On August 22nd, 2009, the annual Grand Parade of Festival Cairns was held in the famous tourist city of Cairns in North Queensland, Australia. It was estimated to have 35,000 attendees. Falun Gong was invited to the event for the seventh year.
The practitioners participated in the parade and set up a booth at the festival near the beach.
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| Falun Dafa procession in the parade | Falun Gong exercise demonstration on the float |
"I am happy to meet you"
Being a tourist city, a lot of visitors from mainland China come to Cairns. Many Chinese walked by the Falun Dafa booth at the multicultural festival and took photos. Some got a copy of the book Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and said that they wanted to read it before going back to China.
An elderly couple visiting their children took copies of the Nine Commentaries from a western practitioner at the booth and immediately sat under a tree near the booth to read it. When the husband saw some Chinese practitioners return to the booth, he came back to greet them, saying, "I am happy to meet you."
A Unique "Lamp"
The parade started in the night, so every float had a lamp of some kind. The Falun Dafa practitioners' float has a unique lamp - a flashing Falun emblem. The Falun Dafa procession was composed of a decorated float and a waist drum team. Practitioners of different nationalities and ages demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises on the float. When the waist drum team marched by, spectators gave them warm applause.
Signature drive to end the persecution
After the parade, many spectators went to the Falun Dafa booth near the beach to get more information. They asked about what Falun Gong is, where to learn it and where to join the group practice. When people learned about the persecution of Falun Gong in China, they signed a petition calling for an immediate end to the persecution. Two people from a local Chinese association signed the petition.
Owner of Tour Company helps raise awareness of the persecution
Andrew owns a tour company in Cairns. He watched the parade and learned about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. On the second day, he began to tell his customers about the situation.
He said that he talked to customers on the bus about Falun Gong and the persecution in China. He wanted more people to help stop the persecution. He also encouraged the tourists to learn Falun Dafa.
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