By a practitioner from Sydney
Eastwood
is where the Granny Smith Apple originated, thus the Granny Smith Apple Festival
became a tradition in the North district of Sydney. This year marked the 19th
anniversary of this festival and it is also the fifth time that Falun Gong practitioners
took part in the celebration.
The City of Eastwood
belongs to the electoral district of Australian Prime Minister John Howard, and
each year, several Parliament Members make appearances during the celebration.
On October 16 this year, as usual, Falun Gong practitioners set up an information
booth and provided exercise instruction. What was different from previous years
was that in the parade, a procession showing the worldwide spread of Falun Gong
was added and the float, which the western practitioners began decorating at 4
a.m., was also very unique.
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One week before the parade, local newspapers
mentioned that the Falun Gong group would join the festivities. As the float,
waist drum troupe, and a dance team dressed in Tang Dynasty costumes slowly walked
by, not only westerners but also Chinese people warmly applauded and cheered.
A Cantonese family was also watching the parade on the roadside. The gentleman
kept saying, “Look! Falun Gong! Falun Gong!” A lady smiled and waived to a practitioner
who was dressed in a Tang Dynasty costume. The practitioner then asked her, “Do
you know about Falun Gong?” The lady said, “Yes, I do!” Although she did not say
much, her expression showed her admiration and appreciation of the practitioners.
Upon seeing western practitioners in the procession, a senior couple from Beijing
said to each other, “Wow! Westerners practice too!” A practitioner on the roadside
then explained the facts to them. The gentleman asked, “You are so young and you
also practice Falun Gong?” The practitioner told him that he could learn more
about Falun Gong during his visit in Australia. The gentleman smiled in agreement.
Because two months ago, a local newspaper reported the incident in which
Mr. David Liang was shot in South Africa during Chinese officials’ visit
to that country, many local residents came to our information booth to sign the
petition supporting the effort against the persecution. A Chinese person attentively
watched the exercise demonstration and asked, “Is it hard to learn Falun Gong?
Where can I buy the exercise music audiotape?” After listening to a practitioner’s
explanation, he said that he would go to the public library to borrow a copy of
the book Falun Gong to read.
At noon, the festival organizer invited
practitioners to give performances on the main stage. In the short 20 minutes,
practitioners performed four programs, including waist drum performed by young
practitioners, a Taiwanese folk dance, exercise demonstration and a Tang Dynasty
costume show.
A city council member’s wife was very interested in
the practice of Falun Gong. She immediately called to ask for information about
the practice site. She said that she would come on Monday morning to learn the
exercises. Upon learning that the instruction of Falun Gong exercises is free
of charge and all people are welcome to learn, she was very surprised. She said
that she would ask her friends and daughter to come and learn the exercises as
well. The city council member commented that the Falun Gong group does things
very sincerely and persistently. Practitioners told him, “Because we benefit from
the practice of Falun Gong so much, we wish to give others the opportunity to
benefit from it as well.”
Posting date: 26/Oct/2004
Original
article date: 23/Oct/2004
Category: Event
