Epoch Times: Dissensions in Beijing-Sponsored 2008 Olympics Parade in Hollywood

The Communist regime parked a line of buses to block the view of people and Chinese delegation members in the parade. (The Epoch Times)

(Clearwisdom.net) LOS ANGELES�"On March 3, more than 500 Beijing residents took part in the Chinese New Year Lantern Festival parade on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles to welcome people to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Falun Gong practitioners built what was described as "The Great Wall of Courage," with continuous banners on both sides of the boulevard to disseminate the message of Falun Gong's persecution in China as well as to celebrate 19 million withdrawals from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations.

In addition, Tibetan and Chinese democratic activists also displayed banners with the words "Freedom Before Games."

Supporters of the Chinese communist regime reportedly used several large buses to prevent people from seeing the banners held by Falun Gong practitioners.

Is This The Real China?

On Hollywood Boulevard, other than railings on the roadside set up by the police to block off traffic, there were several large buses. These buses blocked people's view of the parade to a large extent. Many tourists wondered why the buses were there. One of them approached the buses to check out, and came back told the others, "The main purpose of those buses was to block the view of Chinese delegates in the parade, so that they cannot see the banners held by Falun Gong practitioners."

Nancy, a woman from Arizona, came to Los Angeles for a visit. When interviewed by The Epoch Times, she said, "I feel this is rude and unfair. This parade does not show the real China, it is only a public relations show. Just by looking at how the CCP persecutes human rights, looking at how it treats its own people, one can tell that the CCP would not dare to show the real China."

Various rights groups protest the Chinese regime's genocidal practices. (The Epoch Times)

Mr. and Mrs. Adler are local LA residents. They came here specifically to watch the Chinese New Year Lantern Festival parade. However, what they saw was not anything about the Lantern Festival, but huge 2008 balloons and promotion of the Beijing Olympic Games. They traveled to China in 1997. They told the reporter that they liked Hong Kong a lot, but not the mainland. When they were in the mainland, they felt the oppressive atmosphere.

The 500 Beijing residents, though arranged by the CCP, claimed to be "civilian groups" such as the San Li Tun street delegation, and representatives of the 18 Li Village delegation.

According to a delegation member, the regime paid for 2/3 of the expenses for this trip. The group was arranged by the Beijing Tourist Bureau. The group left Beijing on Feb. 26, remained in Los Angeles for 12 days, then traveled to Hawaii.

Although the big buses blocked a small portion of the banners held by Falun Gong practitioners, there were still many Falun Gong banners on both sides of the entire Hollywood Boulevard as well as slogans calling on fellow Beijing compatriots to know the truth of the Chinese Communist Party.

Falun Dafa banners line both sides of Hollywood Blvd. (The Epoch Times)

Qi Fei from Canada told the reporter that he repeatedly appealed to the delegation members because the Communist Party was an evil party. It has exploited the Chinese people and endangered Chinese culture.

It is difficult for many Chinese people to see the true nature of the CCP because they grew up under the rule of the regime. But a lot of what the CCP has done is shameful. It may come as no surprise that the CCP arranged the large buses to block the view of the delegation members in the parade.

John Li is the Falun Gong organizer for "The Great Wall of Courage" in this parade. He said that Falun Gong practitioners have made great efforts to let the Los Angeles Mayor know about the persecution of Falun Gong in China, especially the atrocity of harvesting organs from living Falun Gong prisoners.

When the reporter asked him whether this was participating in politics, he said that the goal of Falun Gong was to stop the persecution, not to get involved in politics. "Participating in politics is a big club used by the regime to bash [Falun Gong]. The peaceful and rational means that Falun Gong practitioners have used to clarify the truth has been labeled as 'politics' by the CCP."