(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners were invited to participate in the Maple Hill Holiday Parade in Kalamazoo on November 18, 2023. They were commended by the organizers, local officials, and spectators.
Practitioners participated in the Male Hill Holiday Parade on November 18, 2023
Located in southwest Michigan, Kalamazoo is about two hours’ drive from the greater Detroit area.
Practitioners performed Chinese Tang drums, and spectators along the way greeted them with applause while many took photos and videos.
Organizer: Audience Enjoys the Practitioners’ Performance
Organizer Abby VandenBerg
Abby VandenBerg, one of the parade organizers, said that this was an important event in Kalamazoo and was even written into the city’s charter. Over a hundred organizations participated this year, over 30,000 people lined the parade route, and over 100,000 viewers watched the live TV broadcast.
She said this year’s theme was to ring the bell for the upcoming Thanksgiving Day, “Happy Thanksgiving everyone!” Ms. VandenBerg said.
“This year, Falun Dafa practitioners in Michigan were invited to participate in this parade for the first time. They brought a drum troupe and beautiful costumes. We are honored that they’ve participated, and audiences on both sides of the road also enjoyed their performance,” she said.
Congressman: I Hope Everyone Learns More About Falun Dafa
Congressman Bill Huizenga and his son
Congressman Bill Huizenga of Michigan said he was happy to see Falun Dafa practitioners participating in the traditional holiday parade in Kalamazoo. He said he’s paid attention to Falun Dafa and knows about the long-term persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime.
He said that a country needs freedom of religious belief, which is also one of the cornerstones of the founding of the United States. He said that people should be able to follow their own beliefs according to their own wishes, whether they are Falun Dafa practitioners, Uyghurs, or others (referring to groups that are persecuted in China).
Congressman Huizenga encouraged practitioners to persevere in raising awareness to people so that more people learn about the spiritual practice and the CCP’s persecution. He said that in the United States, you have a unique and favorable environment - Falun Dafa’s voice can be heard. He said that the newspaper run by Falun Gong practitioners or anyone who wants to convey this information can raise awareness. He hoped everyone can learn more about this practice.
Vice Mayor: Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance Is Our Spiritual Goal
Vice Mayor Jean Hess (left) and City Commissioner Chris Praedel (right)
Jean Hess, Vice Mayor of Kalamazoo City, said, “This (parade) is for the children. This is all for the spirit of the holiday-that is, hope, peace, love, happiness and gratitude.”
Hess said that she was happy to see the Falun Dafa group come from the Detroit area to participate in the holiday parade. She also liked the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance very much, “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are definitely the spirit of Kalamazoo. This (Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance) is also the goal that the City Commission is committed to creating in Kalamazoo. We must have patience and sincerity, we must care about and tolerate each other. This is definitely good for us, this will be a good community, and a community that encourages and helps each other.”
City Commissioner: People Can Benefit From Falun Dafa’s Principles
Chris Praedel is a Kalamazoo City Commissioner. He said, “I think events like this bring people together to celebrate the holidays. People can have a good time together and it brings out the best in the community. I hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday.”
After learning about Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, Praedel said the words were beautiful and he liked them. He said, “This is exactly what our community needs. A good community should really have these qualities. People will benefit greatly from these three words.”
Audience Members Like the Performance
Nicole (left) and sister Carmina Bryant (right)
Nicole is a financial analyst. She traveled from Chicago to visit her sister Carmina. The sisters brought their children that day and so they could enjoy the parade. When the Falun Dafa group passed by, Bryant took photos with her mobile phone and Nicole held a camera to take photos of the Tang drum performance.
Nicole said that the Falun Dafa group’s performance was great and she enjoyed it very much. When she saw practitioners holding a banner with the words “Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance,” she said, “I like the principles. I think everyone should follow these principles every day.”
Bryant is an elementary school teacher. This was her first time hearing about Falun Dafa and the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. “They look really nice and I am interested in their drums. I am impressed with them,” she said.
Stacy Carlson
Stacy Carlson, a local high school teacher, moved to Kalamazoo from the greater Detroit area more than two decades ago. When she saw the Tang drum team she said it was, “very exciting and interesting.” After learning about Falun Dafa and the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, she said, “I think this is exactly what our world needs now.”
When she learned that the practitioners were being illegally persecuted by the CCP in China, she said, “This is unfortunate. This is really very unfortunate.” She wanted to know more about Falun Dafa.
Background: What Is Falun Dafa and Why Is the CCP Persecuting It?
Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Millions of people who have embraced the teachings, which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, and have learned the five exercises, have experienced improved health and well-being.
Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology and on July 20, 1999, he issued an order to eradicate the practice.
Under Jiang’s personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organization with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.
Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 24 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. Countless practitioners have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.
There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply China’s organ transplant industry.
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