During a rally supporting the over 22 million people who have quit from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), an investigative coalition consisting of high profile members has called upon the Chinese communist regime to end the worst of its human rights abuses or it will support a global effort to boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"In order to win the right to host the 2008 Olympics, the Chinese regime promised to improve human rights in China," began the statement from the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China that was read during the rally held outside the Australian Parliament in Canberra on Thursday, May 24.
"However, recent reports from UNHRC and Amnesty International have clearly proven that the human rights situation in China is deteriorating; particular hard hit is the community of Falun Gong practitioners," it continued.
The signatures of the statement included Australian Democrats Senator Andrew Bartlett, the Edmund Rice Centre, the National Civic Council, Dr Noel Preston AM who is the former Director Uniting Care Centre for Social Justice and Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM, the former Human Rights Commissioner.
The statement demanded that if three points were not given a satisfactory response on or before August 8, the coalition "will support a public effort from around the globe to boycott the 2008 Olympics."
The first of the three points in the statement was that the communist regime must: "Stop the persecution of Falun Gong immediately and release all practitioners incarcerated for their faith"; secondly, "stop the persecution of friends and supporters and defence lawyers of Falun Gong practitioners (eg, Gao Zhisheng, Li Hong)"; and thirdly, "allow unfettered inspections by independent investigators from the international community to confirm (1) and (2) above, and be exonerated from the continuing live organ harvesting allegations," from living Falun Gong practitioners.
Another statement was read out from one of the coalition members, Peter Westmore, President of the National Civic Council, who repeated the coalition's demands while also congratulating those Chinese who have resigned from the CCP.
"This rally marks the resignation of 22 million people from the Chinese Communist Party, an event unprecedented in the history of any Communist Party, and indeed, of any political party anywhere," Mr Westmore stated.
"Yet in spite of the fact that the CCP has lost the confidence of so many of its members, and undoubtedly a far larger number of ordinary Chinese people who were never members of the Party, the regime stubbornly refuses to submit itself to the will of the people."
Also supporting the rally, organized by the Free China Association and the Australian branch of the Quit CCP service centre, was Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, the Australian Democrats' Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs. In her statement, the Senator said her party "believe that human rights and democratic representation should be fundamental and inviolable principles for every society. The Chinese Communist Party must understand that these principles are not secondary to the maintenance of absolute power.
"The mass resignation of Communist Party members send the Chinese government a message that the Chinese citizenry are increasingly disillusioned with their totalitarian rulers," she said.
"The Chinese Government must heed this message—respect human rights and allow true political opposition to flourish. I have no doubt that the growing weight of people power will ultimately win the day.
"The Democrats have consistently called for the Chinese Government to adhere to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights and we offer our support and commendation now to those who are gathered to speak out for freedom in China," the Senator's statement said.
Anne Zhong, from the Australian branch of the Quit CCP service centre, told the rally that many of those who have withdrawn from the CCP "have quit in groups and many of them have been using their genuine names."
Ms Zhong spoke of the Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng who publicly announced his quitting the CCP in 2006. "A brave man spoke out for those who speak out for human rights and defended the rights of Falun Gong practitioners by his conscience and by justice—consequently he has been persecuted by the communist party."
Also among the speakers of the day was Mr Fang Yuan, chairmen of the Chinese Labor Party and also the Secretary of the Coalition of Democratic Parties of China, who in 1989 was an organiser during the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy student protest movement. Via translator, Mr Fang told the hundred supporters and press "there are 22 million people who have denounced the Chinese Communist Party who do not want to be part of the Party who suppress the people—these 22 million people also don't part of the bandits who took control and who are running the country," said Mr Fang, "they want to be true persons themselves, they want to be kind people."
Two speakers from Tears of the Oppressed, an interdenominational Christian human rights organisation, also addressed the rally expressing there concerns of the human rights abuses occurring inside China. The organisation's national director James Scott said that "the Christian church in China has grown at an amazing rate," and that they have "observed that Falun Dafa, and other religious groups and faith groups have grown in their number." However, Mr. Scott said, "we have been greatly distressed at the treatment of the people who hold religious faith [in China]... we receive many reports of abuse of torture, of murder, of interference of their religious practise and we speak against this."
His colleague Megan Stout, a human rights monitor, gave further details of the plight of Christians in China. "Though the Chinese government claims religious freedom, this freedom is actually repressed though State churches," said Ms. Stout. "These are government approved churches which bear the title of 'Christianity', though many Christians strongly disagree with the teachings and practice. They believe these State Churches do not accurately teach what the Bible says, and millions of Christian believers want nothing to do with the Communist church."
For those 70 million Christians who practise their faith in underground churches Ms. Stout says they risk persecution. "Many Chinese Christians who worship privately are arrested, and re-educated through labour camps, or prison. "Numerous reports we have received show cruel torture, home raids, use of electric batons, sexual abuse and deaths, while in police custody," she says.
Also speaking were a number of Falun Gong practitioners such as Sandra Hattingh, who is the spokesperson for the Celestial Marching Band that performed for the rally. In the band they are predominantly Chinese, who Ms. Hattingh says are Falun Gong practitioners who adhere to a faith that "promotes the Buddha school principles of truthfulness, compassion and forbearance."
Along with sharing the music with fellow Australians, Ms. Hattingh said the purpose of the band was to raise awareness of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners inside China.
"For nearly eight years, they have been persecuting and torturing practitioners—so Chinese Australians, and some of us Westerners, work tirelessly to raise awareness and hopefully to end the persecution by holding parades, protests and re-enactments—so when you hear us playing, please give a thought to all the suffering in China," she said, "then have a lighter more optimistic thought about the fact that over 22 million members, a third of the Chinese Communist Party members have left the Party... it is only a matter of time until communism and its associated methods are laid to rest."
Another musician Guy Harvey, also a Falun Gong practitioner, told the rally: "Here in this good country of Australia we enjoy great freedom—don't be fooled into thinking the Chinese people share anything like that same freedom."
He asked Australian politicians to look beyond trade with China when dealing with the communist regime. "I want to ask where do you, in your heart, draw the line when turning a blind eye to atrocities against innocent humanity for the sake of trade," asked Mr Harvey.
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