their exercises. Some of them showed slight surprise; this might have been the first time that they connected Falun Gong in their minds with this peaceful activity.
When Hu Jintao's motorcade was ready to leave the hotel in the afternoon, the "welcoming" group and the protesters increased their volume of shouting slogans to try to suppress each other's voices. While these voices competed for dominance, Falun Gong practitioners' loudspeaker played the music Pu du and Ji Shi. The peaceful and compassionate music instantly struck a chord in people's minds; the crowd gradually quieted and listened to the music attentively.
An overseas Chinese student looked at the banners held by Falun Gong practitioners and said, "I know you are targeting Jiang. I came abroad several years ago, after I learned about the suppression of Falun Gong while in China."
Ms. Tao, who held a banner on the roadside, had a conversation with a young man who held a red flag. She asked, "Young man, did you join the Party, the Youth League or the Young Pioneers while in China?" He said, "Yes, if you want to change my mind, that won't be so easy." Ms. Tao kindly smiled and said, "Regardless of whether it is easy or not, I brought this up for the sake of you yourself, and for your future. Don't stay with the CCP." The young man said, "I've known about what you just said." Ms. Tao suggested that the young man quit the CCP organizations with an alias. She said, "Quit the Party for the sake of your own beautiful future." The young man looked around and happily agreed.
Getting paid for joining in the "welcoming" group
According to The Epoch Times, prior to Hu Jintao's visit to the U.S., the Chinese Embassy organized the Chinese Student and Scholar Associations (CSSAs) and other front groups of the Chinese Communist Party in the DC area to give Hu Jintao a big "welcome", in order to keep the protest groups out of sight, and deceive Western society and people inside China. They not only provided transportation and food, but also paid $55 to each attendee. If one participated in five sessions in the three days' welcoming events, one could be paid $275.
Around 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m, at the junction of Calvert and 24th Street, more than a dozen people from the "welcoming" group stood in a circle. A man in his 30s to 40s was in the middle, handing out money to each of the individuals. The scene was caught by a Western person in a protesting group. He asked these "welcoming" people, "Didn't you come here for the money?" These people looked at each other with a look of guilt, and no one said anything.
Upon hearing about this, Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Tao said, "The CCP does things with money, we use our heart to do things. Money can't buy one's heart. I hope these compatriots do not become pawns used by the CCP simply for a small profit. The CCP doesn't equal China."
At 3:00 p.m., Hu Jintao's motorcade left the hotel from a small path in order to avoid the protesting crowd. He will continue facing Falun Gong practitioners' protests at his next stop in Chicago.
