Falun Gong members complained for not included in the Chinatown parade on February 17, due to alleged Chinese government pressure. The parade was organized by the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. Both the Consulate-General and the Association denied the charges. Elaine Sit, the legal adviser for the Association stated that to link the Association with the Chinese consulate-General was the joke of the century. As already explained by Stephen Qang, the Association' president, Falun Gong is a political movement; the Association will not be involved in Chinese politics. Quan further stated that we are Americans and we are interested in American politics. According to businessmen in Chinatown, the business community does not like Falun Gong protests, because they Chinatown business. Tien Liu, an Association member, who voted against participation of Falun Gong in the parade, said that 90 percent of the Association members is Taiwanese; they are unlikely subject to the pressure of the Chinese Consulate-General. In New York, Falun Gong was also barred from participating in Chinatown parade.