Practitioners in Sydney Celebrate World Falun Dafa Day (Photos)
By Minghui reporters Hua Qing and Yun Yun in Sydney
(Clearwisdom.net) On May 10, 2008, close to one thousand Falun Gong
practitioners attended a large scale activity in Sydney's city center in
celebration of the 9th World Falun Dafa day and the 16th anniversary of Falun
Dafa's introduction to the public. A wide variety of programs were presented,
including a grand parade, traditional dance and song performances in Chinatown
and the "Uncompromising Courage" art exhibit, as well as a large group
practice, to greet Master on his birthday and praise the mighty virtue of Dafa.
Practitioners and the people of Sydney came together to celebrate this
magnificent day in history. Celebration for World Falun Dafa Day Greetings from Australian government officials The celebratory activities on World Falun Dafa day received congratulatory
messages from the Honorable Chris Bowen, an Australian Member of Parliament and
Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs;
Leader of the Australian Democrats Senator Natasha Stott Despoja; and New South
Wales Upper House Members of Parliament the Honorable Marie Ficarra and Ian
Cohen. In his letter, Mr. Chris Bowen wrote, "In celebration of the 16th
year for which Falun Dafa was introduced, I express my most sincere wishes to
you. We all hope for the day that Falun Dafa practitioners will be able to live
freely in any corner of the world." New South Wales member of the Upper House Parliament,Marie Ficarra stated in
her congratulatory message, "I sincerely wish all practitioners of Falun
Dafa and its supporters happiness on this 16th year anniversary. Since its
introduction in 1992, Falun Dafa has attracted hundreds of millions of people.
Falun Dafa has brought to you physical health, spiritual strength, and peace in
the heart, which all contribute to improving our quality of life and
relationships with one another. You follow the principles of 'Truthfulness,
Compassion and Forbearance' in your everyday life, the most meaningful belief in
one's lifetime. You have also been advocates of peace, forgiveness, and harmony
in our society. This is most worthy of praise. Again I would like to wish you a
successful celebration for the 16th anniversary of Falun Dafa being introduced
to the world." New South Wales Member of the Upper House Parliament Mr. Ian Cohen said in
his letter, "I am very glad to see that your group has strengthened,
despite the many difficulties you have faced from the Chinese Communist
government. All governments and people should no longer neglect the human rights
persecution happening in China. I hope you can continue to persist, and welcome
a new government this year that will respect differences in opinion, as well as
encourage the development and prosperity of various cultures." The grand parade becomes an annual celebration in Sydney At 11 o'clock in the morning, the grand parade began its journey through
Sydney's city center. The parade formations were divided into three sections,
the first of which displayed the beauty of Falun Dafa, the second presented
anti-persecution messages, while the third sent messages encouraging people to
quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and about the Nine Commentaries
on the Communist Party. The parade began at Town Hall and continued
down George Street, the busiest street in the city center, and passed Chinatown
before it arrived at the Sydney Entertainment Center. Practitioners from
different ethnic backgrounds, male and female, young and old, attracted many
bystanders as the parade progressed. In particular, tourists from China and
other Asian regions picked up their cameras to capture this precious moment in
history. Many people also actively inquired about truth clarifying
materials, and the whereabouts of local practice sites. According to Johnathan, the chief marshal of the parade, World Falun Dafa Day
has become an official annual event on the calendar of the Sydney city council.
Johnathan said, "Our event received great support from the Sydney police
department, City Hall, the Sydney Port Authority, the Roads and Traffic
Authority, and the City Rail department." The Divine Land Marching Band lead the parade. Its magnificent tunes moved
the hearts of many people and presented the courageous spirit and tenacious
vitality of Falun Gong practitioners. A large model of the book Zhuan Falun, an exercise troop
of practitioners in golden yellow outfits, a banner that read "Falun Dafa
in over 80 Countries Worldwide", as well as a lotus flower float and
Celestial Maiden formation, presented the beauty of Falun Dafa. In front a
banner proclaiming "Falun Dafa is Good, Truthfulness, Compassion,
Forbearance" was held by practitioners. This was followed by dancers in
Tang Dynasty costumes, fan dancers, Chinese lute (pipa) players, and Qing
Dynasty dancers, all graceful and beautiful in displaying traditional Chinese
culture. Parade in celebration of World Falun Dafa Day Divine Land Marching Band The Celestial Maidens formation The second section of the parade displayed strong messages against the
persecution. Practitioners held giant banners that read "The World Brings
Jiang Zemin to Justice," "Bring Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing, Zhou
Yongkang to Legal Justice," "Stop Harvesting Organs from Falun Gong
Practitioners," "Matas and Kilgour Report - More than 40 000 organ
transplants in China have no record of donors," and "Thousands of
Falun Gong Practitioners Are Missing." Reenactments of the horrific crimes
of organ harvesting were presented on a moving truck, and a group of female
practitioners dressed all in white carried the photos of fellow practitioners
who had been persecuted in China. The display was riveting and stunned many
onlookers. The third section of the parade was a large formation of banners such as:
"Heavens Disintegrates the Chinese Communist Party" and other messages
relevant to quitting the CCP. The banners reminded people that no persecution of
a righteous belief has ever succeeded in history. During the nine years of the
persecution of Falun Gong, the CCP has thoroughly failed in this endeavor. On
the contrary, it has triggered a giant wave of withdrawals from the Party.
People have come to realize the evil nature of the CCP and chosen to stand on
the side of conscience and justice, toward a bright future. In the final section of the parade practitioners held colorful flags
imprinted with "Falun Dafa Is Good." During the parade, the vitality
displayed by the practitioners won much applause from onlookers. At the end of
the parade, all the practitioners stood for a group photo to wish greeting
revered Master Happy Birthday. Bystanders watching the parade The thankfulness of Falun Gong practitioners During an interview, Ms. Zhao, one of the event organizers, said,
"Today, many Falun Gong practitioners and I have taken part in this
celebration with a heart of great thanksgiving. During the past 16 years, Falun
Dafa has spread around the world and benefited hundreds of millions of people.
However, for nine years it has suffered brutal persecution and malicious slander
from the Chinese Communist regime. We hope to bring the wonderful message of
Falun Dafa to more Australian people and the people of China. In the struggle
between good and evil during the past nine years, Falun Dafa practitioners have
suffered infinite pains and have even lost their lives. Yet they persist in
peace, rationality, giving without selfishness, to clarify the truth and spread
the seeds of compassion. From the World Falun Dafa Day celebrations over the
past years, one can also see that more and more Australian and Chinese people
have come to understand the truth about Falun Dafa. They have taken a stand
against the persecution and voiced their support for justice. An ever-increasing
number of people have also entered the path of cultivation." For one practitioner from Beijing, it was the second time she had attended
World Falun Dafa Day celebrations. She said, "After the Chinese Communist
regime began its persecution of Falun Gong, we were not able to enjoy freedom
like this to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day in China. I am very glad to attend
this celebratory event once again." She also said, "I practice Falun
Gong here [in Australia] without any pressure. Yet, in China, my family has
suffered continuous persecution. I felt very moved in the parade today. In the
section that mourned Falun Gong practitioners who have been persecuted to death,
I could feel the emotions of onlookers were as heavy as our own. I feel the
audience has much sympathy for practitioners of Falun Gong that are being
persecuted." Emma from Brisbane worked as the manager of a health and fitness club. She
said in an interview, "I discovered this practice in the park, and when I
began to practice, it felt wonderful. I began to read Zhuan Falun and
started to cultivate quite naturally. Through the practice of Falun Dafa, my
life has changed very much." Former associate professor in the Chinese Academy of Science Ms Liu Jinghang
said, "During these years of the Chinese Communist regime's persecution of
Falun Gong, Falun Gong has spread further to all corners of the world, and the
number of practitioners has continued to rise. Although the persecution
continues, more than 36 million people have withdrawn from the Chinese Communist
Party and its related organizations. This shows that people are awakening and
have chosen to distance themselves from the evil Party. As more people quit the
CCP, the disintegration of the Chinese Communist regime is set to be quite a
natural event. During these years, Falun Gong practitioners have spread the
messages of 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance' around the world in their
peaceful and rational calls to protest the persecution. I believe in the near
future people all over the world will come together to celebrate this grand
occasion."
Chinese version available at
http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/5/12/178287.html
Yearly Archive
Printer Version
feedback@clearwisdom.net