(Minghui News, July 20, 2000) At the one-year anniversary of the suppression of Falun Gong in China, about 500 Falun Dafa practitioners gathered in Washington DC today and started a four-day event, which is part of the worldwide commemorative activities. The event in DC is to call for support for the practitioners who are still under persecution in China. Practitioners gather here also to seek a peaceful resolution of Falun Gong crisis and to tell the truth to people.
Today is the first day of the four-day event. Practitioners held large-scale practice in front of the Chinese Embassy and Lincoln Memorial throughout the day. In the evening, practitioners held a candlelight vigil in memory of the practitioners who have been tortured to death.
In front of the Chinese Embassy, practitioners held up dozens of banners in Chinese and English, which say "Falun Dafa -- Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance", "Falun Dafa is Righteous Teaching", "Release the Arrested Practitioners in China", "For Those Who Sacrificed Their Lives for Their Belief", "4-25 Zhongnanhai Appeal Was Lawful, Valid and Peaceful". Many drivers that were passing by asked for information enthusiastically and showed their strong support for Falun Gong. Reporters from both Chinese and Western media came to report about the event and interviewed practitioners.
Practitioners are from across the United States, Canada, France, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan. Most noticeably are the Taiwan practitioners who, as usual, travel a long way to participate in large-scale events around the world. This time more than 160 of them came to DC.
Photoes of the Falun Gong press conference in Washington, D.C. : 1 2
