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Falun Gong Practitioners in Australia File Lawsuit Against Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer
On June 8, 2005, Falun Gong practitioners in Australia filed a lawsuit against Australian Foreign Minister, Mr. Alexander Downer, in the Australian Capital Territory's Supreme Court in Canberra, Australia. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop Mr. Downer from using Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities (DPI) Regulations to prevent the displaying of Falun Gong banners and the playing of amplified music outside the Chinese Embassy in Canberra.
The lawsuit seeks a ruling from the court that the DPI certificates signed by Mr. Downer are illegal. Further, the lawsuit asks the court to rule that the Foreign Minister has the responsibility to protect the rights of freedom of speech of Falun Gong practitioners in Australia, thus the rights to display banners and to use amplification equipment. The lawsuit asks for punitive compensation and demands the return of Falun Gong banners that have been confiscated.
The plaintiffs of the lawsuits are Australian citizen Ms. Jani Dai and Ms. Zhang Cuiying. Ms. Dai's husband died from persecution in China, leaving behind Ms. Dai and their young daughter. Ms. Zhang Cuiying traveled to China to appeal for justice for Falun Gong several years ago. She was arrested and illegally jailed in a Chinese prison for eight months, where she was tortured.
Mr. Hao Fengjun, a former member of the Tianjin State Security Bureau and 610 Office, and Mr. Yuan Hongbin, a Chinese law professor, provided evidence for the lawsuits. Both Mr. Hao and Mr. Yuan are seeking asylum from the Australian government. The lawsuit also includes previously undisclosed evidence from the Chinese defectors, exposing the widespread torture and murder in China.
Background Information
On March 18, 2002, The Australian Times reported that the federal police acted under orders from the Foreign Minister Mr. Downer and forcefully removed banners and amplifying equipment that Falun Gong practitioners had set up in protest of the persecution in China. The incident coincided with the Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan's visit.
The banners that were confiscated at the time had the words, "Falun Dafa is Good," "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance," "Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong" and "Bring Jiang to justice." Ever since then, Mr. Downer has used DPI regulations and signed a temporary DPI certificate each month, preventing the display of Falun Gong banners or use of amplifying equipment to play music outside the Chinese Embassy.
Lawyer for the Falun Gong practitioners Bernard Collaery said: "The Australian Government's response to the persecution of Falun Gong has been disgraceful. The desire to advance bilateral relations with China including economic relations has resulted in a supine position on human rights and is a national disgrace."
Finland: Falun Gong Photo Exhibition Tours Lapland (Photos) -- Part 1
During the spring of 2005, we contacted several libraries in Lapland and made inquiries about holding a Falun Gong photo exhibition. Several librarians were interested in holding an exhibition during the spring and summer. Most of them knew about Falun Gong already and those who didn't were interested in holding the exhibition and in finding out more.
The first exhibition was held on the 2nd of May in a local government library in Inari, which is in Ivalo. In Finland, it gets very cold in the winter and cars have to be specially modified for the extreme weather. It was almost spring-time in our hometown and all the snow had almost melted, so we had changed our cars from the winter system to the summer system. We packed the pictures and exhibit materials into the car and headed to Ivalo with our small caravan. We had to drive several hundred miles.
During the trip the weather changed and became cold, and the scenery and landscape started to look like winter again. Finally, it began to snow. Even through it still was winter in Lapland, we continued the journey with our summer system car.
When we got to the library at Inari and began hanging up the pictures, I noticed an elderly lady watching us. She asked if the pictures were from China and then told us about her many trips to China and Asia. I told her about Falun Gong and how the Chinese Communist Party persecutes Falun Gong practitioners. This woman already knew a lot about the human rights abuses happening in China.
When we made phone calls to the different libraries, we had plans to avoid some libraries in the most Nordic part of Lapland, because they were just too far away. But deep down in our hearts we knew how important it was to let more people know about the persecution. We decided that no place should be left out. With strong determination, we made plans as to how to use our time in the best way, so that the most Nordic part of Lapland could also hear about Falun Gong.
After two weeks, we again left for Lapland, first to pick up the pictures from Ivalo and then to take them to a town near the border of Norway, to the most northern city of Finland called Utsjoki, a town with 1,400 inhabitants. We drove even further this time. Most of the inhabitants in this area spoke Lapp.
At this time of the year, the sun never sets in this part of the world and it is daylight around the clock. But the nights are still cold and snow covered the ground. In the morning, we practiced the Falun Gong exercises. It was very quiet and peaceful, with only the sounds of nature. The exercises helped us to continue with our trip and left our bodies and minds feeling light and peaceful.
The librarian in Utsjoki was very interested in the photos and the practice of Falun Gong. She helped us to spread news of the exhibition to the locals by putting leaflets on notice boards.
The exhibition in Utsjoki Library
We told her that when we returned on the 25th of May, we would teach the five sets of Falun Gong exercises to those who were interested. Upon our return, there were several people eager to learn the exercises. We came to an agreement to return again in autumn, to hold another Falun Gong class.
During our trip, the weather was our biggest challenge and it tested our forbearance. The rise of the temperature made the snow melt quickly and it resulted in flooding. It was difficult to drive and sometimes it was very stormy. But, as practitioners with righteous thoughts and strong determination, nothing was going to stop us, and we continued our trip as planned and reached our destinations smoothly.
Introducing Falun Gong in a Church in Texas
On June 4, 2005, Falun Gong practitioners in Austin were invited to the city of McAllen, Texas to introduce Dafa. The city is near the border of the US and Mexico. It was the fourth time that the practitioners were invited to introduce Falun Gong this year. This time they were invited by the Unity of the Valley Church. To let more people know of the event, the church published an article in a local newspaper.
For this activity, practitioners made full preparations and set up banners and posters in the church to explain the facts of Falun Dafa and the persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Jiang's faction.
 Introduction of Falun Gong |
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 Learning and practicing Falun Gong |
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 Experience sharing, questions and answers |
Many people, including a minister, attended the activity. During the introduction of Falun Gong, with a short video the practitioners talked about the wide spread of Falun Dafa, their personal experiences in cultivation and the persecution of Falun Gong in China. An instruction video of the Falun Gong exercises was also played. The practitioners taught the exercises to the attendees, who were greatly interested in Falun Gong and attentively learned the practice.
At the end, everyone sat on the floor, shared experiences and asked questions. The minister suggested setting up a site for group practice. A lady from the church had a chance to learn Falun Gong in Austin and had started to read Zhuan Falun. She said, "This is what I was looking for. I'll continue to practice." Some attendees had some questions about eliminating attachments, some were shocked at the persecution, and others came searching for the meaning of life. Many of the attendees expressed appreciation to the practitioners before leaving. Some insisted on donating money, but the practitioners declined.
The practitioners were well received. Though the round trip took 12 hours, the practitioners were delighted to help these people learn about Dafa and told the attendees that they would be back to share experiences in the future.