Between 5pm and 6pm in the afternoon of September 5th, 2000, several hundred Falun Gong practitioners from more than twenty countries arrived at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The Waldorf Hotel is where the President of the Peoples Republic of China resided during his attendance of the UN Millennium Summit with other world leaders. These practitioners expressed the wishes of all Falun Gong practitioners. They came there voluntarily to appeal peacefully for the immediate end of the escalating persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese government.
By the time they arrived at designated areas across from the hotel, other organized groups were already there, rallying and protesting. Their roaring furor could be heard from a distance. The already crowded New York intersections became even more congested with these protests. Practitioners who got there lined up along the sidewalk according to the polices instructions, leaving enough room for pedestrians to pass. Practitioners calmly held or raised various banners with "Release All Practitioners Under Detention", "Falun Dafa is Good", "Stop the Brutal Persecutions", "Respect Human Rights", and other similar phrases printed on them. Such peaceful surroundings reminded us of the April 25th peaceful appeal last year by about 10,000 practitioners near Zhong Nanhai in Beijing, China. There was the same appearance, the same determination, and the same ideal based on the principles of "Truthfulness, Benevolence and Forbearance". The only distinction was that the participants were now in a different country, with diverse skin colors, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds.
The police officers maintaining order there were quite surprised and relaxed by such an unusually peaceful appeal. On the other hand, some of the other demonstrating organizations behavior was boisterous so much that during one intense period a squad of riot police arrived to control the situation. One of the officers told the practitioners: "This has nothing to do with you people. Do not move under any circumstances." The police got a very good impression of the practitioners. One female officer showed interest during our exercises. Right away, some practitioners kindly introduced Falun Gong to her, explaining to her how the Chinese government was persecuting Falun Gong, and why the practitioners were here to appeal. She was so moved she requested two copies of Dafa books and carefully put them inside her uniform. Later on, her squad leader also wanted to look at Dafa books. He said, "If everyone could behave like you practitioners, we will have a much easier job as police officers." He also praised us as very "self-disciplined" group.
After the demonstration, some practitioners helped the police remove roadblocks, while others gave bottled water to the officers. The tense and tired attitude that the patrolmen carried was gradually relaxed. This completely peaceful approach certainly broadened the definition of "rally".
On the evening of September 6th, practitioners staged another peaceful appeal on an larger scale with even more people. Practitioners were all over the neighborhood surrounding the Waldorf Hotel. However, they were careful not to create any inconvenience for either the police or the pedestrians. The bright yellow T-shirts worn by Falun Gong practitioners provided a new focus for the busy Manhattan district. One group of practitioners gathered in a sidewalk area designated for them by the police, doing exercises and holding banners. Other practitioners spread out along the streets to distribute pamphlets telling the truth about Falun Gong. They offered much-needed opportunities for the New Yorkers and visitors from all over the world to learn the truth about Falun Gong.
Category: Rallies & Protests
