(Clearwisdom.net) On May 25, 2009, former Chinese Minister of Education Chen Zhili visited Canberra, the capital of Australia. Chen aggressively participated in the persecution of Falun Gong in China. Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference in front of the Canberra Parliament House to expose Chen's crimes against humanity.

Practitioners exposed Chen's crimes in front of the Canberra Parliament House.

Practitioners did the Falun Gong exercises in front of the Chinese Consulate to protest the persecution.

Practitioners condemned Chen's use of the education system to persecute Falun Gong.

At 7:30 a.m. on May 25, practitioners displayed banners on Melbourne Avenue, where most members and staff of Parliament walk by every morning. They exposed the persecution of Falun Gong in China. After 9:00 a.m., they gathered at the lawn in front of Parliament and displayed banners saying "Chen Zhili carried out policies to exterminate Falun Gong in the education system," "SOS- Immediately stop stealing and selling organs from living Falun Gong practitioners," "Stop the persecution of Falun Gong," and "Falun Dafa is good." At 11:00 a.m., practitioners held a press conference in front of Parliament to expose Chen's crimes.

Dr. Fan Jiazhong spoke on behalf of the Falun Dafa Association. "In July 1999, Jiang Zemin ordered the persecution of Falun Gong. Chen Zhili was an active participant from the beginning. Many times in her capacity as the Minister of Education, Chen forced all teachers and students across the country to watch videos that slandered Falun Gong. She forced students to sign a 'Million-People Petition' and used their signatures to justify the persecution initiated by a few people. Through the educational system, Chen inserted content that slandered Falun Gong into teaching materials used at every school. Chen took CCTV programs that slandered Falun Gong and ordered all students in teachers' colleges to study them. Her intent was to brainwash the future teachers and to infuse them with hatred toward Falun Gong. For teachers who practiced Falun Gong and refused to attack and give up Falun Gong, Chen ordered them to be fired or imprisoned. If students refused to give up Falun Gong, Chen had them expelled from school and forbade them from graduating and going on to higher education. Many of the teachers and students were sent to brainwashing centers, prisons, and psychiatric hospitals. Some subsequently died as a result of torture."

Dr. Fan stated that the Australian government should not have invited a person who severely violated human rights to visit Australia. "It's our duty to expose Chen's crimes to the Australian government. Many people in Australia have witnessed or have been victimized by Chen's crimes back in China. Today we want to submit an open letter to Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith and expose Chen's crimes."

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Yang Huici attended the rally that day. She said, "Chen abused the educational system, and diverted large amounts of national resources and educational funds to propagate lies and suppress Falun Gong. Xue Linyan was a practitioner from Mei County, Guangdong Province. In 2005, Xue was a sophomore in Wuyi University in Jiangmen City. Xue told people the facts about the persecution and distributed informational fliers on campus. The school and the Jianmen City 610 Office imprisoned her and put her in a forced labor camp for two years."

Ms. Yang called on people to help stop the persecution so that practitioners can practice in an unrestrained environment.

Practitioner Jinglian spoke of her own experience. "When I was in middle school in China, there was a question on one of my tests. It said, 'Do you think Falun Gong is a cult? Why?' My teacher told us, 'If you answer yes, you will get full credit, otherwise you will get zero points.' In a highly competitive environment, all the students answered yes. Chen abused the education system to brainwash and poison students all over the country. Chen's persecution of Falun Gong violated the education laws: 'Regardless of race, ethnicity, sex, occupation, wealth, and religious belief, everyone is to possess equal opportunity for education.' Chen utilized national educational resources to infuse lies and propagate hatred among young people. She instigated students who did not know the facts about the persecution to participate in mass protests against Falun Gong. In order to reach political ends, she propagated ideology to suppress people's freedom of belief. Australia should not welcome such a person."

After the press conference, the practitioners proceeded to the Chinese Consulate to continue their protest.