On the morning of November 8, over 130 Falun Gong practitioners gathered in front of the Capitol of Australia and held a press conference. Banners "Stop persecuting Falun Gong" and pictures were hung around the conference site. After practitioners finished the five sets of exercises, the press conference started at noon.

First, a letter was read from Senator Vicky Baurne, in which the Senator calls on the Australian government to urge the Chinese government to stop the persecution of Falun Gong, and also to investigate the harassment experienced by Australian practitioners in Australia.

Next, Falun Gong practitioner Zhang Cuiying shared her experiences with everyone. She was arrested when she landed on Chinese soil in March of this year because she sent a letter to the Chinese government speaking up for Falun Gong. She was beaten and was tortured while in jail for 8 months. Her experience revealed how brutal Jiang Zemin is in persecuting people who believe in "Zhen-Shan-Ren" (Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance). She expressed her gratefulness to the Australian government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Australia, and the diplomats in the Australian Embassy in China. They all had given her support during her 8-month detention and put in a great effort making it possible her early return to Australia.

Then, the conference disclosed the accusatory letter that 45 Falun Gong practitioners in Australia wrote. In this letter they pointed out that, Jiang Zemin goes beyond the Constitution and the Charter of the Communist Party, ignores the law and brutally persecutes Falun Gong. Their own experiences revealed many facts as to how Jiang Zemin and his accomplices are persecuting people who did not do anything illegal. Over 60 practitioners have died as a result of the state-sanctioned persecution, many sent to mental hospitals, and many families have been disrupted because of the persecution.

Finally, an open letter by Falun Gong practitioners to the Australian government was read, calling on the government to give stronger humanistic support to Falun Gong and help end the violence Jiang Zemin and his cohorts are committing.

Practitioners in Australia

November 9, 2000