By a Falun Dafa practitioner from Bowral
On Saturday 25th of September
Falun Dafa in the Southern Highlands New South Wales Australia held a Hongfa and
Parade for Bowral Tulip Time, which is a spring garden festival about 100km south
of Sydney in the mountains and draws tens of thousands of tourists (including
from China). The outdoor plaza was filled with pictures of Master Li Hongzhi and
the story of Falun Dafa. We began an exercise demonstration at about 10:00 for
an hour followed by the beautiful Minghui School dancers and then the majestic
Tang Dynasty dancers followed by the Chinese drummers. This captured the attention
of tourists and cameras were clicking, truth clarification brochures were disappearing
quickly.
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Federal Liberal MP for Hume Alby Shultz’s car stopped in front of the Falun
Dafa site (it had been difficult in making contact with him in the past) which
is great chance of him seeing Falun Dafa practitioners doing truth clarifications.
At about 12:00 we proceeded downtown to gather before the parade and
who should be walking across the road but Alby Shultz MP. I didn’t hesitate and
went straight up to him and introduced myself, as we had met a couple of years
ago, he told me he was here to judge the parade. I asked him if he was aware of
the persecution of Falun Dafa and he said that it comes up in Parliament all the
time. I explained to him that Liberal State MP Peta Seaton was very supportive
of Falun Dafa in the area and has championed our cause. Alby then told me he went
to Taiwan on Government business and CCP harassed him and told him not to go,
he said to them this is Australia not China and he can do what he likes!
Then
I told Alby about the recent Chinese delegation of ten that visited the Southern
Highlands for dairy cattle export. Our Mayor Gordon Lewis welcomed Mayor Zang
Guoyin of Wuhu City, Anhui Province. I had read about this meeting in the local
paper and thought this was another opportunity to clarify the facts to our Mayor
about the persecution of Falun Gong. Gordon rang me after reading my letter quite
concerned about the plight of Falun Dafa in China. I informed him that practitioners
are being tortured and killed in Anhui Province. Gordon asked me to keep him informed
about any developments, which I have done.
NTDTV filmed the parade and
interviewed the organiser Terry Hall Oates and Alby Shultz MP.
The parade
began and off we marched with the drummers in front followed by Tang Dynasty Dancers
and Heavenly Beauties with a beautiful Falun Dafa boat filled with children at
the rear, the parade was spectacular with a benevolent field through the township,
there was great applause. Falun Dafa won 1st prize.
We went back to the
Falun Dafa sight and commenced another exercise practice demonstration followed
by the dancers and finishing with a beautiful musical presentation.
Posting
date: 29/Sep/2004
Original article date: 27/Sep/2004
Category: Event
