> Beijing Olympics is Disgrace to Humanity: Olympic Boycott Warning Made
> Outside Australian Parliament
>
> Olympic Boycott Warning Made Outside Australian Parliament
> By James Burke
> Epoch Times Australia Staff
> May 24, 2007
>
> Megan Stout, a human rights monitor from Tears of the Oppressed,
> addressing the Free China rally outside the Australian Parliament.
> (Richard Sun/The Epoch Times)
>
>
> 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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