Australia: Practitioners Raise Awareness of the Persecution in Perth Ahead of Hu Visit

Two days prior to Hu Jintao's visit to Perth, the capital of Western Australia, two of the largest local newspapers, the Sunday Times and The West Australian, published stories stating that the Western Australian practitioners would ask Hu Jintao to end the persecution of Falun Gong.

Western Australian Falun Dafa practitioners hold large banners and display boards

Two ladies from the Presbyterian Church come to express their support for Falun Gong

On September 3rd, 2007, at 8:00 a.m., local Falun Dafa practitioners held large banners at traffic junctures near the Hyatt Regency Perth Hotel where Hu Jintao was scheduled to stay. They wanted to raise public awareness about the suffering that Falun Dafa practitioners have endured in China and expose the wicked nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In the evening, more practitioners arrived and held a candlelight vigil in front of the hotel to mourn for Falun Dafa practitioners who have died for their belief in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." The solemn atmosphere drew people's attention. Drivers passing by honked their horns from time to time to express their support.

Two ladies from the Presbyterian Church came to the scene. They wore badges with the words "I support Falun Dafa", and stood silently beside the practitioners' banners until the end of the vigil. Another Australian held an Australian flag to express his support for Falun Gong. When the police asked him why he displayed the Australian flag, he said he was very happy to stand together with a peaceful group.

Several media organisations came to conduct interviews and film the scene, including Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), Perth Television Channel Ten and The West Australian. Before the end of the vigil, one of the spokespersons for Western Australian Falun Dafa practitioners, Dr. Lin Yufeng, was interviewed by the largest commercial radio station in Perth.

Dr. Lin told the media that the practitioners' activity today was not to protest the APEC summit or any government, but to raise awareness about the Falun Gong issue in China. The activity was also to ask Hu Jintao to end the persecution of Falun Gong in China. The practitioners held banners reading "Bring Human Rights Scoundrels Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Zeng Qinghong, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang to Justice" and "Stop the CCP's Harvesting Organs from Living Falun Dafa Practitioners."