(Minghui.org) On March 20, 2013 Falun Gong practitioners from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Canberra held a rally in front of the Australian Parliament in Canberra. Through speeches, banners, eyewitness accounts and torture re-enactments, they exposed the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong and the crime of harvesting organs from imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners in China.
David Kilgour, former Canadian Secretary of State, Parliament Member and human rights activist, addresses the rally
Maria Fiatarone Singh, Medical Professor at the University of Sydney, spoke about the CCP's crimes of organ harvesting
Re-enacting the tortures that the CCP uses on Falun Gong practitioners in China
Liu Li, a Falun Gong practitioner, spoke about the persecution that she and her family experienced in China
The rally venue
David Kilgour, former Canadian Secretary of State, Member of Parliament and human rights activist, and Maria Fiatarone Singh, a Medical Professor at the University of Sydne,y addressed the rally after attending a forum with Australian Members of Parliament. Six Falun Gong practitioners recounted their experiences of being persecuted and tortured in China.
Working with Lawmakers and Physicians to Protect Prisoners of Conscience in China
Mr. Kilgour said in his speech that many Australian Parliament Members support taking actions to counter illegal organ transplantation. He said that Members of Parliament are working with physicians to form a committee against organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience and illegal organ transplantation surgeries.
Professor Maria Fiatarone Singh, a Medical Professor at the University of Sydney, suggested to Members of Parliament that Australian physicians should not attend any organ transplant conferences or forums in which China is involved. She said that Australian researchers and physicians should not collaborate academically with Chinese physicians on organ transplantation research.
David Kilgour has been traveling in Australia for a month, in an effort to pass on the message that legal organ transplantation is not only a moral issue, but also protects innocent people, such as Falun Gong practitioners under persecution in China.
First-hand Accounts of Persecution
At the rally, six Falun Gong practitioners recounted their personal experiences of being tortured and forced to do heavy labor in China.
Mr. Liu Lianjun was arrested twice because he refused to renounce his belief. He was badly beaten in jail and lost three of his teeth. He was forced to do hard labor 12 hours every day.
Ms. Liu Li told the rally attendees about the persecution that her family members have experienced. Her mother has been arrested five times. Her sister was sentenced to five years. Her husband, Jia Hua, was fired from his job and became homeless in 2001. Their son has not seen his father since then. Liu Li did not hear from her husband until June 2006, when she learned that he had been arrested in Shaanxi, and sentenced to eight years. Liu Li called upon the Australian people to help to stop the persecution.
Graduate Student Subjected to Unspeakable Torture
Liu Jintao was a graduate student at China Shiyou University. He was jailed in Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp, where he was subjected to unspeakable torture. The perpetrators beat him, forced him to curse the founder of Falun Gong, Mr. Li Hongzhi, forced him to sit on a small stool for prolonged lengths of time, denied him use of the restroom for prolonged times, and forced him to watch videos that slandered Falun Gong. After Mr. Liu started a hunger strike in protest, the guards brutally force-fed him.
The torture and abuse became more severe. The perpetrators inserted a stick into his anus and squeezed his genitals. They stuffed feces in his mouth. The guards pulled out Liu Jintao's hair, eyebrows, beard, and pubic hair. In the winter, they poured cold water on his blanket. If Mr. Liu fell asleep, the guards jabbed his fingernails with needles. They ordered criminal inmates to spit on Liu Jintao, and even forced his mouth open and spit directly into his mouth.
Liu Jintao said, “It is really a different world in Australia. I can freely talk about the truth of the persecution. Many Chinese Falun Gong practitioners are still being tortured in China. I hope that the international society can help stop it and bring the murderers to justice.”
Category: Rallies & Protests
