Australia: Rally in Sydney Calls on the UN to Condemn China's Human Rights Situation

The 60th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission is now meeting in Geneva. The world is paying more and more attention to the worsening human rights situation in China where freedom and beliefs are being trampled upon, especially the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Falun Gong practitioners take part in a rally to call upon Australia to openly condemn China's persecution of human rights	A practitioner expresses that keeping silent is actually condoning the persecution

On April the 5th 2004, Falun Gong practitioners and several social groups from Sydney held a joint rally at the Town Hall Square, calling on the Australian government, human rights organisations and non-governmental organisations to help at the UN Human Rights Commission to pass a resolution to condemn China's human rights situation, and to stop the Jiang's group from continuing to destroy China's human rights.

A representative of the Global Coalition Against Persecution expressed that Australia is a multicultural country. Tolerance enables the Australian people of different nationalities to live together peacefully and happily. People who live in Australia feel fortunate and proud of this.

At the same time, Australian people are shocked and concerned over the brutal persecution against freedom and human rights taking place in China. The Chinese Government has never stopped the persecution of religious groups, dissidents and peaceful groups. The representative pointed out that since the beginning of the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, China's human rights condition has become worse. She called upon the different groups and people in Australia to support the resolution condemning China's persecution of human rights, and urge the Chinese government to stop the persecution.

Mr. Qin from the Democratic Chinese Front (Australia Branch) pointed out that China's human rights situation has not made any improvement. He condemned the Chinese government suppressing and killing people of different religions, dissidents and people from peaceful groups. He expressed his support against the Chinese Government (Jiang's regime) persecuting Falun Gong and human rights. Mr. Qin hoped that the Australian government will deliver a stronger message regarding China's worse human rights condition at the UN Human Rights Meeting, and support the US to propose a resolution condemning China's persecution of human rights.

Ms. Li Jian, a representative for "Petals of Peace" expressed that children are the hope of the future, but in China, countless innocent children are being unfairly treated. She hoped that people from all walks of life in Australia will pay attention to and help these children. The "Petals of Peace" campaign originated from the fact that Australian citizen Ms. Dai Zhizhen's husband died as a result of persecution in China amidst the Jiang's group's suppression on Falun Gong. Ms. Dai and her less than one-year-old daughter travelled around the world to call for an end of the persecution. The "Petals of Peace" campaign helps people learn about the brutal persecution of Falun Gong in China, and helps children who are suffering persecution in China.

A spokesperson for the New South Wales Falun Dafa Association pointed out that the persecution against people who believe in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" is the killing of people's conscience and human nature. Keeping silent is, in a way, condoning the persecution. An Australian citizen's younger brother, Falun Gong practitioner Ouyang Ming, has been listed on the report of Australia and China Human Rights Dialogue for two years, but in that time, Ouyang Ming suffered all kinds of torture in a Chinese labour camp and eventually was tortured to death.

The facts show that the private dialogues between the Australian Government and the Chinese Government fail to result in any improvement in the situation in China. The representative expressed his hope that the Australian government would support a resolution that openly condemns China's human rights condition at the UN Human Rights Commission. At the same time, he reiterated the situation of global lawsuits in several countries against Jiang Zemin for his crime of genocide against Falun Gong practitioners.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Liu was once an associate researcher at the Institute of Remote Sensing at the Chinese Academy of Science. She expressed in an interview that she was once sentenced to three years of forced labour for not renouncing Falun Gong. During her detention, Ms. Liu was force-fed three times, and was forced to do long hours of heavy labour and attend brainwashing classes. All this is resulted in tremendous harm on her both physically and mentally. In Australia, she felt the preciousness of freedom and human rights, but some of her friends and colleagues are still being illegally imprisoned in China. She called upon Australia to help pass the resolution condemning China's human rights at the UN Human Rights Meeting, and stop the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.