Canadian Cities Honour World Falun Dafa Day With Flag-Raising Ceremonies

Cities across Canada are celebrating the 31st anniversary of World Falun Dafa Day, which falls on May 13, and the spiritual practice’s moral principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance with flag-raising ceremonies and the illumination of local landmarks.

Many of the events were attended by local politicians and other VIPs.

“Falun Dafa is good, Falun Dafa hao,” Conservative MP John Brassard for Barrie–Innisfil, said at a flag-raising ceremony in Barrie on May 13.

“This year in particular brings up even more importance to ‘truthfulness to compassion, and tolerance.’ We’re seeing threats in this country as a result of the Beijing communist regime. You know, people come to this country to escape persecution, they come here for religious freedom, they come here to be able to live their lives and to provide opportunity for their family. And so we have to remain diligent to those threats that we’re seeing in this country,” he said.

Brassard added: “On behalf of myself and the Leader of our Conservative Party of Canada, the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, it’s a great honour and privilege to be here today among you to celebrate Falun Dafa Day.”

Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall, who also spoke at the event, said Canada is “a beacon of light around the world, for freedom, for hope, for religious freedom, for opportunity.”

“Days like today will help tell all the residents who are walking around here that there is an issue that exists in terms of persecution of your followers. And it also says that an incredible group of people who follow truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance,” he said.

At least 16 cities and towns across the country are holding flag-raising ceremonies or light up landmarks in honour of the occasion.

At the flag-raising at city hall in Hamilton, Ontario, on May 13, city councillor Esther Pauls said she’s thankful Canada has religious freedom as some Falun Dafa practitioners who live here came to the country as refugees from China.

“These freedoms are extended to all Canadians, [including those] who engage in the spiritual practice of Falun Dafa, a cultivation practice guided by the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. I love that—compassion, truthfulness, that’s what it’s all about,” she said.

“So today, to the Falun Dafa community in Hamilton and around the world, we underscore our freedom of religious expression by raising the flag outside city hall, as well as lighting up the letters that spell Hamilton outside city hall in blue, yellow, and purple.”

On May 1, the Town of Milton, Ontario, raised the Falun Dafa flag outside town hall, with Mayor Gord Krantz proclaiming May as Falun Dafa Month.

“Falun Dafa has received worldwide recognition with its traditional Chinese self-improvement system that guides people to mental, moral & physical well being,” the Milton municipal government said on its official Twitter account.

Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is practised by millions of people in over 110 countries worldwide. The practice involves a set of five meditative exercises and moral teachings that emphasize improving one’s character. After its introduction in China on May 13, 1992, the practice grew rapidly largely due to its health benefits, and by 1999 it had an estimated 70 million to 100 million adherents.

Several cities and townships in Ontario have raised flags or lit up landmarks to mark Falun Dafa Day, including Amherstburg, Brock, Cornwall, Cambridge, Orangeville, Orillia, Scugog, Pembroke, and Hamilton. More cities in Ontario and others in British Columbia and Saskatchewan will follow in the coming week.

Falun Gong adherents in a number of cities in the United States, Australia, and Hong Kong are celebrating the anniversary with parades, dances, and traditional Chinese dance and music. Several cities in Canada also held parades and celebratory events ahead of May 13.

Although Falun Gong is practised worldwide, it remains banned in China by the authoritarian regime in Beijing. Former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin viewed Falun Gong’s popularity as a threat to the regime’s rule, and in July 1992 launched a persecution campaign with the intention of eradicating the practice. The campaign, which continues today, involves the arbitrary incarceration, torture, brainwashing, and sexual abuse of Falun Gong adherents, as well as the live harvesting of their organs to supply China’s lucrative transplant industry.

Michael Prue, mayor of Amherstburg and longtime advocate of Falun Gong, condemned the brutality of the CCP and expressed concerns about the regime extending repression to Canada.

“About 25 years ago, I became aware of what was happening to the Falun Gong in China, I became aware of what was happening and what the Chinese government was starting to do to persecute people who only believed in simple truth,” he said at the town’s flag-raising event on May 10.

“The world needs to know about this, and they need to know the brutality with which people who practice a simple faith in China were being treated,” he added. “One day, they will stop the persecution; one day, the world will know that [Falun Gong] is an effort [for] people to better themselves.”

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