Australia: Falun Gong Practitioners Rally in Front of Parliament House

On the afternoon of June 11th, 2005, dozens of Falun Gong practitioners rallied in front of the Parliament House of Victoria Province to support Zhang Cuiying and Dai Zhizhen's lawsuit against Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, requesting him to withdraw the restriction on Falun Gong's peaceful appeals.

They displayed banners reading, "Mr. Downer, Please Stop Certificates that Limit Falun Gong Appeal at Chinese Embassy," "Falun Gong Filed Lawsuit in Supreme Court," "Australians Please Lend Your Hands to Help," "SOS Rescue Falun Gong Practitioners Persecuted in China," and "Supreme Court Has Accepted Lawsuit Against Foreign Minister Downer."

Falun Gong practitioners' rally	Media interview
Rally in front of Melbourne Parliament House	Falun Gong spokesperson giving speech

A Falun Gong spokesperson introduced the lawsuit and the facts about Falun Gong. He said that ever since the Chinese Foreign Minister's visit to Australia in March 2002, Mr. Downer began to sign certificates forbidding Falun Gong practitioners from displaying any banners or to play recordings in front of the Chinese Embassy. The practitioners' banners were confiscated. Because the certificate is only valid for one month, Mr. Downer has to sign the certificate every month to keep the restriction in place. In the past three years, Falun Gong practitioners have always tried to communicate with Mr. Downer about this issue, but never succeeded. Therefore, the practitioners have decided to sue him in a court of law.

A Western Falun Gong practitioner gave many examples of the Chinese Communist Party's persecution of Falun Gong, including his wife and other 35 western Falun Gong practitioners who went to Tiananmen Square to unfurl a banner with the words, "Truthfulness Compassion Tolerance." They were arrested and beaten by Chinese policemen. He called on the Australian government to put human rights before trade, and urged them not to forsake the country's dignity for a little economic gain.

A Falun Gong practitioner from Burma talked about his own cultivation experience. Seven years ago, he felt totally lost until he found Falun Gong. Falun Gong started his life anew and he became a healthy and upright person again. He said, "I don't know that Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance has anything wrong with it. The Chinese Communist Party is buying someone's soul with money."

A Chinese student, who had been to the grand appeal on July 20, 1999 at Fuyou Street in Beijing, talked about the happenings of that day. He saw policemen beat Falun Gong practitioners and many reporters took footage at the site. But he never saw any report in the news about it. As for the issue of trade between China and Australia, he believes that business is like making friends. Australians shall recognise the true nature of the Communist Party. Since the Nine Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party were published, over 2 million Communist Party members have withdrawn from the party. If the Communist Party collapses one day, all its economic promises will be empty. He hopes that the Australian government realises this.

During the rally, many people listened to the speeches. Beside the rally, a torture re-enactment raised awareness about the brutality of the persecution in China. Many people took photos and some motorists honked their horns to show their support.