January 12,2002

A BATTLE of wills is being fought on a leafy street in Yarralumla [...].

On one side of the road is the imposing Embassy of the People's Republic of China, on the other is a group of protesters sitting under the trees, often in meditation pose and playing music.

The protesters are Falun Dafa or Falun Gong practitioners who have held their vigil on the grass since October 1, last year.

[...] The Falun Dafa movement, accuses the Chinese Government of imprisoning and torturing followers of a faith based merely on meditation and relaxation exercises, not unlike yoga or tai chi, because they feel threatened by its popularity.

Yesterday also marked the start of a three-day vigil by Falun Dafa practitioners at Chinese embassies and consulates in more than 30 cities around the world.

A Falun Dafa press release says the aim of the three-day vigil is to "condemn the recent rampage of arrests, torture and killings of Falun Gong practitioners in China". Visitors to the protest site in Canberra are handed a copy of the Falun Gong newsletter, which includes sketches of torture methods allegedly used on practitioners in detention centres and forced labor camps in China.

[...]

Followers of Falun Dafa say to kill is an anathema to their beliefs. A Sydney factory worker and familiar face at the Canberra protest, Zhao Liqi, says it is the Chinese Government that is ruthlessly persecuting followers back in China.

[...]

A banner at the Canberra protest site displays the number of days the followers have been on a hunger strike in protest against the Chinese Government's alleged treatment of practitioners. It is up to day 145.

That is slightly misleading because the protesters are taking it in turns to fast for 24 hours at a time. However, their commitment to the cause appears unshakeable as they maintain a round-the-clock vigil. Passing motorists often beep their car horns in support.

Both the ACT Government and the Australian Federal Police say they do not have a problem with the followers being there because they are maintaining a peaceful protest.

Peter Van Runt, who runs a computer repair business in Canberra, has been practising Falun Dafa for the last eight months. He says it is not something a person "signs up to".

Mr Van Runt says his daily sessions have cured his migraines and hay fever.

"I feel much more peaceful, like I've found my place in the world," he said.

Daniel Clark, an electrical engineer from Canberra, has been a follower for three years and attributes his considerable weight loss to it.

"It's made me a more calm and more amiable person and I've also lost 25kg over the last three months."

Mr Van Runt said at one stage the embassy displayed on its front gates graphic photographs of people killed and maimed allegedly as a result of Falun Dafa.

Mr Feng makes no apologies for the photographs.

"I'm not sure the embassy is wrong to do this . . . to tell the truth of what Falun Gong really is," he said.

The Falun Gong newsletter says that since the Chinese Government banned Falun Gong in 1999, more than 100,000 people have been arrested, more than 300 tortured to death, some 500 sentenced to prison, 20,000 sent to labour camps and more than 1000 to mental hospitals.

[...]
The founder of Falun Dafa, Li Hongzhi, in 1999 said it had "enabled more than 100 million people to achieve health" through spiritual development and exercise.

And as the rhetoric flies, this unusual stand-off continues in staid Yarralumla.