From the Falun Dafa Association of New Zealand (Inc)

Contrary to what the Auckland Children's Christmas Parade Trust has stated in a media statement on 22 November 2007:
Falun Gong has been warmly received by organisers and the general public into many city parades throughout New Zealand, the only exception being Auckland.

• Falun Gong is neither a political group nor a sect, in fact, it is a spiritual group as evidenced by the fact that Amnesty International; Human Rights Watch, and the United States Department of State, all acknowledge that by definition Falun Gong is a spiritual group, and as a consequence Falun Gong cannot have a political agenda. In addition, standing up for human rights is never and should never be construed as being political, rather failure to stand up for human rights is always wrong.
• Falun Gong has consistently informed all parties that they will abide by the criteria of the Trust, one of those being the non-distribution of Falun Gong related materials and/or flyers.
• Falun Gong did not apply for entry into the parade five days before the actual event as indicated by the Trust, rather, they applied in July 8th of this year.

Falun Gong's only reason for wanting to be included in the Auckland Farmers' Santa Parade has been to share the exuberance and beauty of traditional Chinese culture and to entertain the public.

ENDS

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