Australia: Introducing Falun Dafa On a Beautiful Day in Lane Cove

Lane Cove, a beautiful city north of Sydney Australia, proclaimed "Falun Dafa Day" on the 21st of August 2004. Falun Gong practitioners from Sydney demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises and performed traditional Chinese dances so as to allow people to see the beauty of Falun Gong.

Provincial representative Mr. Anthony Roberts giving a speech at the rally	Falun Gong photo exhibit	Introducing Falun Dafa

Exercise demonstration	Tang Dynasty costume performance

In the morning a group practice at Lane Cove was held and a photo exhibit was set up in the central square. Many people carefully looked at the photos and asked questions about the persecution in China.

At noon, provincial representative Mr. Anthony Roberts and some local council representatives were invited to the ceremony. Mr. Roberts cut the ribbon for Falun Dafa Day at Lane Cove.

Mr. Roberts gave a speech and expressed that he was happy to participate in the Lane Cove Falun Dafa Day event. He briefly introduced the concept of Falun Dafa and its popularity in over sixty countries. He said that the reason he came to this meeting was that being a representative of Lane Cove, he wanted to openly announce that he would not avoid the topic of the persecution or condone the torture, murder and forced labour going on in China. He also urged the residents to learn more facts about Falun Gong from the practitioners and understand how these honest people endured torture rather than renounce their beliefs.

He also welcomed Falun Dafa to Lane Cove and announced the coming Falun Gong free introductory classes.

Western practitioner Mr. Jonatham Solomon expressed appreciation to the attending dignitaries and some young practitioners presented them with flowers.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Mr. Roberts viewed the photo exhibit and gave an interview. He said that after looking at these photos, he could feel that Falun Gong practitioners had made great efforts for the world. The fact that Falun Gong practitioners were being tortured in China made him uneasy. He said that this country should not ignore it and it was time to put pressure on them to immediately end the persecution.

In the afternoon, practitioners performed dances and demonstrated exercises in the central square. A band composed of westerners sang and performed many songs composed by Dafa practitioners. The Falun Gong practitioners also set up tables around the square to distribute Falun Gong-related materials and collect signatures. Many people came to pick up a leaflet, and some signed up for the free exercise class. One lady took a lot of leaflets. She said she would pass them on to her relatives and friends, as she wanted to do more to help Falun Gong.

A student called Elsa who is doing a major in journalism also came to the event. She recorded a lot of footage about the Falun Dafa Day ceremony and said that she had heard about Falun Dafa before but today she was able to gain a deeper understanding about it. She believed that Falun Dafa was good and she wished the persecution in China would end soon.