Australia: Practitioners Hold Candlelight Vigil in Melbourne

Falun Gong practitioners held a candlelight vigil in front of Chinese Embassy in Melbourne on July 20th, 2010, to commemorate the 3397 fellow practitioners who have been tortured to death by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since July 20th, 1999. They also called for stopping the persecution and bringing the culprits to justice.

Falun Gong practitioners hold a candlelight vigil in front of Chinese Embassy in Melbourne

Falun Gong practitioners hold a candlelight vigil in front of Chinese Embassy in Melbourne

It rained that evening. Falun Gong practitioners sat on the lawn quietly in the rain without moving. After a little while, the rain stopped, and they continued sitting peacefully. They held banners worded "Falun Dafa," "The Eleven-year Persecution Must Stop," and "Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Zhou Yongkang and Liu Jing to Justice."

For eleven years, Falun Gong has spread to more than 100 countries. Falun Gong practitioners around the world continue protesting the persecution peacefully and rationally.

Mr. Zhonghua Ziao, director of Victoria Falun Dafa Association, said when interviewed by the Epoch Times, "In the past eleven years, we Falun Gong practitioners maintain the same path, following Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and telling people about the grace of Falun Dafa, the principle benefits to society, everyone, and each country."

He continued, "For eleven years, we have protested the persecution. We hope that the persecution stops soon. Everything we do is in hopes of ending the persecution and letting people know about Falun Gong. The principle of Falun Gong is so important to all people. We host various activities, such as candlelight vigils, marches and rallies. The purpose of these events is to let more people learn about us and become aware of CCP's evil nature. When they learn that the CCP is harmful to everyone, they will oppose it."

Ms. Nina participated in the candlelight vigil every year on July 20th, to call for an end to the persecution. She said with tears in her eyes, "On July 20th every year, I must come here. If Falun Gong practitioners outside China don't speak out, the practitioners in China will be persecuted more severely. We must come, to call for a stop to the persecution. We want to be good people. The CCP brutally persecutes fellow practitioners, and this persecution must stop. The CCP must immediately release all these innocent Falun Gong practitioners being imprisoned in jails and labour camps."