The Epoch Times: University Takes a Principled Stand
By James Burke
The Epoch Times July 6, 2005 Sydney's University of Technology (UTS) has stood up to pressure from the
Chinese Communist Party by refusing to remove mention of a Falun Dafa meditation
club from its website. As a result, the UTS website has been blocked in China,
which is expected to lower the number of incoming Chinese students,
substantially affecting university revenue. At a Vice Chancellor's meeting on June 20, UTS Vice Chancellor Ross Milbourne
announced that an increase in undergraduate student fees was largely due to the
university taking a principled stand in keeping Falun Dafa content on the site. The incident is in line with allegations by Chinese defector Chen Yonglin of
a general pattern of petty harassment and monitoring of Australian Falun Gong
practitioners by Chinese Government agents. Student Representative Council President, Michelle Sparkes, says there is
continuing concern by the council about occasions of discrimination against the
Falun Dafa meditation club, because of pressure from the Chinese Government. The
latest episode was the deletion of the club and any mention of Falun Dafa from
the Union website. "[We] were aware it was because of the political pressure to do with
China's disapproval of the movement in China," said Ms. Sparkes. "A staff member of UTS Union... e-mailed me pointing out that the union
had been told by the university to remove the Falun Dafa meditation society
details from the websites where all the other clubs and societies were
listed," Ms. Sparkes said. Ms. Zhao Ruoyun, a UTS lecturer in Business Studies and member of the Falun
Dafa club, said she was shocked at such intimidation, but said the UTS Union and
SRC were supportive, and within a week the decision was reversed. Ms. Sparkes said, "I think that it is in part because the UTS Union
employee didn't just stay quiet about it, he quite obviously and pointedly
e-mailed to seven different bodies with a string of letters of support." The SRC passed a resolution and sent letters of condemnation to the
Registrar, the university Vice Chancellor and the local state Member of
Parliament. Ms. Sparkes said that without student unions applying pressure and
speaking up, issues such as these might not be addressed. "[Unless] you have a framework and infrastructure set up there to do the
kind of representational activity then who is going to take any notice? Who is
going to listen?" she said. The Falun Dafa meditation club was founded in UTS in the beginning of 2004.
Ms Zhao said she and the other club members teach the Falun Dafa exercises for
free and also participate in various club and university activities. The meditation practice Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, was banned in
China in July 1999 after its estimated numbers of over 70 million exceeded
Chinese Communist Party membership. A brutal crackdown has followed, with over
2500 practitioners confirmed dead through torture and abuse in custody. A Chinese diplomat who defected recently, in Sydney, has confirmed that the
CCP has spread the persecution of Falun Dafa to overseas countries by harassing
Falun Dafa practitioners and pressuring individuals, companies and nations to
ignore human rights issues if they want to trade with China.
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