Freedom of Faith Ceremony - Promoting Falun Dafa on Liberty Island

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Ellis Island is the home of Statue of Liberty, which was established for all people in the world who long for freedom. On September 6, 2000, a group consists of over 70 Falun Dafa practitioners with one representative from every country and every state in the United States, gathered to hold a special Freedom of Faith Ceremony to draw the attention of all kindhearted people in the world to the Chinese governments brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, and to appeal for their kind support.

Among the practitioners, each person carried a small banner with "Falun Dafa in New York", "Falun Dafa in Germany", etc., indicating the country or state he or she was representing. A western Falun Dafa practitioner gave the following speech on behalf of the overseas Falun Dafa practitioners:

"Why would an elderly grandmother travel on foot from the countryside for nine days to Beijing, knowing that she faced certain arrest, torture, or even worse? Why would a farming couple spend a year's income on train tickets - instead of seeds and piglets - to get to Beijing, also knowing full well that they faced the same fate?

The answer is their unshakable faith in Falun Dafa, a spiritual practice that has grown beyond China to include tens of millions of practitioners in more than 40 countries, ranging from everyday citizens to leaders in various fields.

With persistence and courage unprecedented in Chinese history, tens of thousands of humble people like these have stepped forward - repeatedly and fearlessly - to appeal to their government for the right to practice their faith, and to proclaim to all the world, "Falun Dafa is Good."

Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) is a practice of exercise and meditation that has brought inner peace to millions throughout the world. However, in July of last year, primarily due to its rapidly increasing popularity among the Chinese people, the Chinese government launched a vicious campaign to eradicate Falun Gong. Since the crackdown began a year ago, tens of thousands of ordinary citizens who practice Falun Gong have been arrested, tortured, jailed without trial, and at least 49 practitioners have been killed while in police custody.

All over the world, people of goodwill and free nations have widely criticized China for this action, and have called upon the Chinese Government to cease all aggression against Falun Gong, and release all the illegally imprisoned practitioners. Amnesty International has denounced the crackdown, saying: "Its shocking to see that China can get away with this for the past one year arresting, imprisoning, torturing, and harassing even the people who speak out against these crackdowns. Thats why the international community and human rights organizations should pay special attention to the plight of members of Falun Gong in China. When addressing the practice of Falun Gong, Mark Palmer, Vice Chairman of the Board for Freedom House has said, "This is, in my judgment, the greatest single spiritual movement in Asia today. There is nothing that begins to compare with it in courage and importance."

In the fall of last year, both houses of the US Congress pass joint resolutions condemning China's crackdown on Falun Gong. In December of last year, President Clinton publicly condemned China's policy toward Falun Gong, saying China's "progress is still being held back by the government's response to those who test the limits of freedom. A troubling example, of course, is the detention by Chinese authorities, of adherents of the Falun Gong movement. Its targets are not political dissidentsBut the principle still, surely, must be the same: freedom of conscience, and freedom of association." Despite this international condemnation, however, the Chinese regime has continued its brutality and is, in fact, now planning to escalate its campaign even further.

We are here today -- in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of freedom and justice for citizens of the United States -- to bring to the world's attention this crisis that is now taking place in China.

In America, this kind of repression and brutality would be unthinkable. After all, the freedoms of belief and assembly are some of the bedrock principles upon which this nation was founded.

Therefore

We are here today to call for an end to the brutality and suppression.

We are here today to call for the Chinese government to respect and enforce its own constitution.

We are here today to make people around the world aware of this issue.

And most importantly, we are here today to encourage people to take action on this issue. If you would like to support us or you just want to find out more about Falun Gong, we will be handing out flyers for the remainder of this ceremony that describe steps each and every one of you could take to help make a difference for practitioners around the world and especially those in China."

áAfterwards, practitioners performed a 45-minute exercise demonstration. Meanwhile, several practitioners gave out Falun Dafa newspapers to the tourists passing by. Some tourists started to speak with the practitioners and some even started to learn the exercises right away. At the same time, an airplane pulling a banner that read "CHINA: STOP PERSECUTING FALUN GONG" flew circles over the island.

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