Rogers Parade Comm. says No to Vancouver Falun Gong Float

New Zealand Falun Gong practitioners are not the only ones who have been denied entry from various community parades! Take a look to see what's happening in Vancouver with their award winning float...and the Rogers Santa Claus Parade...Now where is the Christmas spirit I ask you?

October 30, 2007

Rogers Santa Parade Committee
Suite 200, 55 Water Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 1A1
Fax: 604-689-1808

Dear Rogers Santa Parade Committee Members:

It is with much distress that we learned recently that our application for the Rogers Christmas parade in Vancouver has been rejected this year. Needless to say, we are extremely saddened to lose such a great opportunity to achieve our goal of giving our best back to the community.

We recall that last year, our Falun Dafa Grand Ship float was featured as one of the symbols of the parade on CTV as they repeatedly showed our float as part of their advertisements prior to the official TV broadcast. We think that this fascinating float must have been highly acclaimed by many TV viewers to have been picked as a sneak preview of the parade. Thus, we wonder how it could be denied entry this year and would appreciate some clarification in this respect.

It is noteworthy that our Falun Dafa Grand Ship has appeared in major Pacific Northwest Parades in the last few years. To date, it has won two awards, namely:

• Best Workmanship Award in 2007 Seattle Seafair Torchlight parade;

• 3rd place in Non Commercial Entry in the 2007 Portland Oregon Roseball Starlight parade

Our beautiful dancers, dynamic drummers and the magnificent boat would be sure to bring vibrant colour, uniqueness and excitement to the cortege of the Santa parade again this year. Last year our float was adorned with many festive decorations—we had two giant wreaths on the bow of the boat, and hand-made Christmas bows on the front and back with garlands on the sail and mast. Please rest assured that we would be prepared to enhance the Christmas theme even more this year!

Throughout the world, Falun Dafa is dedicated to sharing their heritage by showcasing the grace and beauty of the ancient Chinese dynasties and traditions by participating in community events such as the Rogers Christmas parade that integrates the Christmas celebration with Canadian multiculturalism. We take great pride in preparing for these special occasions and greatly enjoy their multicultural aspects.

Consequently, participating in the Rogers Santa Claus Parade in the past has brought us much joy and serenity thus enabling us to give back to society. We have met so many wonderful people and warmly remember the many happy faces along the parade route, particularly the kids’ eyes beaming with happiness as they greeted us.

For these reasons, we ask you to reconsider your decision. We are looking forward to hearing from you soon and we would be pleased to further discuss our request for a review. We appreciate your good work in serving the community and hope that you can continue to do so by making ubiquitous integrity a golden rule.

Sincerely,

Falun Dafa Association of Canada, Vancouver Chapter

CC:

Chuck van der Lee
President and CEO
Rogers Video
Unit # 100 10991 Shellbridge Way, Richmond, B.C. V6X 3C6
Telephone: (604) 270-9200

Michael van der Lee
VP, Distribution Sales, BC
Rogers Wireless Communications Inc.
1600-4710 Kingsway
Burnaby BC V5H 4M5

Paul Fisher
Executive Vice President,
Rogers Broadcasting Ltd.
British Columbia