Falun gong's annual parade was held in Chicago Chinatown on June 21. But many local businessmen did not like it, because the parade interrupted traffic and affected their businesses. Falun gong members also practiced exercise and protested in China Town Square. A number of practitioners conducted a sit-in protest in front of the Chinese Consulate General. One bystander commented that it was a clear violation of human rights to conducted a sit-in protest with kids. Pamphlets were distributed by Falun Gong. They claimed Falun Gong has a history of more than a thousand years. According to Master Li, the founder, Falun Gong was developed less than fifty years ago. In New York, a Falun Gong practitioner fought with a Chinese on street.
Falun Gong also bought a legal suit against Jiang Zemin, former President of the People's Republic of China, for his alleged wrongdoing in oppressing Falun Gong. The suit is based on the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act that allows suit against foreign officials or corporations for violation of conventions of international law or treaties in which the United States is a party. It is a question whether a foreign president who enjoys diplomatic immunity can be sued in an American court. The Department of Justice has inclined to oppose the suit. Writes Oscar Avila (The Chicago Tribune, June 23, 2003), "such lawsuits, officials say, jeopardize diplomatic relations with potential allies in the war on terrorism, and u.s. lawyers argue that American courts should not interfere in legal claims involving incidents that took place abroad." The top legal adviser in the Justice Department warned of the foreign policy implications against the president of a friendly foreign nation, reports Avila.