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Falun Gong controversy emerges with parade

By Alexander Dworkowitz

Visitors from the Bahamas, members of the Hindu Temple Society of North America and a Howard Beach group known as the Black Cowboys will march through Flushing Feb. 1 alongside Chinese and Korean groups in the giant multicultural celebration of the Lunar New Year.

But whether or not one controversial Chinese group will join the parade remains to be determined.

The Falun Gong, the exercise-based sect that has been banned in China, has applied to march in this year's ceremonies that bring in the year 4701 on the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Ram.

But festival organizers said the group's application has yet to be accepted and very well could be rejected when the organizing committee meets Thursday.

The Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, created a stir in last year's parade, which has become one of the borough's largest gatherings.

Although the group was part of the celebration in previous years, organizers last year voted to ban the sect from participating. Despite the decision, the Falun Gong marched at the end of the parade anyway.

Last year's change of heart by organizers was brought on by pressure from the Chinese government, Falun Gong members have contended. In the month before the 2002 parade, an advertisement urging parade organizers to reject the Falun Gong was taken out in the Chinese-language newspaper The World Journal, and Falun Gong members said they believed the Chinese consulate had paid for it.

At the time, officials at the consulate denied any involvement.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin has called the Falun Gong an “evil cult” and has outlawed it in his nation. Hundreds of practitioners have been jailed, tortured and even killed as a result, according to the human rights group Amnesty International.

After last year's controversy, Queens Falun Gong members worked to better their image, often distributing fliers about their group in downtown Flushing and appealing to the local press.

But the Falun Gong still has a negative reputation among many in the Chinese community.

“We think they break the rules every year,” said Linna Yu, a member of the organizing committee. “We don't want people to do political or religious things.”

Fred Fu, president of the Flushing Chinese Business Association and chairman of the parade committee, said he supported allowing the Falun Gong to march last year.

“It's a very tough decision,” said Fu, who did not want to say whether or not he endorsed the Falun Gong this year. “My job is to try to make this parade successful.”

Jianfeng Zhou, a politically active member of the Falun Gong, was troubled by the controversy surrounding her group.

“We are very welcome by the community, and we benefit the community tremendously, so why should we be excluded?” she asked. “A foreign government should not interfere in a local community. This interference … is totally opposite the American spirit.”

This year the parade is expected to be even larger than in the past. Nearly 3,000 people marched last year, and as many as 4,000 are expected to come this year, Fu estimated.

“Last year we only had six floats, but this year we have 14,” Fu said.

The parade was originally established in Flushing as a Chinese celebration. In 1998, Korean groups marched in the parade, and the event has become progressively more diverse since.

This year the Black Cowboys of Howard Beach are expected to join a group of men and women from the Bahamas and members of the Hindu Temple Society of North America, who took part in the parade last year.

The parade route was altered this year to run on Northern Boulevard, a street that is home to many Korean Americans.

The march will kick off at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 1, on Main Street and 37th Avenue.

Marchers will travel down Main Street to 39th Avenue, across to Prince Street and up to Roosevelt Avenue. They will continue on to Union Street, where they will head up to Northern Boulevard.

The parade will end in front of the Flushing Town Hall at 137-35 Northern Blvd.

Indoor events are slated to begin immediately after the march. Korean groups will perform inside the Flushing Town Hall, while Chinese groups will head to the Flushing Mall at 39th Avenue and Prince Street.

Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 141.