”Stand Together”: Kanadensiska parlamentsledamöter firar Falun Dafa-dagen och fördömer KKP:s inblandning mot Shen Yun | NTD

Now to a celebration marking a special anniversary. 34 years ago, on May 13th, the spiritual practice Falun Dafa was publicly introduced in China. As that anniversary approaches, events marking the day have been underway in cities across the world, including in Canada's capital city, Ottawa. While Falun Dafa is practiced worldwide, the celebrations take place against the backdrop of a brutal persecution in China under the Chinese Communist Party. Now let's go to NTD's Fiona Ji in Ottawa. A celebration of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance today on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada. Members of the Canadian Parliament have gathered to give their well wishes to the 34th annual World Falun Dafa Day. Welcome back to Parliament Hill. Thank you so much for joining us on this international World Falun Dafa Day. What you teach all of us, not only in Canada, but throughout the world, the values of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance are the three values that the world needs to live up. It's a real honour to be here to celebrate with you truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. These aren't just principles but values that help shape the future of this country. And I want to congratulate all of you for sharing your culture and your compassion with everyone around us. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient spiritual practice rooted in Buddhist traditions that was introduced to the public in 1992. It emphasizes improving one's moral character through three core principles that can be seen stitched across colourful banners on Parliament Hill. Truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. Today, people from over 100 different countries around the world practice Falun Dafa. Many say the practice has helped them become better people and overcome life's trials and tribulations. Practicing Falun Dafa for the past three years and it benefited my life significantly. It just empowered me to go through everything and then treat everyone with compassion. Despite being a peaceful practice, in 1999 the Chinese Communist Party began a brutal persecution of Falun Dafa that has continued to this day. But on Parliament Hill, Falun Dafa practitioners' belief in their faith is evident. Members of Parliament commending their resolve and saying that Canada must continue protecting freedom of religion at home and abroad. I admire your courage. I admire your tenacity. I admire your faith and I admire your resilience in ensuring that the Falun Dafa movement continues to grow, not just here in Canada, but around the world. The message of peace and love that Falun Dafa and Falun Gong brings to the world will never be squashed by Beijing. This is our country. These are our freedoms. We must stand together to defend them. The day was marked by vibrant displays of traditional Chinese culture. Drums resounded as the Tiangua marching band, composed entirely of Falun Dafa practitioners, played all original compositions on the grassy field of Parliament Hill. Meanwhile, young dancers performed classical Chinese dance pieces that brought enthusiastic applause from onlookers. The talented young performers told me what practicing Falun Dafa means to them. Practicing Falun Dafa makes me a better student and sister because whenever I have conflicts with my friend or they have conflicts with each other, I can comfort them. It makes me a better person because I can understand other people's emotion and be kinder to them. The benefits of Falun Dafa is that you gain more self-control when you learn about it because you, at one point, you can calm yourself down and see from other people's perspective. They even told me a little bit more about their dances. We were performing the Yi dance and this dance is like from authentic places in China. Our Mongolian dance is so it's from Mongolia. It's a lot of horse moves like or like this hand pose. It's about riding the horse. My favorite part about dancing is like you can express your feelings without telling anything. I like the dance because I can express emotions that I can't usually express in daily life. So were you happy today performing for everyone? Just very happy. And they all had one final thing to say. Happy World Falun Dafa Day. Happy World Falun Dafa Day. Happy World Falun Dafa Day. The day has been a bit overcast but spirits are high and smiles are bright as Falun Dafa practitioners gather here to celebrate a peaceful spiritual practice and religious freedom through music and dance. Reporting from Ottawa, Canada, Fiona Ji, NTD News.