Australia: Sydney Practitioners Hold a Press Conference Regarding the Shooting Incident in South Africa

On June the 30th 2004 at 10:00a.m., Falun Gong practitioners and relatives of victims of the shooting incident held a press conference outside the Chinese Consulate in Sydney, revealing to the media the details of the shooting incident Australian Falun Gong practitioners encountered in South Africa.

Sydney Falun Gong practitioners and victims' relatives hold a press conference outside the Chinese Consulate regarding the shooting incident

Falun Gong spokesperson John Deller introduces the details of the shooting incident at the press conference	Li Ying, the wife of Mr. Lee who went to South Africa with David Liang is interviewed at the press conference

According to Falun Gong spokesperson John Deller's introduction, after hearing that Zeng Qinghong (Chinese Vice-president) and Bo Xilai (Minister of Commerce) would visit South Africa on June 27-29, 2004, nine Falun Gong practitioners in Australia spontaneously travelled to South Africa to conduct a peaceful appeal and seek to sue Zeng Qinghong through legal means. They arrived at Johannesburg International Airport in South Africa on the afternoon of June 28, and then set out in two cars to the Presidential Guest House in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa. On their way, at approximately 8:30 p.m., a white car opened fire from the side slightly behind the second car, targeting Falun Gong practitioners in the car. At least five gunshots hit the car, leaving bullet holes in the car, and the tire (s) was punctured.

Spokesperson John Deller also stated, "We are holding the press conference here to expose this terrorist attack against Falun Gong practitioners, condemn this scoundrel Communist regime, and call upon governments, the media and people with a sense of justice to join together to condemn the illegal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners."

Practitioners held up banners in different colours reading, "Australian Falun Gong Practitioners Support Bringing Jiang Zemin to Justice," "Let us end this killing," "Upholding Justice is not Politics," and "End Jiang's International Terrorism," to express their concerns.

The shooting incident is an attempted murder carefully plotted and full of political elements. First, the man targeted was a stranger in South Africa, he couldn't have enemies there. Second, witness Wang Tao said the gunman shot at them with a military AK47 rifle, and immediately fled the scene after the shooting. Third, David Liang, who was the only one shot, was also the only one wearing clothing emblazoned with the words, "Falun Dafa."

It appears to be a reasonable deduction that Zeng Qinghong and Bo Xilai colluded with local thugs, or Zeng's bodyguards took the action to attempt to kill Falun Gong practitioners, in order to prevent them from filing a lawsuit against them. It is reported that this is the first shooting incident targeting Falun Gong practitioners outside of China. John Deller finally called upon governments of all countries and the media to join together to uphold justice and conscience, condemn Jiang and his followers' illegal persecution and acts of terrorism against Falun Gong and make a thorough investigation into the shooting case.

According to the June 29 statement published by the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) regarding the shooting, this is the first incident taking place outside of China targeting peacefully appealing Falun Gong practitioners with firearms, and this is a blatant challenge to the peace and democracy of humankind.

WOIPFG reports that the Jiang regime's harassment, threats and violence against overseas Falun Gong practitioners is by no means rare. WOIPFG also expressed that in Mainland China, as early as the beginning of 2002, Jiang's regime issued an order allowing police to shoot Falun Gong practitioners. Afterwards, several incidents of Falun Gong practitioners being shot by the police occurred in several different places around China. Liu Chengjun, who was tortured to death for being one of the major initiators of tapping into TV signals to broadcast the truth about Falun Gong in Changchun City, was shot in the legs while handcuffed.

Mr. Luo, a colleague of David Liang (who was injured in the shooting incident) said in an interview, "David Liang is a colleague and friend that I have been acquainted with for several years. Now he suddenly encounters such an incident, I'm very worried, because he has parents and two children to take care of, and his mother has to depend on a wheelchair to move around. He and I are both taxi-drivers. If we stopped driving, we would not have income. Many colleagues and friends are worried about his financial problem, so I hope the society and people from all walks of life will pay attention to this incident."

Another friend of David Liang, Ms Xu said, "I have known Mr. Liang for over two years, he is very upright and kind, all his friends know that he is very considerate of others, and kind and respectful to his parents. We all shocked at this incident and I hope he can recover soon."

Li Ying, the wife of Mr. Lee who travelled along with David Liang to South Africa, told media at the press conference, "I received a phone call at work about my husband and the other practitioners who encountered danger, but I really didn't want to believe it. I was very anxious. I believe that they met with such life-threatening danger because they are Falun Gong practitioners, it is unfair to them. Everyone knows that Falun Gong practitioners cultivate 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.' this incident is a terrorist attack, and it is not the first time. When my husband was in Sydney, his van was slashed and spray-painted because there were Falun Gong photos in his van. Two days before he left for South Africa, he received a threatening phone call from an unknown person. He received such phone calls twice, so he felt even in a free society like in Australia, there is no real security. Just because he is a Falun Gong practitioner, he is subjected to such threats. So I hope all people and the Australian government will join us to stop such terrorism from extending around the world. "

The time is not far for bringing chief perpetrator Jiang Zemin and all other principal criminals to justice. Falun Gong practitioners' persistent, peaceful and righteous acts will be more and more recognized and supported by the international community.