(Clearwisdom.net)

September 18, 2004, was the Spring Festival in the town of Mt. Druitt. People from the surrounding suburbs came to the festival. Mt. Druitt is the largest suburb of the city of Blacktown. Blacktown has developed quickly over the recent decade and the population has reached 270,000 with 30 different cultures represented. The immigrants are mostly from Asia, Africa, South America and Eastern Europe. Blacktown is only 35 km from Sydney, and was an impoverished rural area a century ago but it has now become an important industrial city.

In the morning, the stage was set up on the plaza at the town shopping center. Groups representing the many different cultures performed one after one. Crowds of people filled the plaza. Falun Gong practitioners from west Sydney also participated in the festival. The contact person for the Falun Gong group said that this was their fifth time to be invited to the event.

At 9 a.m., the practitioners set up the information table and began to practice the exercises. Soon, the event host spoke through the microphone telling people the direction of the Falun Dafa information table and that they could sign their names there to support Falun Dafa. Many people came to see our display boards and some asked questions. The practitioners answered their questions and clarified the truth about the persecution. When people understood the nature of the persecution of Falun Gong in China, they picked up pens to sign their names on the petition form.

An older couple from Fujian Province in China began to practice Falun Gong in 1994. In July 2000, they came to Australia to visit their son. They can only speak a few English words but this doesn't stop them from clarifying the truth. They held an informational board in one hand and a signature collection form in the other hand. They showed people the pictures first. The people who understood the truth would sign their names on the form. The elderly couple collected 240 signatures during the event.

On Sunday September 18, the Ryde City government held the annual "Ryde Dragon Boat Race" on the Parramatta River. The city of Ryde is in the district of Prime Minister Howard. The national election is approaching, so Prime Minister Howard is very active in local events during his campaign. At 9:30 a.m., the prime minister came to the dragon boat race in person and gave the opening speech.

Australians like water sports and many families came to the event. The Sydney Falun Gong practitioners also applied to participate in the event to introduce Falun Dafa, collect signatures, demonstrate the exercises and teach Falun Gong.

Around 1 p.m. in the afternoon, the host introduced Falun Dafa to visitors and invited the people to learn more about what was happening in China.

Hurstville is close to the international airport at the south of Sydney. Many Chinese choose to live here, especially businessmen. The Chinese culture has rooted deeply in this area. The town of Lugarno is within the City of Hurstville. The Spring Festival has been organized by the Lugarno Lion's Club for the past 25 years. There was also an antique car parade, a multi-cultural show and food market. The event attracts between 20,000 to 30,000 people every year.

Falun Gong practitioners were invited to this event for the third year in a row. Practitioners chose to use large display boards explaining about the persecution in China. They also displayed The Journey of Falun Dafa pictures. The photo exhibit was very effective. Many people who looked at the pictures could hardly believe that such tortures were still happening in China. They asked a lot of questions and the practitioners answered them. After they learned the truth, people signed their names to support the petition to end the persecution. Groups of high school students came to see the photo exhibition and asked for the locations of free Falun Gong exercise teaching classes.