Australia: Falun Gong Represented during Refugee Week Activities in Brisbane

On the evening of June 19th, 2011, an event recognizing the contribution of refugees to Australia was held in the hall of MacGregor Primary School, Brisbane. Several hundred people attended the event. Chinese drumming and lion dancing was performed in the opening ceremony. Well-known Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas was invited to speak, exposing the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong.

While enjoying snacks and the evening's performances, guests learned about current human rights issues throughout the world by watching movies and listening to presentations.

Mr. Graham Quirk, Mayor of Brisbane, said in his speech that the theme of this year's Refugee Week was “Freedom from Fear.” He stated, “Freedom is something very precious; it is not something that can be bought, it is not something that can be sold, and most importantly of all, it is something that can never be taken for granted.”

In his address, Mr. Matas pointed out, “If we want to promote human rights, we have to protect refugees.” He described how the CCP systemically persecutes Falun Gong and harvests vital organs from living Falun Gong practitioners for profit in organ transplantation surgeries.

Mr. Matas said, “Those who abandon the practice of Falun Gong out of fear are left alone, those who refuse to recant are tortured, arbitrarily disappeared, and killed.”

“A misplaced refusal of a Falun Gong practitioner refugee claim is not only a tragedy for the claimant. It is a license to China to continue to inflict violations on Falun Gong practitioners.”

Mr. Chuiliang Qiu, Professor of Politics at the University of Queensland, said, “We are proud and feel fortunate to live in Australia, with its diversity. I call on the Australian government to ask the CCP to stop its infringement of human rights. If we don’t say or do anything, the CCP will continue persecuting people and harvesting organs from Falun Gong practitioners for lucrative profit.”