By a Falun Dafa practitioner in San Antonio

(Clearwisdom.net) On Monday, January 21, 2008, Falun Dafa practitioners from San Antonio unfurled the banner, "Falun Dafa Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" helping to mark the 21st anniversary of San Antonio's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. March and Commemoration.

The San Antonio MLK March is considered the largest march in the country aimed at remembering and continuing the legacy of Dr. King. The three-mile march began at the Eastside Boys & Girls Club at 3500 MLK Drive (MLK Freedom Bridge) at 10:00 a.m. on January 21. The march ended at Pittman-Sullivan Park located at 1101 Iowa, where the commemorative program was held.

Falun Dafa fliers were handed out to the people, and everyone was glad to receive the information. Several people came through the crowd to inquire about the practice. It was a wonderful opportunity for the people of San Antonio to learn about Falun Dafa and the Chinese Communist Party's ongoing persecution of the practice in China.





Posting date: 1/30/2008

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Falun Dafa bands



Falun Gong Parade in Chinatown, Germany



Falun Gong at National Cherry Blossom Parade



Falun Gong Heavenly Girls Dance at Manhattan

(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Ni Shuzhi, 60, lived in Hulan District, Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province. She began cultivating Falun Gong in 1998. In May 2002, Ms. Ni was arrested from her home and sentenced to five years in prison. She was detained in the hospital ward because of a physical condition, but she was still tortured in all sorts of ways. At the end of 2006, she had a nosebleed and asked for some cotton balls from the prison nurse. The cotton ball she was given had a very strong odor. Soon afterward, she could not talk and developed a terrible cough and diarrhea.

After she was released in May 2007, the doctors diagnosed her with cirrhosis, ascites due to cirrhosis, heart failure, pharyngitis, and inadequate blood flow to the brain and the heart. She died on January 19, 2008.

January 27, 2008

Posting date: 1/30/2008

Chinese version available

By Zhang Yun

(Clearwisdom.net) Five shows of the 2008 Chinese New Year Spectacular were held in Toronto, with the last on January 20. The beautiful performances were well-received by the audiences.


Thanh Minh Tran, Director of Vietnam Times

After watching the final show at the Sony Centre in Toronto, Director of Vietnam Times Mr. Thanh Minh Tran said, "The performance was well done. I have never seen such an excellent show."

He said that the dancing was nice with colorful costumes. The dancers were first class, and the backdrops were excellent. Though he did not understand Chinese, the words on the backdrops helped him to keep up with the show.

Mr. Tran said, "I especially liked 'The Power of Awareness', which helped me to know more about Falun Gong. We know that evil can never defeat good. There is a similar thing occurring in Vietnam, with the Communist party always trying to control people's thinking and their freedom of expression. From my past experiences, I understood the dance well, which was a presentation of people's awareness and righteous choices."

"I will write an article about the show for our newspaper to let people know about the show." said Mr. Tran at the end.



Ms. Anta brought her son to watch the show

Ms. Anta is a department manager at IBM, and she took her six-year-old son to the show. She said that the show was awesome and congratulated the hosts on such a successful performance. She said that she understood the performance and would read the program brochure after going home to learn more.

Ms. Anta is an Indian born in Canada. She said that some of the cultural elements of the show were quite similar to Indian culture. She said that she was happy to have learned some things about Chinese traditional culture from the show.

Posting date: 1/27/2008

Chinese version available

By Li Ruoyun

(Clearwisdom.net) Bugene Sterling, a retired music instructor from San Hose, and his wife Susan Sterling watched Chinese New Year Spectacular show in San Francisco on January 23, 2008. Mr. Sterling highly praised the show, saying, "Absolutely well done!"

Mr. Sterling was glad to have the chance to learn more about Chinese culture. He said, "It was a beautiful presentation of ancient Chinese culture and all of the wonderful things that go along with it. I don't know much about Chinese classical dance, and it was very interesting to see it tonight. I understood a lot of what went on, which surprised me." He continued, "I think in this age, we have so much diversity in the world, but we are all one, and we all need to learn about other cultures. I really appreciate this tonight."

Mr. Sterling also praised the excellent artistry displayed in the show. "I've been a musician all my life, and I think the singers did very, very well," he said. He was impressed most with the performance "Descent of the Celestial Kings." He said, "Every culture has its own mythology and this gave us the sense of Chinese mythology of the gods creating kings to come down to the earth. It was beautifully done." He remarked that all of the stories in different cultures have things in common that deal with trials and tribulations, joys and sadness. He added, "We all have human emotions, so we can all relate to them."

His wife Susan enjoyed the performances and the meaning behind them. She said, "I think that it shows that it is a human need to be free from oppression. And the truth is good, regardless of what it is, truth is beautiful."

Susan has a background in fashion and said that she especially enjoyed the costuming and the dancing. She noted, "This is depicting a beautiful culture that I don't know a lot about. The body movements and the use of hands are very gentle and delicate and graceful. And the women were floating across the stage. I loved that."

Posting date: 1/27/2008

Chinese version available

By Falun Dafa practitioner in Atlanta

(Clearwisdom.net) January 21, 2008, was a national holiday to commemorate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. More than 1,000 representatives from all walks of life and different places around the country attended an annual commemorative ceremony in Atlanta. The ceremony was held at the Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizon Sanctuary. The coordinator of the Mid-USA Falun Dafa Association, Georgia Tech graduate Dr. Sen Yang, was invited to make a speech entitled, "I Too Have a Dream." This was the fourth time that a Falun Gong practitioner was invited to attend the ceremony and make a speech.

Dignitaries attending the ceremony included former President Bill Clinton, Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, U.S. Senator John Isakson, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, and numerous religious leaders. The affair was also attended by many of Dr. King's relatives.


Falun Dafa Association President Sen Yang pays tribute to Dr. King


Panoramic view of the congregation


Daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr is being interviewed

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr once said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." As a leader of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr exhausted all his efforts to fight for freedom in a peaceful and nonviolent manner. He was imprisoned and finally assassinated. His most famous speech was "I Have A Dream."

Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful resistance, shares many similarities with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s nonviolent resistance at the time. In his speech, Dr. Sen Yang said:

"I lived in China for 31 years and now in this country for 15 years. I love China and I love the people of China. I want them to be respected and live like human beings. I want them to enjoy the same inalienable rights that God has given to all his people, not only in the United States, but everywhere.

"I dream that all people in China will have freedom of thoughts and that they won't have to endure persecution (torture, illegal arrests and interrogation) because of their most deeply held thoughts and ideals.

"I dream that all people in China will have freedom of religion and that they won't be persecuted because of what they believe; and that they won't be sentenced to illegal prison terms or subjected to extra-judicial killing.

"I dream that Falun Gong practitioners in China can one day, walk to the public park and start to do the morning exercise without being beaten by the police."

The audience responded with a prolonged standing ovation. After the rally, many audience members, including government officials walked up to practitioners to shake hands and give them a hug. Some people said, "After listening to your stories, I cried. I'll pray for you." Some people said, "You must keep going. My heart is with you!" Some other people expressed their thanks for bringing up the topic of Falun Gong. Dr. King's youngest daughter, Bernice King said, "Thank you for coming here, I appreciated your speech. Your speech earned recognition from all. We will pray for China to enjoy freedom one day. Be firm in your belief, and stand up for freedom. We will be hand in hand with you. This day will come soon."

Some from the audience later recognized Dr. Yang at the airport, and said that they were honored to hear the stories about Falun Gong.

Atlanta's Fox 5 made a live broadcast of the event.



The following is a transcript of the speech:

I Too Have a Dream

Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Sen Yang, President, Mid-USA Falun Dafa Association

Ebenezer Baptist Church Horizon Sanctuary

Atlanta, Georgia

Jan. 21, 2008

President Clinton, Governor Huckabee, Senator Isakson, Mayor Franklin, and all honorable guests:

In 1992, I started my graduate study at Georgia Tech. I landed in Atlanta, a great city best known as the home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I am honored to call this great city my second home in honor of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And "Georgia is on my mind".

But when I first arrived, I knew little about Dr. King. I very much wanted to return to China. Everything was so unfamiliar to me. But then I noticed something I had never before experienced.

I noticed that people in this country could say what they think without being arrested by the thought police. I noticed that people went to church on Sundays and that all people were free to practice their religion. I never saw people being arrested for Bible study or for trying to be good and kind citizens of this country.

There was only one word that could describe my feeling: Freedom.

At first, I thought these freedoms were easily achieved in the United States. But then as I studied U.S. history, I learned about Martin Luther King Jr., one of the main leaders of the American civil rights movement. I read Dr. King's "I Have a Dream Speech," and started to have my own dream.

I talked with a friend in China. He asked me what greatest thing was in US. I told him it was "freedom" I enjoy the most. He replied: "You are rich and we are poor. We will chase after 'freedom' when we get more money." I told my friend: "You don't need to be rich to fight for the right to be free." I told him that Dr. King fought for the freedom not because he was rich, but because he had the heart.

I lived in China for 31 years and now in this country for 15 years. I love China and I love the people of China. I want them to be respected and live like human beings. I want them to enjoy the same inalienable rights that God has given to all his people, not only in the United States, but everywhere.

Inspired by Dr. King's "I Have a Dream Speech," I thank him for the sacrifices he endured to help all people in the United States become free. His life is an example for all people everywhere who have a dream of freedom, even me - a humble physicist happy to live as a free man in this country. I too have a dream.

I dream that all people in China will have freedom of thoughts and that they won't have to endure persecution (torture, illegal arrests and interrogation) because of their most deeply held thoughts and ideals.

I dream that all people in China will have freedom of religion and that they won't be persecuted because of what they believe; and that they won't be sentenced to illegal prison terms or subjected to extra judicial killing.

I dream that Falun Gong practitioners in China can one day, walk to the public park and start to do the morning exercise without being beaten by the police.

I have a dream that my daughter can return to China and will not be judged by her belief in Falun Gong, but by her character. And, as Martin Luther King Jr. said,

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Posting date: 1/23/2008
Chinese version available