January 30, 2002, was declared as Falun Dafa Day in Mossman. The celebration took place at the CWA Hall from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Banners and picture exhibits were displayed outside the hall so that people walking or driving past could see us easily. Despite the scorching sun, we demonstrated the exercises outside on the sidewalk. Drawn by the peaceful Pudu music and the exercise demonstration, interested people steadily drifted through the door of the CWA Hall to get more information. A couple of interested individuals stayed to learn the exercises from one of the practitioners. One Italian man stopped his car when he saw our banners and came inside to get more information. He was pleased to find us there, as he had heard about Falun Dafa and wanted to get more information about it even though he lived and worked in a remote area.
Councillor Marjorie Norris visited us at 10 a.m. After learning the truth
about the inhuman persecution of practitioners in China and being shown the
support we had received from mayors, deputy mayors and state MPs, she signed the
SOS petition and requested more information to take back to the other
councilors. She was particularly moved after seeing the picture of the
8-month-old baby tortured to death with his mother. She also signed and
presented us with a Certificate of Appreciation as a gesture of her support for
Falun Dafa.
Deputy Mayor signing the Proclamation
Deputy Mayor learning the exercises
At 12:45 p.m., the deputy mayor of Douglas Shire, Mr. David Egan, arrived and signed a proclamation supporting Falun Dafa Day in Mossman. Due to his busy schedule, he had to visit us during his lunch break and let the photographer of the local paper, The Gazette, take a picture of him doing exercise. He gladly accepted the video, Justice for Falun Dafa and even offered to put it in the council library after he'd seen it. The photographer was also given a copy of the video program and other truth-clarifying materials.
In the heat of the midday sun, two practitioners demonstrated the exercises outside on the sidewalk. Almost everyone who listened to our truth-clarifying stories supported us by signing the SOS petition. Many wanted to know if we were setting up a practice site in Mossman, so they were given the contact information of a local practitioner and one in Cairns.
Just before we packed up, a car with 4 young men pulled up by the roadside and watched the two practitioners doing the exercise demonstration. They were American tourists and wanted to know what we were doing. One of them wanted to know if Falun Dafa is available in Miami and another said he was from Chicago. We clarified the truth of the persecution to them and asked them to check our website to find out more about Falun Dafa in the US.
