(Clearwisdom.net) On February 5, 2011, a group of men in service to the Chinese Consulate attacked and destroyed Falun Gong practitioners' float during the Chinese New Year parade in Mexico City's Chinatown. Several local media outlets covered the incident. A three-minute-long video of the incident made by La Razon newspaper in Mexico has been uploaded to YouTube.
Gerardo de la Concha, political columnist for La Razon newspaper, was an eyewitness to the incident. He pointed out in his article that the thugs were controlled by the Chinese Consulate behind-the-scenes. One of the men claimed that he was the representative of the Chinese Consulate. Another thug told him that they were acting on orders from their superiors.
Mr. de la Concha said, “I was on the scene at the time. The Falun Gong practitioners included Mexicans and Chinese. They were celebrating the Year of Rabbit. Their float was arranged with lotus flowers that symbolize harmony and peace. There were banners with the words, 'Truth-Compassion-Forbearance,' and photo displays exposing the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of Falun Gong.”
At around 2:00 p.m. local time, a group of men appeared. They tore down the banners, cut the slender ropes, bundled up the handmade lotus flowers, and wadded up the anti-persecution messages. During the whole course of the incident, Falun Gong practitioners remained peaceful, and did nothing to strike back.
The video showed a man known as Héctor López, a representative of the local merchants in the area. He runs several restaurants in Chinatown and has previously admitted that part of his job is to keep Falun Gong out of Chinatown on behalf of the merchants he represents, who are pressured by the Chinese Embassy.
The video also revealed that the incident took place under the watchful gaze of the police. A police officer was there, but did nothing. Mr. De la Concha commented, “It's shameful for the Government of Mexico, it affects its international image.” After the incident, the police officer said that he was intimidated by the aggressiveness of the group of thugs.
“I feel very sad because I come from China, and I love my culture,” said a Falun Gong practitioner who was present when the float was demolished. “Fortunately, I am a Mexican citizen and I am doing this practice freely in this country, but if I was in China, maybe I would already be dead from persecution there.
“I do not want this to happen in this country too,” he added. “Here we have human rights, freedom of expression, and freedom of belief.”
A Falun Gong Representative Urges Bringing the Criminals to Justice
The president of the Mid-USA Falun Dafa Association, Sen Yang, condemned the attack. He said, “Peaceful Falun Gong practitioners, who are celebrating the Chinese New Year and exposing the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China were attacked by thugs. This is unbelievable.”
“We hope more local residents in Mexico City will understand how good this practice is and stand up against the violence. We urge the Mexican authorities and police to investigate the incident and bring the criminals to justice.”
During the Chinese New Year Parade held on February 12, 2011, in Flushing, Queens, New York, a similar incident occurred. A Chinese man in the crowd charged the Falun Gong procession in the parade. He threw himself at one of the banners, breaking the banner pole in two, before three police officers rushed in to subdue and arrest him. He was handcuffed and taken to Flushing Police Station Precinct 109 in a police vehicle. Regarding the disruption, a police officer responded, “No tolerance.”
Background
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a traditional Chinese spiritual discipline for mind and body. The practice involves slow, gentle movements and meditation. It is easy to learn, enjoyable to practice, and free of charge. Its principles are based on Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. The practice was first introduced by Master Li Hongzhi in China in 1992 and quickly spread by word of mouth throughout China and then beyond. Its beneficial effects in uplifting an individual's physical health, spiritual well-being, and moral character, not to mention its positive influence in the community and society as a whole, have been undeniable. In fact, Falun Gong is practiced by over 100 million people in 110 countries. The main works of Falun Gong are available in over 30 languages.
On July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a brutal persecution of Falun Gong. Since the start of the persecution, practitioners throughout the world have been speaking out about the truth of Falun Gong and exposing the CCP's crimes in a tireless effort to end the persecution.
