[Minghui Net] On the evening of January 28, 2001, about 30 Falun Dafa practitioners were invited to attend the Greater Washington D.C. Chinese New Year Celebration and Friendship Gala. The chief representatives of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States attended the festivities. At the gala, Mr. Mai Shi, deputy chairman of the Meijing Chinese Association, first thanked Falun Dafa practitioners for their selfless help. He mentioned that for the past three weeks, these practitioners had done lots of volunteer work, which accounted for the success of the big parade in the afternoon and the gala in the evening.

During the celebration, leaders of the Greater Washington, D.C. area Chinese community commended the organizations and individuals who have contributed greatly to the Chinese community during the past year. Ms. Su Jing, a Falun Dafa practitioner originally from Taiwan, received a commendation certificate from Representative (equivalent of an Ambassador) Cheng Jianren of Taipei's Economic and Cultural Representative Office. A joint photo session was held. Several chief representatives also conveyed New Year greetings and expressed their gratitude to Dafa practitioners. A toast was proposed to practitioners, and practitioners, on their part, returned the toast by lifting their tea cups.