Australian Falun Dafa Practitioner Nancy Chen To Return to Sydney Due To Successful Rescue Effort

Due to the joint efforts of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the "Nancy Chen Urgent Rescue Team," and many other concerned parties, Nancy Chen was finally released at about 10:30 a.m. on January 30, 2003 (Beijing time).

Ms. Chen made a phone call to her husband in Sydney from Chengdu Airport, advising him that she would arrive in Hong Kong at about 18:00 on the same day, and would then transfer back to Australia.

Since being taken into custody on January 22, the safety of Ms. Chen and her daughter has drawn the attention of many people. In the past ten days, Falun Dafa practitioners from all over the world constantly made phone calls and sent faxes to people at all levels of the local government in Sichuan Province, China, to clarify the truth of Falun Dafa. The mainstream media in Australia frequently reported this incident, and ABC Radio broadcast several stories on its news program. Officials from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade from Canberra called Ms. Chen's husband at 7:00 p.m. immediately after receiving the news from China, even though it was already after business hours. In addition, the Australian Embassy in Beijing contacted Ms. Chen's parents in Sichuan to inform them of the progress of the rescue effort, and flew to Chengdu City in person to mediate with the relevant authorities in China.