(Minghui.org) Since the coronavirus broke out in Australia in mid-March, foot traffic in the nation's Chinatowns and Central Business Districts has dropped significantly.
Hardly any tourists visit tourist attractions, so Falun Gong practitioners have put their efforts into telling people in China about the persecution of Falun Gong online and through text messages and phone calls.
It has been 21 years since the April 25 appeal in Beijing, where over 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered to appeal for the right to practice the meditation practice freely.
Mr. Luo began to practice Falun Gong in Brisbane, Australia, in 1996. He said the appeal in Beijing caused a stir in Chinese communities around the world. “After the incident, many of my Chinese friends learned about Falun Gong and were curious about the practice. They thought Falun Gong practitioners were remarkable,” Mr Luo said.
A month after the appeal, the number of Falun Gong group practice sites in Brisbane increased from just one to more than twenty. Throughout Australia, practice sites sprang up in every major city.
Over 10,000 practitioners went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong on April 25, 1999.
Practitioners in Australia have continued to hand out information about Falun Gong and The Epoch Times newspaper to Chinese businesses during the pandemic. They have also gone to shopping centers and residential areas to distribute brochures when circumstances have allowed. Practitioners have noticed that business owners who had refused to accept The Epoch Times newspaper will take it now.
In addition, practitioners mailed a special edition of The Epoch Times about the coronavirus to elected officials. Some copies were also dropped off in residential letter boxes to inform people about the CCP's coverup of the pandemic.
Most practitioners, however, have put their efforts into communicating with people in mainland China who otherwise would not hear the truth about the pandemic, the CCP's deception, and Falun Gong.
Ms. Chen, a young practitioner in Queensland, has been talking to Chinese tourists and getting them to quit the CCP for many years. She is now using social media to help young people in China see through the lies spread by the CCP in its cover-up of the outbreak. She has been helping these Chinese renounce their Communist Party memberships online.
Continuing to Raise Awareness Through a Variety of Means
The demeanor shown by practitioners during the April 25 appeal left a deep impression on the outside world and was described as a monument to human morality. Jiang Zemin, then leader of the Communist Party, subsequently ordered the persecution of Falun Gong. For 21 years, in continuation of the spirit of April 25, practitioners all over the world have persisted in telling people about the persecution using rational, peaceful means.
Mr. Fan, a practitioner in Melbourne, said, “It's been 21 years. Every year we commemorate the event through various activities. Over the years, more and more people have become aware of the persecution and have signed the petition to stop the suppression. Many people think society needs the values of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance taught by Falun Gong.”
“Although this year we are not able to hold our usual large-scale activities due to the government restrictions to control the spread of the virus, we have not stopped raising awareness about the persecution,” he said. “Some of us are making phone calls to China, some spread the facts through social media, and others do letter box drops. As long as the persecution continues, we will keep doing what we are doing.”
