On June 2nd, 2007, the annual "Night of Newark" event was held on Main Street in the city of Newark, Delaware, USA. This was the seventh year that Falun Gong practitioners were invited to demonstrate the five sets of exercises at the event. This year a lot of people learned the exercises on site.
|A group of boys learning Falun Gong exercises|
|A Falun Dafa practitioner passing out fliers|
|People learning Falun Gong exercises|
Delaware is a small state located among Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and is home to many large corporations. "Night of Newark" is the biggest event of the year. It is estimated that about 20,000 to 30,000 people, including those from the neighbouring three states, play and shop at the event. This year, it was the 22nd annual "Night of Newark."
The University of Delaware is in this city too. Just like any other university in America, it has many international students, including those from China and Taiwan. Community events like "Night of Newark" provide a good opportunity for students and the local community to get to know each others' cultures.
The local practitioners arrived early to set up their booth and pass out truth-clarification fliers. One practitioner brought a TV from home to play video programmes about Falun Gong. Another practitioner demonstrated the exercises beside the booth and this attracted many passersby. Some watched from the side, some approached to ask for more information and some joined the group to learn the exercises on site. Many local residents signed up for the next free exercise teaching class.
Many people liked very much the paper lotus flowers that practitioners made. Children recited carefully, following the practitioners - "Falun Dafa is great!"
A westerner brought his family to the Falun Gong booth and explained to them, "This is the group I told you about before. The kind people in China were killed and their organs harvested by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)." He told one practitioner that he had read many reports about the CCP's live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners in China. He encouraged the practitioners to continue their efforts to stop the CCP's crime immediately.
Two Chinese looked at the Falun Gong booth and the westerners learning the exercises from a distance. Perhaps they only arrived in America a short time ago. A western practitioner walked over to them and gave them some truth-clarification materials and a paper lotus flower. They willingly accepted them and thanked the practitioner.
At nightfall, many people were still learning the Falun Gong exercises.