(Clearwisdom.net May 11, 2003)

A discussion forum aiming at exposing China's persecution of the freedom of belief organized by the "World Truth Forum" was held at the Ashfield Town Hall in Sydney, Australia on May 5. About 50 people attended the forum and participated in lively discussion.

The discussion forum was hosted by Mr. Stephen Sim, host of one of the largest radio stations (2NSB, FM 99.3) in the Sydney area.

Dr. Marie Clugston, a representative of Amnesty International, expressed concern about Mainland China's human rights violations in the persecution of Falun Gong, Christianity, and Tibetans. She pointed out that the situation has not improved in the past year. She hoped that the Australian government would take a more serious attitude in dealing with China regarding human rights issues.

Some Falun Gong practitioners introduced their activities in rescuing practitioners' family members who are being persecuted in China. The elder brother of Mr. Richard Chan, who was detained in China for practicing Falun Gong, was given an early release when the international media and community pressured China after being informed of the situation.

A speaker at the forum, Mr. David Duffy, said that China's current human right record is the worst in the world. He expressed his respect for Falun Gong practitioners' actions and predicted that people in the future would be thankful for what Falun Gong practitioners did for them today. During the discussion, a video program about the facts of Falun Gong, which compared the persecution of different beliefs in history and today, was played for those present. The audience was moved by the touching video.

The host of the forum, Mr. Stephen Sim, said that he remembered a monument with the words, "As you leave, never again" in a Nazi concentration camp, that was made with the names of Jews killed in concentration camps. But the sad fact is that such tragedies are still happening in today's world, especially in China under the Jiang regime. He said that out of lust for power and jealousy, the former China president Jiang launched this persecution of Falun Gong, causing so many people to be displaced from their homes and families. He expressed his belief that if the Chinese people exposed the facts of the Jiang regime's persecution of the freedom of belief, it will allow the international courts to bring Jiang to justice and end the persecution.

He also said that Australians appreciate what Chinese immigrants have contributed to this country. He wanted the Chinese people to remember their initial purpose of coming to Australia and the tribulations they experienced, and be more aware of what was happening in Australia and in China.

At the end of the forum, Mr. Stephen Sim presented a gift to a Falun Gong practitioner whom he had known for a long time. It was a Hada (a piece of silk used as a greeting gift in the Tibetan and Mongol culture) given to him by a Tibetan author in exile. He said, "This piece of gratitude and honor belongs to you."