CCP Influence Suspected as Falun Gong Excluded from NYC Parade

It's an annual tradition in New York City—the Chinese New Year’s parade in Chinatown. Yet this year not everyone is welcome. In past years Falun Gong practitioners were invited to join the parade, but not in 2012.

 

[Wenyi Wang, Falun Gong Practitioner]:

"When we went to inquire, they said they would not let us take part. The reason was vague and unclear. We felt this was very strange, but then we found out that the Chinese Consulate was joining in the parade. So the probable reason is very clear."

 

The Chinese regime has been persecuting the Chinese spiritual practice, Falun Gong since 1999. The regime has tortured over 3000 practitioners to death. In recent years the regime has been exerting it’s influence overseas. In London in 2011 a Falun Gong group was banned from holding a banner reading their name in a New Year’s parade, and now in New York they are barred from even taking part. Local Chinese suspect the Chinese regime’s influence. 

 

[Wong Yu-Chen, Chairman, Linsing Association]:

"Every year the New Year’s parade has invited a Falun Gong group to take part, and it has been very spectacular and very good. Why won't Chinatown accept them? That would be prejudice on the part of the organizing committee. It seems they have been politically pressured to not let Falun Gong join in. This is really sad, really bad. I really oppose this situation."

 

[Jack Eng, Chairman, Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association]:

"People should all celebrate the Lunar New Year together, this is important. People shouldn’t say we don’t like you, what do they fear? This is not a valid reason (for not letting them take part)."

 

[Eddie Chiu, Advisor, Linsing Association]:

"Chinatown belongs to us Chinese people, it is Chinese people’s project, especially at New Year. Most people’s opinion is that everyone should be able to take part. You cannot say that because of a certain reason, you can’t take part. That is wrong."

 

Falun Gong is practiced in more than 70 countries across the world, and the Chinese regime tries to block any information on the situation outside of China reaching the Mainland. Wenyi Wang suspects this is the reason behind the situation.

 

[Wenyi Wang, Falun Gong Practitioner]:

"They don’t dare to allow footage of Falun Gong being welcomed (in the West), spread to Mainland China, because they fear the truth. If people in the Mainland could really see these scenes, such a large group of Falun Gong practitioners taking part in a parade, so widely welcomed, the more than 10 years of lies spread since the persecution started would be instantly smashed."

 

The Chinese regime has been persecuting Falun Gong for 12 years, even though religious freedom is in theory protected under China’s Constitution. In 2010 a resolution condemning the persecution of Falun Gong in China passed in the US House of Representatives, 412 votes to 1.