Falun Gong practitioners have been banned from performing at the Perth Christmas Pageant on December 1st due to a fear of the group highlighting âinternational political issues,â even though the group itself is non-political.
What we do not hear about the Falun Gong practitioners is that PHARMACY is banned by those that follow the teachings of Li Hongzhi (the man behind Falun Gong to the general public). I had the opportunity of meeting him in the past. A primary requisite in his lessons was to stop all PHARMACY. I suspect that was the primary reason they were banned because they are anti-jab. The Australian gov't fears that message.
Li Hongzhi was forced to flee China to save his life due to what he was teaching the people.
Chinese Consulate Tried to Exclude Falun Gong From Perth Christmas Parade, Coordinator Says
The Chinese Consulate allegedly tried to remove the practitioners of the Falun Gong spiritual discipline from a popular Christmas Pageant in Perth, Australia, on Dec. 1, sparking concerns over the Chinese communist regimeâs influence in Australia and a persecution still taking place in China.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a traditional Chinese meditation practice that follows the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. It has been heavily persecuted in China by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
A group of Falun Gong practitioners consisting of 40 dancers and drummers had registered to participate in the annual Christmas Pageant in Perth organised by Seven West Media. The event, which took place Dec. 1, drew an estimated crowd of 200,000 people.
However, Seven West Media told the Falun Dafa Association on the morning of Dec. 1 parade that the group could only participate in the event if it removed any reference that would identify the movement. Later, Seven West said that the group would be allowed a small sign to identify them.
Photos from the event show that other community groups did not have the same restrictions. They were able to wear shirts that prominently featured the logos and names of their groups.
On the morning of Dec. 1, around 10:30 a.m., Seven West Media called a local Perth coordinator from the Falun Dafa Association. The coordinator, who does not wish to disclose his name, said he was told that a complaint had been made about the Falun Gong group on the night prior, Nov. 30, to Seven West Media, claiming that Falun Gong is âanti-Chineseâ and âanti-Chinese government.â
However, Seven West Media also told him that the group could still participate if they removed all references to Falun Gongâincluding any references on their clothing or equipment that refers to Falun Dafa or Falun Gong either in English or Chinese.
The Australian reported that someone had called a line connected to the Christmas Pageant to complain on Nov. 30; the person said they were from the Chinese consulate in Perth and âwarned against allowing Falun Gongâ to take part in the Christmas pageant.
âWeâll Handle the Embassyâ
Seven West Media, owned by billionaire Kerry Stokes, denied that it intended to or made any attempt to remove Falun Gong from the parade, but did confirm that it told the Falun Dafa Association they could not show any identifying material during the pageant, The Australian reported.
The group of Falun Gong performers had been approved to attend the evening parade and had already been assigned wristbands by the time of the phone call. Given the condition of removing all identification of Falun Gong, the coordinator was considering to bail on the event.
The coordinator said that the representative on the phone told him the decision had âcome from the top.â
âI said, âLady, weâre clearly going to be unidentifiable,'â the coordinator recounted to The Epoch Times. âShe said âthatâs correct.ââ
âI said I canât accept that. The group wonât accept that. Based on the fact that weâre unidentifiable I donât think thereâs any point of us being there,â he recounted.
âThese people have been persecuted heavily in China and here theyâre going to be treated like criminals on the streets of Perth,â he told her.
However, about an hour later, around 11:30 a.m., Seven West Media called the coordinator again. A different representative informed him that the group could join, and confirmed that they would be allowed to have one small sign at the front of the group to identify them.
The representative told the coordinator, âWe will handle the Embassy.â
The woman said the group would still not be allowed to have any other materials that are identifiable as Falun Gong. The drummers had to turn their drums around to hide the Chinese words âFalun Dafa.â No shirts that said Falun Gong in either English or Chinese were allowed to be worn. Furthermore, a person was assigned to monitor the group throughout the entire parade to ensure they met the requirements.
The Seven Networkâs Perth managing director, Mario DâOrazio, said he had not received any request from the Chinese regime to remove Falun Gong from the parade, The Australian reported.
Seven West Media wrote an emailed statement to The Epoch Times in response:
âSeven West Media received no formal request from the Chinese government to exclude the Falun Dafa from the Perth Christmas pageant.
âThe group participated in the parade. In keeping with the Christmas spirit, we moved to ensure that no political messaging was on display.
âThe pageant was immensely successful, attracting thousands of people. We are delighted it was conducted safety and in the spirit of the season.â
The Chinese Consulate in Perth could not be reached for comment.
The Falun Gong performers took part in the parade with dancers dressed as celestial maidens, a group of waist drummers, a golden dragon, and a pink inflatable lotus flower, measuring 5-metres wide.
Political Interference from Beijing
Former head of China analysis for Australiaâs Defence Intelligence Organization, Dr. Paul Monk, calls the incident âa case of political interference from Beijing.â
Monk, who has lectured at several leading Australian universities on Chinese politics and strategic intelligence analysis, said the consulate is clearly involved.
âThere are undue sensitivities regarding what Beijing might feel or think, or might say or do,â he told The Epoch Times. âWe should not be paying this kind of hypersensitive and nervous intentions to what Beijing thinks because this is not China, this is Australia.
âIf the Chinese community in Perth hold a festival and Falun Gong, who were well represented in that community cannot go along and identify their particular affiliation, then we are being interfered with.â
âSeven is a Victimâ
Dr. Lucy Zhao, president of the Falun Dafa Association in Australia, said that the Falun Gong group had applied and participated in Perthâs Christmas Pageant in years 2010 to 2015 with great success.
She said the group did not have any political messages and just wanted to share the meditation practiceâs peace and joy with the crowd during the holiday season.
âThe fact that [Seven] decided to police us or restrict us shows that they must have had some pressure.â Zhao said.
Zhao added that if Seven West Media really did not have any pressure from the Chinese consulate, what they did to the Falun Gong group would amount to discrimination by one of Australiaâs largest media networks.
âIf they really didnât receive any formal request or pressure from the Chinese consulate, then itâs even worse that they had done this by themselvesâto restrict Falun Dafa from showing their name.
âThen, it would be as though they singled us out from other groups, which is discrimination.â
Zhao questioned whether Tibetan, Buddhist, or Christian groups would have been treated the same had they been in the parade. However, Zhao believes Seven West Media is a victim of the Chinese regime.
âIâm not blaming them because I think they must be under pressure from the Chinese consulate. But now because of all the publicity, they face even more pressure from Australian society, which they want to avoid, as it puts them in a bad position.â
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