Australia: University of Sydney Passes Resolution Supporting Falun Gong's Anti-Persecution Efforts

On February 15th, 2006, the 78th Student Union at the University of Sydney held the first annual student union conference. A student representative who is also a Falun Gong practitioner proposed a resolution supporting Falun Gong practitioners' freedom and condemning the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong, and the resolution was passed.

The Falun Gong practitioner at the University of Sydney gained support from the students' union last year through truth clarification, joined the 78th Student Union, and became a student representative. A Falun Gong practitioner read the resolution content and invited a lot of questions from the student representatives, which provided the practitioner with more opportunities to clarify the truth. The practitioner talked about what Falun Gong is, the greater than six-year brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, the CCP's exporting of the persecution to Australia, the CCP's using Chinese embassies, consulates, secret agents and oversea Chinese student unions and other organisations to harass Falun Gong practitioners overseas. The practitioner also talked about Foreign Minister Downer who has issued monthly certificates for the past three-plus years preventing Australian Falun Gong practitioners from peacefully appealing in front of the Chinese Embassy.

One student representative asked why Falun Gong is being persecuted in China. The practitioner answered that since the CCP seized the power in 1949 in China, it has never stopped persecuting Chinese people. In the past political movements, it has systematically persecuted Chinese people of different social strata. The student representative continued asking why the CCP hasn't stopped the persecution, as it has lasted for six years. The practitioner told her that the CCP wants to stop it but is unable to, because if it stops the persecution, that means CCP admits it is wrong, but the CCP's dictatorial nature determines that it will not admit it is wrong.

A student representative asked, "How do you obtain the news about persecution?" The practitioner answered that much news has been extensively broadcast by Australian media or verified by international human rights organisations and the United Nations. Another student representative said he once witnessed at Tiananmen Square that an older woman was arrested and taken away by the police for distributing Falun Gong related flyers, and he also witnessed a torture instrument used by the CCP police.

Student Union president Nick Wood said with justice that this is a resolution supporting human rights and anti-persecution. He believed that the majority of students would support it. Through voting, the resolution was passed.

Several student representatives on the spot said that the resolution was very important. The only student representative who voted against the resolution took initiative to learn about the facts about Falun Gong from the practitioner after the conference, and said that he had heard some slander and lies about Falun Gong before from the CCP. He said that if he had learned about the truth before the conference, he would have acted differently.

The Student Unions at the University of Western Sydney and University of Technology Sydney have passed similar resolutions in previous years.