Australia: Hundreds of Residents Gather Outside the Prime Minister's Residence to Express Their Concern over the Shooting in South Africa

By Falun Gong practitioners in Australia

(Clearwisdom.net) At noon on July 11, 2004, more than two hundred Australians from around the country arrived at Prime Minister Howard's residence in Sydney. They hand-delivered over one hundred personal letters and flowers to peacefully express their concern over the shooting of Australian Falun Dafa practitioners in South Africa. They also called upon the Australian government to pay attention to the personal security of Australian citizens, extend assistance and righteous support to injured Falun Gong practitioner David Liang in the shooting incident in South Africa, and to resist the extension of similar terrorism to Australia.

On June 28, 2004, Australian citizen David Liang was injured in a shooting incident in South Africa. The evidence showed that this was not an accidental event or attempted robbery, and the South African police have classified it as attempted murder. David Liang and eight other Australian citizens were all Falun Gong practitioners. They had traveled to South Africa to peacefully appeal for Falun Gong during the visit of Chinese Vice-President Zeng Qinghong and Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai in South Africa, and at the same time to serve these two high-ranking officials of the Party with a lawsuit for participating in the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

Most of the people who were appealing at the Prime Minister's residence were Australian citizens who practice Falun Gong. They peacefully held flowers and letters, and walked from Sydney's Valentine's Bay or took the buses to gather outside the Prime Minister's residence, where they quietly stood in a line in the cold winter wind and heavy rains. The practitioners sincerely hoped that the Australian Government and all kind-hearted people would condemn Jiang's group's terrorist act in South Africa of hiring gunmen to shoot Falun Gong practitioners, and thereby stop its extension of terrorism to the rest of the world.

David Liang being interviewed

David Liang appealing to South Africa government for the gunshot case

Delivering appeal letter

David Liang arrived outside the Prime Minister's residence in a wheelchair, with both feet wrapped in thick bandages. Mr. Liang said that he came here from the hospital in the rain to tell people that Jiang's group's state-sponsored terrorism has been extended overseas. The shooting incident in South Africa was a premeditated act of terror targeting Falun Gong practitioners. If such evildoings are not stopped, other innocent people may suffer the same harm.

In the past few years, Mr. Liang has been placed on a blacklist by Jiang's group for practicing Falun Gong, and was once refused entry into Hong Kong. Even though he was in Australia, Mr. Liang has been harassed on several occasions: his vehicle's tires were punctured because there were symbols of Falun Gong on his car, and his car window was shattered and Falun Gong books and materials were stolen. Mr. Liang called upon the Australian Prime Minister to pay attention to the shooting incident that he and other practitioners experienced in South Africa, and he hoped that the tragedy wouldn't happen to others.

Flowers were placed in a big colorful box outside the Prime Minister's residence. Because the Prime Minister was having a meeting, he could not accept the letters himself. However, the federal police accepted over a hundred letters on his behalf.

An Englishman who had traveled to Australia and was visiting his friend's home near the Prime Minister's residence saw the practitioners and stopped to find out more. He learned that the crowd of people who were holding flowers and letters had come to raise the Prime Minister's awareness about the terrorist incident. When he learned that an Australian Falun Gong practitioner had suffered gunshots in South Africa, he joined the practitioners without hesitation. He told a reporter that he also wanted to join the practitioners, to express his opposition to terrorism. The Englishman had heard about Falun Gong in the UK, and was very much concerned about the group and the serious persecution Falun Gong practitioners are suffering in China.

A federal police expressed to the reporter that he appreciated Falun Gong practitioners' peacefulness and rationality. He also hoped that their wishes for justice and for an end to the persecution could become reality.

Australian ABC-TV and AFP conducted interviews on location.
Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/7/13/79311.html

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