(Clearwisdom.net) Spring is coming to the southern sphere. The communities, counties, and cities of the metro Sydney area organized a series of activities to welcome spring.

The Willoughby City government organized a "Spring Festival" in Chatswood. Chatswood is the largest commercial area of north Sydney, and because of its convenient transportation system, many Chinese live in this area. There are many Chinese community leaders and businessmen, as well as many cultural places such as the cultural club (entertainment center), art exhibition center, Chinese painting and calligraphy club, tea houses, and many restaurants of different sizes. The census reported that the Chinese population in this area is 6,288 and is the second largest ethnic group, second only to westerners.

On Saturday, September 11, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners participated in the Chatswood parade.

The Chinese in this area were previously deceived by the Jiang regime's lies and propaganda, and had some misunderstandings about Dafa. But during this event, many Chinese happily accepted the truth-clarification materials. Others who didn't take the flyer nodded their heads as a polite greeting.

A young Chinese student came to the Falun Dafa table and asked for truth clarifying flyers. After he heard the introduction about the persecution, he asked, "What can I do to help you?" The practitioner told him to let more friends and relatives know the truth. So he took another flyer.

At the anti-torture signature collection table, one western student from Sydney University said he learned about Falun Dafa in the university's Chinese History class. The professor told the class about the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

A Japanese girl about ten years old stopped in front of the Falun Dafa table. She acted like she was old friends with the Dafa practitioners and wanted to learn more about it. Her mother waited a few minutes and then wanted to lead her away. She told the practitioner that the little girl couldn't understand it. The practitioner gave a flyer to the little girl. The girl took the flyer and looked back at the practitioner with an emotion of thankfulness and desire to learn more.

After the parade, a Chatswood council member told the Falun Gong practitioners that he thought about Falun Gong practitioners every time he met a Chinese consulate official. He praised the practitioners that they were doing well, and encouraged them to continue their efforts.

Castle Hill, a town about 30 kilometers from Sydney, had another parade at 6:00 p.m. on the same day. Falun Gong practitioners participated in this event too.

A practitioner met a local resident while distributing flyers. The man said he had received Falun Gong materials earlier when he went to Macquarie University during the daytime.

September 11 is the day for new students to register at Macquarie University. The Falun Gong practitioners of the university took this good opportunity to distribute truth-clarification materials on campus and introduced Falun Dafa to new students.

Tregear Town of west Sydney had another spring-welcoming event. Falun Dafa practitioners set up an information desk at 9:00 a.m. and promoted Dafa to local residents. They distributed truth materials, demonstrated the exercises, and collected signatures. The event completed at 3:00 p.m.