New Zealand: Rally and March Peacefully Protest the 26-Year-Long Persecution of Falun Gong in China

(Minghui.org) Falun Gong practitioners held a rally and a march in Auckland on July 19, 2025, to protest the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 26-year-long persecution of their spiritual practice. They also called on the New Zealand Government and the public to help end the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) practitioners.

Practitioners held a march on Queen Street in Auckland on July 19, 2025.

People sign the petition calling for an end to the persecution.

Former City Councilor Condemns the Perpetrators

Tony Brunt, former City Councilor, addressed the rally.

Tony Brunt, former City Councilor of Wellington, New Zealand, said, “I am not a member of Falun Dafa, but I am an admirer, and I am pleased to work with the organization’s members and supporters to have the evil persecution in China brought to a long overdue end—and to have the perpetrators of this crime against humanity brought to justice.”

Mr. Brunt said that, for many years, he has regularly raised awareness to governments, medical institutions, and academic institutions at all levels, trying to prevent New Zealand from being involved in the CCP’s forced organ harvesting, a systematic atrocity widely recognized as a crime against humanity.

He submitted recommendations to the New Zealand Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to ban citizens or permanent residents from traveling to China for organ transplants and from receiving any subsidized anti-rejection medication upon their return home. He also proposed that a database of outbound transplant recipients should be established to strengthen tracking and supervision.

In the private medical sector, he successfully persuaded Southern Cross, New Zealand’s largest private medical provider, to explicitly promise not to provide any subsidy for people going to China for organ transplants. He also obtained assurance from the medical schools of the University of Auckland and the University of Otago that neither school used Chinese human plasticized specimens of unknown origin in their classrooms.

He further pressured the Waitemata District Health Board to stop cooperating with institutions such as the Shandong Provincial Health Commission of China, especially in areas that might involve organ transplants. In the end, the board of directors unanimously agreed to suspend cooperating with those institutions and seek further advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of Health.

Mr. Brunt said, “So we can work effectively to keep our hands clean to stop New Zealand becoming involved, no matter how indirectly, with the ongoing oppression, brutality and state-organized murder in China.”

Human Rights Lawyer: The Persecution Must Stop

Lawyer Kerry Gore called to sanction human rights violators.

Lawyer Kerry Gore said that the CCP’s 26-year-long brutal persecution amounts to state-sanctioned murder.

He said, “The methods of this persecution are many and severe: unlawful arrests, arbitrary detention, coercive “re-education” programs, forced renunciations of faith, physical and psychological torture, slave-like forced labour, driving individuals into destitution to escape further harassment, and, most horrifying of all, state-sanctioned live organ harvesting—a practice amounting to State-sanctioned murder.

“These atrocities have been documented in detail by highly regarded and independent organisations, including Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, Amnesty International, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), and the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), among others.

“Yet, despite this brutal repression, Falun Gong practitioners in China continue to risk everything to raise awareness among their fellow citizens—helping them see the truth of the persecution and understand the ruthless nature of the Chinese Communist Party. Their courage, at the risk of their own lives, is nothing short of remarkable and deserving of our deep respect."

He called for “the adoption of Magnitsky-style legislation to hold accountable those responsible for these crimes. Moreover, laws that criminalize organ transplant tourism—targeting those who facilitate or profit from these atrocities—are a necessary next step.

“By speaking up and pressing for these measures, we can make a difference—not only in supporting those suffering in China but in helping bring an end to this ongoing persecution.”

Democracy Advocate: Falun Gong Is the Hope of China

Le Kai’an condemns the CCP’s forced organ harvesting.

At the rally, Le Kai’an of the New Zealand Democratic Platform strongly condemned the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong and other groups, and called on the international community to pay attention to China’s human rights crisis.

He said that he was sentenced to two years in prison for commemorating the victims of the June 4 massacre, supporting the Hong Kong democracy movement, and publicly criticizing the CCP. In prison, he saw, “So many innocent people being destroyed.” After he was released from prison, he continued to be monitored, harassed, and even taken to a mental hospital against his will.

He said, “I met detained Falun Gong practitioners in the detention center. Most of them were gentle, self-disciplined, respectful, and faithful, but they were regarded as ‘hostile forces’ and tortured cruelly.” He denounced the CCP’s forced organ harvesting, calling it, “One of the most evil and unscrupulous crimes of this regime.”

“The Falun Gong group has persisted in peacefully protesting the persecution for 26 years, and is the true backbone of the Chinese people.” He also called on the CCP to, “Stop persecuting Falun Gong! Release all prisoners of conscience! Give the Chinese people a future of freedom of belief, freedom of speech, and freedom of identity!”

New Zealand Maori: Don’t Back Down in the Face of Evil

Iria encourages Falun Gong practitioners, “Be strong.”

Iria from Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, used to work in a government department and has seen practitioners’ truth clarification activities many times in different cities. From initial curiosity to actively understanding and then to firm support, her perception changed profoundly.

She said, “I know Falun Dafa is a meditation practice, and I also know that they believe in the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. I learned that this group has been persecuted by the Chinese government for a long time because of their beliefs. This is not right. It is completely wrong.”

As a Maori, Iria grew up in a family-oriented culture. She mentioned that there is a Maori saying called “Manakitanga,” which means “mutual support, care, respect, and generosity.” She said that the values of Falun Gong are very similar to the ones she grew up with. “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are very important and are the foundation of being a human being. I grew up with such family values, which taught me to help and support one other.

“When a person does not even have the freedom to believe in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, there must be a big problem. When you cannot do these right things, it is very wrong.”

Facing the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong, she said that the international community cannot stand idly by. “Educating the public is the key. It is very important for more New Zealanders to raise awareness like you do and let more New Zealanders know what is happening.”

She said that she began to take the initiative to learn the truth after contacting Falun Gong practitioners. “I have encountered your group in Wellington, Christchurch, and Auckland. I was very curious, so I went online to check the information to understand why the Chinese government persecuted you. I found that all this is too inhumane and completely unacceptable.

“You have been raising awareness for 26 years. This persistence is so important. In the face of evil, we cannot retreat or give up. Change may only start with one person. You must keep going and must not stop.

“We must stand up and oppose all forms of persecution. It is heartbreaking. If we don’t continue to work hard now, then all the persistence in the past will be in vain. We must keep moving forward for our future and for the next generation.”