(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in Melbourne, Australia, held events on Queensbridge Square on May 8, 2021, to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day. This special day, which marks the 29^th anniversary of Falun Dafa’s public introduction, also coincides with the 70^th birthday of Falun Dafa’s founder Mr. Li Hongzhi. Practitioners expressed their gratitude to Master Li. Guest speakers joined the celebrations to commend Falun Dafa practitioners for their great contributions to society and their tireless work to end the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution.

Practitioners in Melbourne wish Master Li a happy 70^th birthday.

Falun Dafa practitioners of various ethnicities wish Master Li a happy birthday.

Performances on Queensbridge Square celebrate May 13th World Falun Dafa Day.

The president of the Falun Dafa Association of Australia’s Victoria Branch, Mr. Fan Huiqiang, introduced the exercises and principles of Falun Dafa. Many people were fascinated, and some said they wished to learn to practice Falun Dafa.

Mayor of Banyule Thanks Falun Dafa for Contributions to Community

Mr. Rick Garottie, Mayor of Banyule City, joined the celebration.

Mr. Rick Garottie, Mayor of Banyule City and finance director for a large health service in Melbourne, expressed his gratitude for being invited to the Falun Dafa event and expressed his support for Falun Dafa’s contributions and presence in the Banyule community.

Mr. Garottie said in his speech, “One of the big things in Banyule is that we embrace and celebrate diversity. The work that Falun Dafa does is really about embracing people and from a spirituality sense. Celebrating Falun Dafa and the enormous contribution you are making to our community is another component of what makes Melbourne and Australia so great!” 

“Struck by Falun Dafa Practitioners’ Persistence and Gentleness”

Mr. Peter Westmore, former National President of the National Civic Council (NCC)

Mr. Peter Westmore, former National President of the NCC and author of News Weekly, gave a speech and praised Falun Dafa’s principles, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, for being essential to both a civilized society and a prosperous society.

Mr. Westmore said that the Falun Dafa exercises were good for physical and mental health, but for many years, the importance of those benefits was underestimated in the West. “I believe that the underlining principles behind Falun Dafa read Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. I would like to say to you that these are the principles which every person in our society should adhere to. This set of principles are the foundation to personal fulfillment and to the good of society.

“I have been struck by Falun Dafa practitioners’ persistence in their beliefs, and by the gentleness of their beliefs... I support them completely.”

“Defense and Promotion of the Highest Ethical Beliefs and Practices” 

Mr. Gerard Flood, former vice chairman of the Democratic Labor Party

Mr. Gerard Flood, former vice chairman of the Democratic Labor Party, highly praised Falun Dafa’s contribution on behalf of the Democratic Labor Party, and all citizens of good will. He said, “I must thank you and congratulate all Falun Dafa practitioners for their immense and irreplaceable contributions to the whole community’s health, happiness, welfare, and progress, and also to the defense and promotion of the highest ethical beliefs and practices in all the practices in all of the accumulated wisdom of civilization...

“Another immensely good thing which Falun Dafa gives to the world, and to us here in Victoria, is their public commitment to Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance. These three virtues are supreme in natural law principles. They remind me that I must recognize and overcome my own personal failures in searching for the truth, and for telling the truth, likewise, my failures of generosity, charity, and kindness, and my weakness in failing to keep my promises. I thank Falun Dafa and its practitioners for their encouragement to overcome my failures in these most important behaviors.”

CEO of MCJ Report: I Admire Practitioners’ Courage

Mr. Morgan C. Jonas, CEO of MCJ Report

Mr. Morgan C. Jonas, CEO of independent media MCJ Report, said, “...over the years, I’ve learned about the movement, and I admire Falun Dafa very much. I appreciate the principles of self-enlightenment, good health, and reaching a higher level of awareness.

“In China, Falun Dafa practitioners have been subjected to the worst crimes imaginable, perhaps even worse than some people could even think. I’m talking about industrial scale tortures, murders, enslavement, and even worse, organ harvesting...I admire the courage of the practitioners. Today, they actually stand bravely...Isn’t it nice that here in Australia we can have groups such as Falun Dafa that are free to express their views and practice, their beliefs, and free to put on these demonstrations to show the world what they believe in!”

Resurrection of Morality in China

Mr. Ruan Jie, editor-in-chief of the pro-democracy Chinese Australian newspaper The Tiananmen Times

Mr. Ruan Jie, editor-in-chief of the pro-democracy Chinese Australian newspaper The Tiananmen Times, said in his speech, “Twenty-nine years ago, Falun Gong was born in China. It was the start of the resurrection of morality in China. I tell you, Falun Gong has been significant in Chinese history, especially in restoring morality.

“In 1999, the former head of the Chinese Communist Party, Jiang Zemin, said that the Communist Party would wipe out Falun Gong in 3 months, but today, you can see the Communist regime has no friends over the world. They have nowhere to go. They have been rejected everywhere, but Falun Gong has spread all over the world, and is welcomed all around the world, because the values of Falun Gong are good for us, and good for the whole world. 

“Falun Gong strives to stop the persecution and uphold their freedom of belief. What they are doing is to restore the spirit of the Chinese people against the dictatorship. I believe Falun Gong will make a great contribution to Chinese history, and lay a foundation for China to become a normal society again in the future.”

Overseas Media Reporter Appreciates Falun Dafa

Mr. Avi Yemini, an overseas media chief correspondent to Australia 

Mr. Avi Yemini, an overseas media chief correspondent to Australia, interviewed Falun Gong practitioners and spectators at the celebration.

Mr. Yemini said that he enjoyed the event and thought Australians would benefit from hearing the whole history of Falun Dafa. “I've talked to some practitioners. They all said that Falun Dafa saved their lives and made them better people.” After seeing how the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) propaganda influenced some students from China, Avi said he realized that “The CCP is really bad and dangerous. If we don’t stop it (CCP propaganda) now, everyone will head in the same direction as mainland China soon. It could happen quicker than you could ever imagine.” 

He said he appreciates what practitioners are doing, and would like to help spread the word. 

Background: What Is Falun Dafa?

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was introduced to the public in 1992. Nearly 100 million people across China were soon practicing Falun Dafa after experiencing improvements in their health and character. Jiang Zemin, former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), perceived the spiritual discipline's growing popularity as a threat to the CCP's atheistic ideology and on July 20, 1999, issued an order to ban the practice.

Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners as a result of the persecution over the past 22 years. The actual number is believed to be much higher. More have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.

There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply the organ transplant industry.

Under Jiang's personal direction, the CCP established the 610 Office, an extralegal security organization with the power to override the police and judicial systems and whose sole function is to carry out the persecution of Falun Dafa.