United Kingdom: Practitioners Take Part in the Annual New Year's Day Parade in London

In what has now become an annual tradition, Falun Gong practitioners participated in London's 22nd New Year's Day Parade. This year, the parade organizers had predicted crowds of 500,000 and more than 10,000 participants from twenty countries.

As Big Ben struck midday, the parade began, traversing a two-mile route, and passing many of London's great historical sites, from Parliament Square in Westminster, along Whitehall to Trafalgar Square and on to Pall Mall, through Piccadilly Circus and on to Piccadilly.

Live television coverage of the parade was broadcast around the world, and was expected to be seen by even more people than the previous year, when the parade reached a TV audience of more than 200 million.

Falun Gong practitioners brought a marching band, a float with demonstrations of the Falun Gong exercises, fan dancers and a float promoting the Divine Performing Arts show.

Thousands of leaflets about Falun Gong and handmade paper lotus flowers were handed out to the crowds along the route as practitioners and spectators wished each other a happy New Year.

The Parade announcers along the route commented on the colourfulness and beauty of the Falun Gong entry and graciously thanked the practitioners for their participation in each year's parade.

Finland: Calling for an End to the Persecution in China

On January 5, 2008, the cold winter wind did not stop Falun Gong practitioners in Helsinki. As usual, because there are a large number of people present on the weekends, the practitioners went to the central railway station to raise awareness about the evil nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which persecutes Falun Gong.

Finland has a population of over five million, and the capital city of Helsinki has about 500,000 inhabitants. Rarely do the people gather together in huge numbers. Practitioners started raising awareness about this issue in 2000. Since then, they have made use of all kinds of opportunities--exhibitions, city parks and busy streets in the busy summer tourist season, in the grand hall connecting the subway and the train station, the central railway station, and other wintertime community activities--to demonstrate the peaceful exercises of Falun Gong and its lofty principles of Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance to the Finnish people. At the same time, they expose the facts of the CCP persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China that has been going on since July 20, 1999. To awaken people's conscience and compassion, they appeal to people to help stop this brutal persecution.

Practitioner Mrs. Jiang said, "Minghui.net just revealed that, in 2007, it was documented that150 Falun Gong practitioners in China were persecuted to death. Since the persecution began on July 20, 1999, the CCP and Jiang's faction has killed at least 3,121 mainland Falun Gong practitioners. As recently as December 2007, it was confirmed that another 11 practitioners were persecuted to death.

"This is merely the tip of the persecution iceberg. Great numbers of Falun Gong practitioners are missing, and the CCP is known to harvest organs from living practitioners for profit. That facts are still being covered up in China by the CCP's strict information blockade.

"This persecution has continued for eight and a half years. The CCP authorities still continue to persecute the practitioners who believe in 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.'

Mr. Wang, another practitioner, said that when he saw a handicapped Fin in a wheelchair come to sign the petition of support on his own initiative, he heard a woman with him ask, "What is this?" The man in the wheelchair explained to her, "This is Falun Gong; this is a group of people who have their own beliefs but are persecuted by the CCP regime, just like Hitler killed the Jews during World War II." After she heard this, the woman also went forward and signed the petition.

Falun Dafa Association President's Speech at Martin Luther King Commemorative Ceremony: "I Too Have a Dream!"

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.

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 non-violent 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 non-violent 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!"

Germany: "It's Happening So Quickly. The Number of Withdrawals from the Party Needs to Be Updated Again."

On January 20, 2008, when Falun Gong practitioners in front of the Chinese Consulate in Munich were setting up banners, one practitioner said emotionally, "It's happening so quickly. The number of withdrawals from the Party needs to be updated again." Just two weeks ago, when the practitioners held a rally here to support the withdrawals from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations, the number of people who had withdrawn stood at thirty million. During the two-week period, between thirty to fifty thousand people had quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations every day.

The mild weather meant a lot of people going outdoors. Many of them stopped to read the banners outside the Chinese Consulate: "Support thirty-one million people who quit the CCP", "Chinese Communist regime harvests organs from living Falun Gong practitioners" and others. There was also an operating table simulating the organ harvesting from living people. People stopped to read the display boards and talk to the Falun Gong practitioners.

Falun Gong practitioner Miller said that through talking to people, he found that many people are already aware of the CCP's crimes. Some saw the protests at the Chinese Consulate before, while others learned about the persecution from the media. Some people have relatives and friends working in China or dealing with China. Some people said that they would let their friends know about the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong, and many people signed a petition calling for an end to the CCP's atrocities.

A businessman who owns a joint venture in China happened to pass by. When a practitioner talked to him, he was quite unfriendly at the beginning and stressed that he felt China is quite good. After an in-depth discussion with Miller, he thanked the practitioner sincerely for informing him about the persecution of Falun Gong. A cameraman working for a TV station said that his colleague is making a film in collaboration with China. He said that he must tell his colleague about the persecution. An elderly gentleman asked for a blank petition form so that his family and friends could sign it to protest the persecution of Falun Gong.

A couple examined the display boards carefully. When a practitioner invited them to sign the petition, the lady said that they were still considering it. They agreed that the persecution is extremely brutal, but they wanted to learn first what Falun Gong is and why the Chinese Communist regime wants to persecute Falun Gong. Practitioners told them that Falun Gong is a cultivation way following the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" and teaches people to be good. Practitioners also told them that Falun Gong exercises are taught free of charge around the world. After hearing this, the lady became very interested because she was attending a Qigong class and it was very expensive. Practitioners told them that because Falun Gong follows the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance", it is completely incompatible with the Chinese Communist Party's wicked nature. That's why it is persecuted by the Chinese Communist regime.

When the practitioners talked to them about the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and about the evil nature of the Communist Party, the couple nodded in agreement. The husband thought that out of economic interest, the German government turns a blind eye to the persecution. One Falun Gong practitioner said that in China, often people would crowd around, watching a crime take place and not doing anything to stop it. So when various governments pretend not to hear and see the Chinese Communist regime's atrocities, it is no different. So in the eyes of divine beings, what would the future hold for such nations and people? The couple agreed with the practitioner's point. Their son works in China, and they asked for a copy of Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party to give to him. They ended up signing the petition and wishing the practitioners well.