Alderman Eric Hayes (Chairman of Festivals and Tourism Special Committee)

"I'm particularly happy to be here and to tell you how much I appreciate your slogan, your tenet, of Truth Compassion and Forbearance, of which there is so little in the world at the moment.

I admire the philosophy behind this movement, I believe that we have got within us the power to make our lives better, to think ourselves into a position where we like ourselves better, to consider the effect that our actions have on the people around us and I encourage you in your endeavors and appreciate your coming to Hobart. Thank you for having me, a very sincere welcome and I wish you joy in your endeavors here in Hobart."

Margaret Reynolds (Former Senator of Queensland, now President of United Nations Association of Australia)

"It is a pleasure to be here for this special occasion at the launch of this special week. I guess from a United Nations point of view I am very pleased to be here because it gives me the opportunity to talk about many of the issues that the United Nations is concerned about and your three words Truth Compassion Forbearance; if indeed these were adopted and followed by all countries around the world, we wouldn't have the tremendous amount of violence, antagonism and war that we have today. I am particularly interested in what is happening to people who have different views because the United Nations makes it clear that people with different views are entitled under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to practice their beliefs ... and I guess when I first heard of the persecution of Falun Gong in China, I found it almost hard to believe that people could be persecuted for such a basic fundamental Human Right of being able to practice what is essentially a very non-threatening, I would have thought, non-violent form of exercise and intellectual pursuit.

... It is very hard for someone who has not had any experience with the Chinese administration to start to understand what is it that can so concern authorities ...

You see people practicing Falun Gong and you say, 'well, what is there to be worried about?' How could any reasonable person ... how could any reasonable government ... want to persecute people simply for practicing their chosen form of exercise and internal intellectualizing of their beliefs, and particularly when the words chosen are Truth Compassion and Forbearance? ... I know the Australian Government made representations to the Chinese Government about the persecution of people for practicing Falun Gong, but I think more should be said and more should be done here in Australia to highlight what is happening to people in China.

Thank you very much indeed."

Maqsood Alshams (National Coordinator for the Coalition for Justice for Refugees and Migrants)

"Thank you very much for the invitation. Tasmania is a very beautiful place. The State Government have a directive called multi-cultural Tasmania who encourage the Refugees and Migrants to come and settle down in Tasmania.

This morning we are dealing with a painful cause ...

I myself am a Refugee from Bangladesh. I'm a persecuted person and that's why I sought protection in Australia and at the moment I'm working as the National Coordinator for the Coalition for Justice for Refugees and Migrants, a coalition of forty-two mainstream organizations advocating the cause of refugees and migrants.

We advocate the cause of persecution, or we advocate against the persecution by any government anywhere in the world. Through a newspaper report sent from my own network we have been informed about the persecution caused to the Falun Gong practitioners for their beliefs in China. It really horrifies me and [the] Coalition believes that we have to...I mean all the members of the Coalition should raise their voice to stop this kind of persecution in China. I have seen people being burned people and being severely assaulted by the police. A friend of mine, Jamie Parker, who is Convener of the New South Wales Green[s], has visited China and personally witnessed the torture of the Falun Gong Practitioners.

Since my childhood I have believed in Truth Compassion and Forbearance. To me I learned it in a different way - to me, God is truth, God is love and compassion. I have seen that same practice exists in Falun Gong; that they believe in Truth Compassion and Forbearance.

At the moment in this modern civilization I think that there is a lack of compassion. With people in different countries, the more we are getting civilized the more we are losing our compassion towards other people.

... mainstream Australians have an inescapable responsibility to give them support to expose their plight and for everyone to get to know that people are being persecuted in China and everyone has a moral obligation to save them. At the same time the Coalition for justice for Refugees and Migrants will continue its support and cooperation with Falun Gong to expose our cause against the violation of Human Rights in different countries.

Thank you."

Duncan Kerr (Local MP, Shadow Minister for Justice and Customs and Population)

"When you hear accounts of that kind (referring to Jennifer's experience sharing regarding being detained in a Chinese Labor Camp) you realize that the difficulties most Tasmanians face in their daily lives pale into insignificance. But all of us have our troubles, all of us have our choices of conscience, and all of us face difficult choices when we are tempted to take paths that are other than good. So there is a 'universalism' about the issues that Falun Gong confronts. I'm not a Falun Gong believer, or practitioner, but I do very strongly believe in the universal principles of Human Rights. I do very strongly believe in the entitlement of every man or woman to seek a path of truth and goodness as they see fit to the best of their abilities. And where the world does not allow this is an affront to those universal values that has been sought to be achieved when we established the United Nations... when we committed ourselves to a Universal Declaration of Human Rights ...

What we do need to do as people who live in societies where there is less pressure in our daily lives is to make a little space to think of the difficulties others face, to find some small time in our own lives to speak out against the kind of outrages that happen to others who are simply pursuing their right to express their religious commitments or their spiritual commitments and to find some small time in our holiday period to come together to thank those who have put on the displays today ...

Thank you."