Spring has arrived. Heaven and Earth are jubelant, all things rejuvenated. The apricot blossoms. The firecrackers lit cheerfully. People wish one another happiness and success, in both spiritual and worldly life. In God’s infinite grace, may this Lunar New Year mark the begin of an era of peace and happiness and humanity’s unyielding determination to embrace all beings with love and respect. We now invite you to celebrate with us this New Year through bright and uplifting songs. According to Aulacese legend, the Kitchen God reports to the Jade Emperor on the 23rd day of the last lunar month every year about how things stand on Earth. The Kitchen God is especially delighted this year, witnessing people everywhere opting for the compassionate vegan lifestyle and also practicing spiritually. We now invite you to enjoy a short play, performed by our Association members, entitled “The Kitchen God's Best Year!”

Our next guest is the Emmy Award-winning singer-songwriter, Faith Rivera. She has perfected the art of using lyrics and melodies to heal the heart and lift the spirit. She couldn’t be here in person, but she still wanted to perform for us via video. “Supreme Master, thank You for being such a force for good, a force for love, a force for light in this world and for inviting all of us to join You. Enjoy this song.” Academy Award nominee Stuart Sender is a brilliant documentary filmmaker whose work has taken him around the world as he explores important subjects like human rights and climate change. “We face a future where there is a real prospect that if we fail the Earth, we fail humanity. So we have to confront the challenges we face. This is a call to action.” We look forward to a future in which all humans live in harmony with nature and the animals.

Katie McMahon’s exquisite soprano voice has been heard around the world when she was the lead vocalist of the hugely successful show “Riverdance.” We also had the privilege of watching her represent her Irish heritage as a star in “Loving the Silent Tears.” Here to enchant us, Katie McMahon! “I’m just going to say how I have enjoyed being part of this lovely evening.” “I’m just going to sing a very short Irish unaccompanied song for you now called ‘Here’s a Health to the Company.’ And this is a wish of health and joy and love for all of you here.” Beautiful inside and out, Trina Parks dances, acts, sings and inspires. She is perhaps best known as the first African American actress in a James Bond film. Ms. Parks has also been a proud vegetarian and vegan for over 30 years. “Thank you so much for your praise and your love. And keep your love going. So, I can do this song ‘Believe in Yourself.’ I’m going to dedicate to You, Master Ching Hai.”

Mr. Paterson will kindly give his remarks and introduce his husband, the gifted singer-songwriter René Lamontagne, for a special performance. Mr. Paterson, welcome！“I want to say that it was such a pleasure to direct ‘Loving the Silent Tears’ because Your beautiful words filled us all with such inspiration that we enjoyed every single moment. It was hard work, but every time we heard the words that You sent to us that we got to play with and create with, it just took us to another level, it took us to a special place. Not only what You do with the world, but what You did with us. And I thank You for that from the bottom of my heart. From the time we got off the plane all we’ve experienced is love and it’s an exceptional kind of love. it’s a love that knows no boundaries or borders or color or race or labels, or nationalities. ” Wonderful. Thank you. Such a catchy and beautiful song.

Our next guest is a phenomenal pioneering Korean pop star and talented actor, with fans all over the world. Let’s put our hands together for Brian Joo. “Yes, we’re at a good event today, and we’re all here with the same mind, the hope and love. So thank You once again, Supreme Master.” Please welcome Elise Morris. She is so kind to share her talents with us today. The lovely Fabiana Passoni is our next guest. “I am so thrilled; I am so happy to be back among you to be part of this special, friendly gathering. And I thank you, Supreme Master Ching Hai, so much, for giving me the opportunity to learn, to live and to love. I will be forever overwhelmed with the beauty of Your message and with the friendships I have made with everyone along the way. Your eyes, Your ears reside in my heart.”

Next up, Mark Janicello, the multi-talented artist and acclaimed actor, singer, author, director, poet, painter and lyricist. We all recognize him as representing Italy in “Loving the Silent Tears.” Please welcome Mark Janicello. This is my song from “Loving the Silent Tears.” “Initiation,” please. “Your Light is reflected in everyone here. It grows, it magnifies, it touches all of us and unites all of us. What You have done for me, I will bring to the rest of the world. I have never met You before. But I feel I have known You forever.” And this last song before I say goodbye to you is the love theme from “The Finellis.” It’s called “Love Will Never Die.” “I will take your hand. You'll be in my heart. Love will never die. Because you're the one for me.”

Our next artist is one of Âu Lạc’s, also known as Vietnam’s most beloved stars who has earned many awards at home and internationally. She’s also a principal cast member of “Loving the Silent Tears: The Musical,” and is one of our Association members. Hồ Quỳnh Hương! “We thank You, Master. All of these friends are vegan, and disciples of Master. And I think there is one thing that makes me the happiest in this life, and makes my life beautiful and meaningful, that is because I am Your disciple. I am very proud of that. And that is my source of life. I thank You for Your presence in my life. Thank You, Master!” “Love you. And you're beautiful. She has number one discs in Âu Lạc (Vietnam), and awarded by PETA sexy, sexiest Vegetarian celebrity something, some year.”

(Filippa Giordano) “So, I want to sing for You tonight some European amazing piece from ‘Carmen’ Bizet.” “Let me tell you the story about me and this amazing woman whom I had the privilege to meet. When I was in Cancún, 10 years ago, I was doing my show in Cancún, a public show, and I received an invitation. I didn’t know You at that time. But that day when I decided to become vegetarian was because of You when I met You. And it’s been hard in Mexico, let me tell you that. But I’m promoting, promoting, promoting everywhere that there are so many things we can do for the planet. And it’s not only about our health and the animals, it’s the whole thing that works.” “And tonight, I want to sing one of the songs with a vegetarian, historical legend virtually on a video.” “One more time before I say goodbye with the last song, thank you for all. If you know it, you just follow me with “Funiculì, Funiculà.”

We just heard angels sing today. So, so beautiful. Let’s give Giorgia Fumanti another grateful round of applause. “I’ve seen Your art and I’ve seen Your work and I’ve seen Your heart. And of all the three, I like the heart the best. There’s warmth and love and humanity.” Please welcome all the way from Mexico, Filippa Giordano. “Oh, You look so beautiful. You are so fashionable. Everybody says all sorts of things to You, but let me tell You, I love the way You dress and Your head and everything. That’s so unique because when you’re spiritual, you can be fashionable, right? That’s what I like. So we don't have to be shy of showing that we can have a deep heart, then we can sing and dedicate everything to God. (right.) Your staff is amazing. They take care of us and everything. They express love in every detail, that comes from the heart, that comes from the way they stare at us. It’s really so beautiful.”

Lionel Friedberg is an Emmy Award-winning film maker and a New York Times bestselling author with a special interest in environmental topics, human rights and animal welfare issues. We've had the pleasure of working with Mr. Friedberg many times. And now he'll share some remarks. "I must say that the positivity though and the love in this room today is overwhelmingly palpable. You can feel it; you can see it; it's around everywhere." Our next performer is renowned Italian soprano, Giorgia Fumanti, who is based in Montreal, Canada. Her celestial voice has been heard on the biggest stages around the globe and in two of our Association's past concerts. Let us welcome her to the stage. "Praised be the Providence! Thanks to Earth and Heavens, To invisible and visible beings. For the grace bestowed upon Supreme Master Television. May this forever be blessed, To serve the world for peace and happiness."

As 2020 is not just any new year, but one that marks the beginning of a glorious era. Haven’t you heard the greatest news in the history of Earth revealed by Supreme Master Ching Hai on November 24, 2019? “Maya is gone! The negative force is also gone. And the force of karma is gone! Thanks all the Godses, all the Universal Beings, Who put all Their power together；otherwise, it won't work. Oh, endless of beings that you cannot even see how many, they're just jumping and crying, happy, very much.” So you see, we have all the reasons to celebrate for better and brighter days to come for all beings on Earth. Please join our Association members for a grand celebration! First our brothers and sisters from Bali, Indonesia will present a traditional song and dance entitled “Greet the Golden Age.” Finally, our Nepalese brothers will play a piece of traditional music called “Auspicious Tune” dedicated to this special New Year. Happy New Year! Vegan world will be!

We have heard in the first two segments, 2019 has been a huge year for veganism, with rapid growth reported across the world. In South America, citizens of Chile are also working to make the world a better, more eco-conscious place. We are honored to have the Mayor of Curacavi, the Honorable Juan Pablo Barros, speak about what encouraged him to make the decision to reduce the use of plastic bags here in Curacavi. "We saw that there were initiatives to reduce or eliminate the use of plastic bags in other communities in the south of our country that were very interesting initiatives. I think it is everyone’s responsibility to protect that environment." We now welcome Professor Dr. Lee Sung-Choon, who is an expert on unification and speaks about the wonderful progress that has been made in inter-Korean relations. "Recently, there were a total of three unprecedented inter-Korea summit meetings, beginning with last year’s historic Panmunjeom Korea summit meeting. And gave hope to the world citizens who hope for peace. At the macro level, constant progress is being made for peace. Perfect peace on the Korean Peninsula will come."

Today, we begin by travelling to Nepal. Here, the Gadhimai Festival ritual has traditionally resulted in the sacrificial loss of life for countless innocent animals. But compassionate and heroic animal rights activists and countless Nepalese Hindus have challenged the centuries-old event to become a festival that truly celebrates life in all its aspects. "We have to have courage for this, we have to challenge it. For such good deeds, no one can say anything or stop us, and the culture of animal sacrifice is decreasing drastically in Nepal. And I think in our generation, we will be able to see the culture of animal sacrifice reduced to zero." This year, responding to these constant appeals and continuous protests, the Nepalese government issued notices to discourage practices that harm animals. We now move on to Oceania, where we hear our Association member for Australia report on the exciting happenings of Australia and New Zealand.

2019 has been an exciting year filled with positive changes all around the world. We begin with the United States, where veganism has gone mainstream! During 2019, American consumers spent nearly US$1.9 billion on plant-based milks，a number that is only expected to grow. Recent years has seen an upsurge of vegan and vegetarian cafes and restaurants opening across all States. This year, Stop Animal Exploitation Now called on the United States Department of Agriculture to enforce the Animal Welfare Act and safeguard the animals in laboratories as well as those with animal dealers and breeders. Let us now go to Germany, where the number of vegan products available at discounters, drugstores, and organic food stores boosted significantly in 2019. Most products are conveniently signified as vegan products by the V-label, and many supermarkets, including Aldi, Edeka, or Lidl, have begun selling their own vegan brands.

Next, she is an international award-winning author, producer, playwright, and librettist, who co-wrote the story for “Loving the Silent Tears: The Musical.” Let’s give a warm welcome, Cynthia Ferrell. "I am absolutely thrilled to be here today. It is such an honor. And in particular, because I’ve been working on a new short story, that I believe illustrates Your plea, Supreme Master, to wake up and move faster, to save our animals, our planet and ourselves. And before I get into that, I’d like to say, particularly yesterday, how bizarre it was for me to be in a place where free water was falling from the sky, and such a lot of water falling from the sky. Because I live in fire country. We don’t have green mountains; we have red ones. There were always fires growing up. And the fires began to burn faster. Why do we wait so long when disaster is on us? Why do we stand transfixed? What does it take to wake us up? What moment makes us as adults move? That’s what this story explores."

Next is Corey Feldman, who began his performing career at the age of three. “I got a random invitation about seven years ago to take part in ‘loving the Silent Tears.’ And it was a beautiful extravagant display of beautiful costumes, beautiful dance, beautiful art. I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 12 years old. I made that decision on my own, because once I was old enough at like 11, to understand that the same animals that were in the cartoons, were the ones that were our friends, and they were the same ones on our plate. It makes zero sense. But we’re changing it. We’re seeing progress. And now my kid goes to a school that has a vegan-based whole foods nutritional menu. This is the power of change. I wrote a song when I was 15 years old. And that song was about how we could change the planet if we wanted to. I’d like to introduce to you my beautiful wife, Ms. Courtney Anne Mitchell, who’s going to singing with me. This song is called ‘It's So Simple.’”

Let's give a warm welcome to Diễm Liên. Her fans love her for her gifted soprano vocals, which was also featured in Supreme Master Television's 2nd Anniversary Concert. "And my heart is joyful again, And faith is coming back. I vow to forever love only You. Even if I have to pass a dark valley, I will not fear, because You will always be with me." Here to mesmerize us on the piano, please welcome Luke Eberl. He played one of the lead acting roles in the "Loving the Silent Tears" musical, has directed nationally acclaimed feature films. "What an honor it is to be here with everyone. And I feel so surrounded by love and creativity right now all around me if you look at everyone here. And so, anyway, I'm going to dedicate this to my dog, Caleb. Really, he's my guru, my hero of how to live a compassionate life, true compassion."

“My name is Lisa Bloom, we have to get as many people veganized as possible. The biggest thing that I can think of in the United States (US) and around the world is to stop the meat and dairy subsidies. So please, I ask each of you, wherever you come from, please take this message home, use your voice to speak up for the animals, never be silent. Think about what laws you can pass back home. If we can do this in California, you can do this back where you live.” Let’s welcome Bill Cunliffe. Bill Cunliffe is a Grammy Award-winning composer and arranger as well as an international award-winning jazz pianist, who has graced our Association’s concerts in the past with his magnificent music. We’re so honored to enjoy his performance once again.

"My name is Giorgia Fumanti. And I'm very honored to be here to sing for all of you, to create together some music. The message of Supreme Master Ching Hai is so peaceful and beautiful. And just respect each other and sing together and be friends one to another. It's just beautiful." "I'm Kiril Kulish. Glad to be here at this spectacular event. I appreciate all that She does for the environment, for the world and how much She cares and truly cares about the animals, people, just the environment in general. And it's something everyone could learn from." "It's just nice to see together each other, for long, long time friends, and colleagues, and fellow artists. And I'm sure Heaven is very pleased with us today. Because all of us feel so good. So, this kind of atmosphere and energy would help the world also to have peace. And the animals will enjoy one day, total freedom. I'm working on it."

Here with his lovely wife, eminent Professor of Music and concert producer, Dr. Larry Timm. "Thank you for helping us all these years. Without him, we wouldn't have known you; it's truly like that. Without him, we probably would not have been able to do these few musicals that you have seen. He's the one behind everything." The radiant Emmy Award-winning television journalist, Ms. Jane Velez-Mitchell. "Supreme Master, I love You, because You are turning the world vegan. …So, what You're doing is literally saving the planet, saving our existence." Finally, last but certainly not least, the exceptional actress and stuntwoman, Ms. Spice Williams-Crosby. "Thank You, Supreme Master Ching Hai for being a beacon of light that shines a greater path for all of us around the world to walk."