On June 27, 2006, Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference in front of the Prime Minister’s Office building. Several practitioners who have family members imprisoned in China for practicing Falun Gong gave speeches and submitted open letters. They called on Australian Prime Minister John Howard to put forward the Falun Gong human rights issue and help rescue those family members being illegally imprisoned for practicing Falun Gong during his visit to China this week.
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Before the departure of the Prime Minister to China, Falun Gong practitioners held a rally last week and handed over tens of thousands of signatures from all across Australia to the Prime Minster and members of Parliament. They called on the Prime Minister and Parliament to pay attention to the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) removal of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners and asked them to support the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong's (CIPFG) independent investigation into the organ harvesting.
Australia Press, SBS TV, New Tang Dynasty TV, and The Epoch Times covered the event on-site.
Acupuncture doctor Doris: my mother is detained and I wish to collect 20 million signatures to urge the Prime Minister to put forward the Falun Gong issue
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Chinese acupuncture doctor Doris, a resident of Manly, said in the press conference that she submitted more than 200 signatures to the Prime Minister’s office last week. She brought 336 more signatures this week to Prime Minister Howard. She hopes that the Prime Minster will put forward the Falun Gong issue and help rescue her mother during his visit to China. Doris’ mother, Zeng Aihua, a Hong Kong resident, was taken away on May 23, 2006 from her home in Shanghai. Agents from the Pudong Police Substation illegally arrested her and ransacked her house. Her family members in Australia and Hong Kong were not informed of the arrest. Ms. Zeng is still detained in Pudong Detention Center.
Doris said in an interview, "When I heard the news that my mother was illegally detained. I was anxious and did not know how to rescue her. Especially in light of the recently disclosed news about the CCP’s removal of organs from living Falun Gong practitioners, it makes me more worried about her safety. To rescue her, I have run to many places to seek help, including the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Prime Minister’s office, the media, local Members of Parliament, the city government, and non-governmental organizations. With the assistance of friends, I designed a signature collection form to call on the Prime Minister to put forward the Falun Gong issue during his visit to China and to help rescue my mother. Manly Daily carried a report on my rescue efforts."
Doris said that her mother raised her alone since she was 12 years old. Her greatest wish is to give her mother a happy life. This year, she invited her mother and step-father to visit Australia. They had agreed to come, but her mother was suddenly detained. Doris was shocked after hearing the news.
Doris said, "Whatever the result is, my mother is comparatively lucky because she has a daughter in a democratic country to seek help for her. I often think of the daughters of those Falun Gong practitioners who are illegally detained for practicing Falun Gong in China. I feel my heart is closer to them. Thus, I have decided to continue collecting signatures for my mother and other Falun Gong practitioners until the end of the persecution." She said when she sought help, she understood more about her mother’s righteous actions in exposing the facts of the persecution.
In an open letter to the Prime Minister, Doris stated, "I have come to realize more and more that I am just one representative of the family members of those Falun Gong practitioners who cannot seek justice in China. When I talk about the genocide occurring in China to kind-hearted Australian people, I have cried many times. I felt that their hearts were moved. I hope that when I collect 20 million signatures, the Australian Government cannot evade raising the Falun Gong issue with China."
Wang Chunying: Release my son and all Falun Gong practitioners being imprisoned
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Practitioner Ms. Wang Chunying, 66 years old, came to Australia in April this year. She called for the rescue of her son, Li Liang, who has been unlawfully imprisoned for seven years. There is no information about his current plight. Ms. Wang said, "Since July 20, 1999 [when the persecution began], the police and city 610 Office often harassed my family. My three children were detained and imprisoned in labor camps unlawfully. I was detained for one month. Even today, my son Li Liang is still imprisoned in Shuangkou Labor Camp, Tianjin. He was imprisoned in different labor camps for seven years. After May of this year, we family members have not been allowed to visit him. We don’t know his current plight. I have called many times and there was nobody to answer the phone. I sent letters and have not received a response. Based on recent news, there were at least 36 concentration camps in China. The CCP removes the organs from living Falun Gong practitioners to make huge profits [in the organ transplant business]. Every day and every moment, my son and other Falun Gong imprisoned practitioners are facing life-threatening danger. I call on Prime Minister Howard to help stop the CCP’s evil killing and rescue my son and the many other Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted in China."
Ms. Wang said during an interview that the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong is very evil. She worried more about her son’s safety after hearing about the CCP’s removal of organs from Falun Gong practitioners. She wished to seek help from the Australian Prime Minister and hopes the government can help rescue Li Liang as soon as possible.
Father Peter Caruana: The CCP ignores human rights and does not care about life
Father Peter Caruana from Holy Family Church sent a letter to Prime Minster Howard about Falun Gong practitioners, especially Doris’ mother, Li Liang and others who have family members in Australia before his visit to China. He called on the Prime Minister to urge the CCP leaders to stop the persecution of Falun Gong and immediately release the practitioners who have family members in Australia.
Father Peter Caruana believes that the CCP ignores human rights and does not care about life. He pointed out, "God tells us to have a caring heart, especially when others need help. Now these innocent Chinese people are unlawfully imprisoned, tortured or used as living organ donors for profit. As a man, a Christian, and an Australian citizen, I must stand up to speak from my heart."
After learning about the facts of the persecution, especially the CCP’s organ removal from living Falun Gong practitioners for profit, Father Peter Caruana was shocked. He decided to join the CIPFG and help practitioner to hold truth-clarification seminars in his community. He also invited several other priests to join the CIPFG to help investigate the facts.
"It's really unbelievable, but I believe it is true," a middle-aged woman said after listening to details about the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) crime of harvesting living Falun Gong practitioners' organs. "How can they treat people this way for wanting to be good persons? It's really shocking. Do you go to other countries, letting more people know the truth?"
A practitioner told her that there are eighty countries around the world where people practice Falun Gong and hold events to raise awareness about the CCP's human rights abuses against Falun Gong practitioners. "We should let more people know the truth; I will tell this to my friends as well." The woman took leaflets and left after signing the anti-persecution petition.
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| The exercise demonstration and poster display attracted passers by | |
On June 17th 2006, in Zurich's town center Parade Square, Falun Gong practitioners held an information day. Demonstrations of the five sets of gentle and peaceful exercises attracted many people to stop and look. Along with the exercise demonstration, pictures of the persecution were displayed and a striking banner read: "The CCP harvests living Falun Gong Practitioners' Organs." Many people took leaflets and some signed the petition to show their support for Falun Gong practitioners by calling for an end to the persecution.
Practitioners talked with passers-by about their experiences in practicing Falun Gong: how they have learned to be good people by acting according to the principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." They have become more considerate of others and have a much more peaceful disposition. Some practitioners used to be plagued by illnesses for a long time. After practicing for only a short period, all their illnesses were gone.
When talking about the reason for the CCP persecuting Falun Gong, practitioners especially recommended a series of commentaries from The Epoch Times newspaper, the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. The Nine Commentaries reveals the CCP's true evil nature. The fifth commentary has clearly analyzed how the CCP and Jiang Zemin colluded to persecute Falun Gong. There are already 11 million Chinese people who have withdrawn from the CCP and its related organizations after the Nine Commentaries come out a year and a half ago.
A Western practitioner met a group of Chinese tourists by chance on the Zurich riverside. They looked at his T-shirt which was printed with big Chinese words, "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance" and "Falun Dafa is Great." They were more surprised when the practitioner said, "Hello, Falun Dafa is good!" in Chinese. Many of them started to talk about Falun Gong and some were willing to take the informational materials to read.
Two days later, Falun Gong practitioners held an information day in the Swiss tourist town of Lucerne. A young man talked with practitioners for an hour and asked many questions about practicing Falun Gong. Practitioners were told that he had received the information before but still had many questions. This time, he met with Falun Gong practitioners again, and all his questions were answered.