NEW YORK—The sidewalks of the heart of Flushing, Queens, were packed on Feb. 10 as New Yorkers celebrated the Chinese New Year with a massive parade. Some 50 different groups participated, with floats and banners representing Falun Gong bringing up the rear.
“In China, if you saw this, you would have been arrested long ago,” said Zhang Yan, who moved to the United States from China for the freedom that is impossible under China’s ruling communist regime.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual meditation practice that most people in China have heard of. It teaches the three principles of truth, compassion, and forbearance, and its practitioners say it brings many mind-body-spirit benefits.
Falun Gong was first made public in the early 1990s, and in just a few years, 70 million to 100 million people had taken up the practice by census estimates. Then in 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a violent persecution against the practitioners, with officials believing they could quickly “eradicate” the practice. To this day, the persecution and CCP propaganda continues, but people all around the world practice Falun Gong.
Mr. Zhang said he was shocked when he first saw adherents of Falun Gong in such great numbers, proudly celebrating alongside fellow citizens.
“Falun Gong is a persecuted religion in China,” he explained. “It was the first time I saw such a scene of Falun Gong, in this honorable parade. I was very shocked and excited … we must be proud of it.”
“We are a generation that has been persecuted in China, including Falun Gong,” Mr. Zhang added. He explained that in China, “the CCP just confuses us and brainwashes us.” The authoritarian regime convinced great parts of the populace that the practice was instead a cult, he said, and it wasn’t until he heard other perspectives “that I knew [the CCP] were also lying.”
“This kind of cruel suppression further highlights the authoritarian cruelty of the CCP,” Mr. Zhang said. “[Falun Gong] teaches truth, compassion, and forbearance; if [the CCP] can suppress it, it shows how cruel the system is, what a sharp contrast.”
After leaving China, he learned the truth about Falun Gong and the CCP’s persecution. Today, he believes the steadfast faith of Falun Gong adherents in China has become a source of hope for Chinese people who wish to free themselves from the CCP.
“Falun Gong members have really worked hard. Not only are they doing it for their own beliefs, they have brought blessings to the people of China. This is the blessing that many people have received from seeing Falun Gong,” he said. “If all Chinese people have this belief [truth, compassion, forbearance], society will at least be peaceful and loving. Once a person has faith, he has a bottom line in everything he does.”
But seeing the Falun Gong adherents participate in the parade, Mr. Zhang said that he felt deeply that the United States was truly a place of freedom and human rights.
Other Chinese watching the parade shared similar thoughts to Mr. Zhang’s, saying that it would be impossible to see a parade like this in China, but that Falun Gong gave them hope for the future.
Li Qing said he came to the United States only one year ago. Before that, he had once been illegally detained for being a political dissident, and met two Falun Gong practitioners who were also detained.
“I think it is of great significance,” he said of the large populations of people who have taken up the practice. “This truth, compassion, forbearance is good for the United States, for the whole world.”
Ten years ago, Mr. Li shared, he learned that the CCP was harvesting organs from live Falun Gong practitioners who were illegally detained. According to human rights groups, the CCP has not ceased but increased these crimes against humanity.
“The only thing that hurts is that those Falun Gong practitioners have sacrificed their lives, and it is really heartbreaking. I feel relieved to see such people [here],” he said.
Mr. Du, who only recently came to New York from China, said that in China, “we no longer have traditional culture.”
“But you can find it abroad,” he said, and he saw it in Falun Gong’s participation in the parade. “Yes, this is Chinese traditional culture.”
Year of the Dragon
New York officials from several levels of government were also in attendance, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul presented proclamations to the local organizations, declaring the Lunar New Year an official school holiday.
“This is the year of the dragon—intelligence, integrity, tenacity, and courage—above all, and if nothing else, we are courageous here in New York,” Ms. Hochul said.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams was also present to congratulate the Flushing associations and celebrate the Lunar New Year, marking the first time Ms. Hochul and Mr. Adams have attended the Flushing parade together.
The parade was led by the New York City Police Department and its military band, and included dozens of New York City institutions that brought dragon and lion dance teams, colorful floats, and other festive teams and banners.
The Epoch Times and its sister media NTD were also participants in the parade.
Laura Lin and Sarah Lu contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
