Australia: Melbourne Community Holds Rally Against Hong Kong's Article 23 Legislation

On December 23rd at 5 pm, a "Keep Hong Kong Free, Stop Article 23" Rally was held in front of the Melbourne City Hall. The rally was organised by the Global Coalition Against Article 23, Amnesty International, the Chinese Democratic Movement Overseas Joint Conference, the Chinese Democratic Progressive Party, the Falun Dafa Association in Victoria, Friends of Falun Gong in Australia and people from the academic, religious, business circles. Nine participants delivered speeches during the rally.

Melbourne Rally

Mr. Lu Zhansuo, from the Chinese Democratic Movement Overseas Joint Conference Australian Branch, said in his speech, "It has been merely five years, and the Chinese Communist Party already wants use this legislation to limit the Hong Kong people's opinion, and the freedom of the press and of association, deprive them of their political rights that they have always enjoyed, causing the once free and democratic port city to degenerate into one that is spiritless and governed by a dictatorship. The Hong Kong authorities ignore the fact that Hong Kong's fundamental social system started out as totally different from that of Mainland China, and they also do not give a thought to the people of Hong Kong's opposition. Instead the authorities are trying to squeeze in things that are totally unclear. In fact this is seriously undermining the Hong Kong government's bylaws. They are merely trying to be consistent with the central government's laws. It is no longer 'One country, two systems '. Its goal is to limit the Hong Kong people's thought, opinion and action, and to suppress those passing in and out of Hong Kong who hold different opinions. A government that does not accommodate objections and fears criticism will certainly lose its legitimacy, mandate and vitality. Although it may use the dictatorship and brute force to suppress people, to wreak havoc among the people, but for certain it will be abandoned and defeated, and it will collapse in the end. This crime of 'Subversion' is only another form of the charge of being a 'counter-revolutionary' that the Chinese Communist Party has been using for decades. This episode of Article 23 once again exposes that the Party's habitual going back on its own words and deceiving the public. We hope that more people of Hong Kong will maintain sober minds, display a dauntless courage, and join the just movement of defending their own rights, thus maintaining Hong Kong's hard-earned freedom, democracy and legal system."

Ms. Robyn Kilpatrick, former president of Amnesty International Hong Kong Branch	Mr. Lu Zhansuo, Chinese Democratic Movement Overseas Joint Conference
Mr. Lin Dewan, Chinese Democratic Progressive Party

Ms. Robyn Kilpatrick, former president of Amnesty International Hong Kong Branch, said, "My family and I had lived in Hong Kong for 18 and a half years, and we had a special connection to Hong Kong. We know that many people of Hong Kong, including those from the religious, journalistic, and legal communities are all watching the situation of Article 23 intensely. Amnesty International hopes that the Hong Kong SAR government will not limit basic human rights such as the freedom of association and peaceful assembly in the name of subversion, treason, instigating rebellion."

Mr. Li Xiao Ming said on behalf of the religious community, "Everybody knows that the religious community follows the principle of benevolence, mercy and forgiveness, and generally does not participate in political activities and does not oppose the government. But, the goal of Article 23 is extremely dangerous and also extremely clear: it is to change the 'one country two systems' policy, to implement Mainland China's dictatorship in Hong Kong, strictly limit people's thoughts, viewpoints and the opinions, and not permitting any dissent to the government's voice. It seriously violates the principle of religious freedom that democratic countries in the world extensively value. It seriously encroaches upon the religious community's right to worship, congregate, and communicate with one another. This is why the Hong Kong Catholic Archbishop Chen Rijun, together with Christian and Buddhist leaders, personally went out to the streets to hold a demonstration. It is also the reason why we from the religious community are participating in this public assembly here today."

Dr. Michele Smith, representative of the Melbourne Falun Dafa Association	Hu Hesheng, overseas Chinese student representative

Dr. Michele Smith, representative of the Melbourne Falun Dafa Association, said in her speech that in China, 70 million Falun Gong practitioners were allowed to freely practise one day, but next day they were outlawed. If Article 23 is implemented, any group could face a similar situation. The concepts of country, government, leader, political power and nation are not distinguished clearly. Hong Kong and Beijing would no longer operate under "one country two systems." Beijing is extending its dictatorship to Hong Kong.

Scholar Mr. Zhou Ya Hui said: "I came from Mainland China. People in Mainland China care a great deal about the people of Hong Kong's freedom, the legal system and their human rights. Hong Kong's Article 23 is just a part of what the Chinese Communist Party is doing to tighten its control on the people. Several months ago, they imprisoned some people from the democratic movement and called them terrorists. Actually, we know that the Chinese authorities are the world's biggest terrorists."

Australia citizen and Falun Gong practitioner Katie talked about her experiences last year. When she went to Hong Kong last year, she was imprisoned and expatriated back to Australia by Hong Kong customs. It was clear that Hong Kong was compelled by the Chinese authorities' pressure to expel her based on their blacklist of Falun Gong practitioners. This happened in many countries in the world, showing that the Jiang regime is already extending its evil reach to many democratic countries. Last year 36 western Falun Gong practitioners from 12 countries unfurled a banner with the words "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance" on Tiananmen Square, and they were arrested and beaten up. When they asked the police which law they violated, the police actually said those three words are illegal.

Ms. Chen Li Li from the business community said, "I am a businesswoman. Last year I travelled to Hong Kong and China as a tourist, but I was detained by Chinese customs for one day and one night for no reason. Recently, I'm again preparing to go to Hong Kong to purchase equipment. If Article 23 were once established, the nightmare I had experienced in Mainland China would repeat itself in Hong Kong. Therefore I intensely oppose the Article 23's enactment. I also hope that as the people of Hong Kong's personal freedom is faced with a dire threat, every overseas Chinese person will stand up to voice their concerns for maintaining Hong Kong's democracy and freedom."

Mr. Lin Dewan from the Chinese Democratic Progressive Party and overseas Chinese student representatives also made speeches. They indicated their opposition to Article 23 and called on more people to join in to safeguard Hong Kong's democracy and freedom.