Judge rules against Falun Gong in San Francisco parade flap
法官判“舊金山游行案”法輪功敗訴
TERENCE CHEA
Associated Press
美聯(lián)社
SAN FRANCISCO - Followers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement did not suffer discrimination when the group was barred from marching in a Chinese New Year Parade that received city funding, a judge ruled Wednesday.
一位法官星期三裁定，接受政府資助的中國新年游行活動(dòng)拒絕法輪功練習(xí)者參加并非是對(duì)法輪功精神組織的歧視。
Superior Court Judge Patrick Mahoney sided with the city Human Rights Commission's conclusion that the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was within its rights to exclude Falun Gong, which is banned in China. Mahoney issued a tentative ruling Tuesday, but made it final Wednesday after hearing arguments from attorneys on both sides.
高級(jí)法院法官patrick Mahoney支持城市人權(quán)委員會(huì)做出的調(diào)查結(jié)論，認(rèn)為中國商會(huì)拒絕法輪功參與游行活動(dòng)在其權(quán)限之內(nèi)。他曾在周二做出初步裁定，但在聽取了雙方辯論后于周三作出了最后裁定。
The city contributes $77,000 of the parade's more than $800,000 budget along with police protection. This year's procession, which celebrates the Year of the Pig, is scheduled for March 3 in downtown San Francisco.
為了慶祝中國豬年的到來，這次耗資八十萬美金的游行將于三月三號(hào)在舊金山市中心舉辦。市政府出資七萬七千美金，并提供活動(dòng)的安全保障。
The plaintiffs, who had sought to block the city from funding the annual extravaganza, said they plan to appeal the ruling.
原告本希望能阻止政府資助這個(gè)一年一度的盛會(huì)?，F(xiàn)在，他們表示上訴。
Attorneys for Falun Gong had argued that once a private group accepts government money for an event, it loses its right to choose who can participate.
法輪功辯護(hù)律師morton sklar認(rèn)為，一旦私人社團(tuán)活動(dòng)接受政府資助，它將失去選擇參與者的權(quán)力。
"Free speech is not an excuse to discriminate when government action or funding is involved," said plaintiff attorney Morton Sklar.
他還說：“當(dāng)涉及政府行為或資助時(shí)，言論將不能成為歧視的借口。”
Attorneys for San Francisco said cultural events are by nature exclusive to the culture they represent, and the city law allows organizers to select participants.
但舊金山市政府的辯護(hù)律師Wayne Snodgrass認(rèn)為,文化活動(dòng)的基本特征就是表現(xiàn)它代表的文化,城市法規(guī)并不禁止此類活動(dòng)的舉辦者選擇參與人員.
The city, which provides grants to a variety of artistic and cultural events, "doesn't control the ability of a grant recipient to decide who's going to participate in an expressive activity," said attorney Wayne Snodgrass.
政府在批準(zhǔn)各類藝術(shù)和文化活動(dòng)的同時(shí),"并不對(duì)得到批復(fù)的承辦人決定由誰參與活動(dòng)給予限制"
The business group has rejected Falun Gong's request to participate in this year's parade after excluding them last year, claiming practitioners previously violated the parade's ban on political activity when they handed out anti-China leaflets.
這是繼去年之后法輪功第二次被拒絕參與新年游行,理由是法輪功練習(xí)者曾違反了此類游行禁止政治活動(dòng)的原則,在游行過程中散發(fā)反中國資料.
Practitioners allege that local Chinese businessmen are bowing to pressure from the Chinese government, which considers Falun Gong a dangerous cult and has banned the group. They note that Chinese Consulate General Peng Keyu sits on the chamber's board.
法輪功練習(xí)者聲稱，這是當(dāng)?shù)厝A商迫于中國政府壓力的結(jié)果。因?yàn)橹袊罱狗ㄝ喒?，并認(rèn)定其為邪教。他們還指出，中國總領(lǐng)事Peng Keyu也是中華商會(huì)的成員。
"We're trying to protect our fundamental human rights," said Falun Gong spokeswoman Sherry Zhang. "We don't want to be separated from the rest of the Chinese community."
“我們在維護(hù)自身的基本人權(quán)?！狈ㄝ喒Πl(fā)言人Sherry Zhang說道：“我們并不愿從中國社區(qū)被分離出來?！?br>
Falun Gong, which mixes elements of Buddhism, Taoism and traditional Chinese thought with meditation and simple exercises, in recent years has been also excluded from lunar new year parades in Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California.
作為一個(gè)混合了佛教，道教和中國傳統(tǒng)冥想及打坐的團(tuán)體，法輪功在最近的幾年中連續(xù)被洛杉磯市和南加州的San Gabriel Valley市拒絕參與農(nóng)歷新年游行活動(dòng)。
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynewsews/local/states/californiaorthern_california/16697593.htm