Fairies wearing ethnic costumes, children seated atop flowered floats, and traditional Vietnamese dance performers were part of hundreds who marched through Melbourne, Australia’s cultural capital.
Around 700 Falun Dafa practitioners from Australia, New Zealand, and Vietnam gathered in Melbourne on Oct. 27, in the hope of showing the beauty of the spiritual practice and raising public awareness of the ongoing persecution by the Chinese communist regime.
Taking Falun Gong’s popularity in China as a threat to the communist regime, then-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Jiang Zemin launched a nationwide persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in July 1999, which is still ongoing.
Visitors: Important to Take Care of The Voice
Louna and Matthieu, who were visiting from Paris, were glad to witness the Falun Dafa parade in Melbourne.
“I think it [the parade] is very beautiful,” Louna told The Epoch Times. “It’s so strong ... the message [of] compassion. [It’s] like a world, a better world.”
As the “Stop the Persecution” square passed by, she said the world needs to hear the voice of Falun Gong practitioners.
Hundreds Gather to Form Unique Spectacle
On Oct. 28, around 680 Falun Gong practitioners gathered in Alexandra Gardens in the Melbourne CBD to form four giant Chinese characters “法正乾坤(the Buddha Fa Rectifies the Cosmos).”“Falun Dafa students’ character formation is of great significance,” said Li Yuanhua, a former professor at Capital Normal University in China and one of the event coordinators.
“First, we want to show our gratitude to our Master Li Hongzhi [founder of Falun Gong]. Secondly, since our bodies and minds have become better after practicing, we want to pass on this joy and show the beauty of [Falun] Dafa to the world through this event.”
When talking about the meaning of the four characters, Mr. Li Yuanhua shared his understanding.
Miracles in Australia’s Character Formation History
Looking back on over 20 years of character formation in the country, Mr. Li said Australia has held such events since 1999, which is the earliest outside China. After that, Australian Falun Gong practitioners helped other countries and regions organise these events.Recounting the experience, Mr. Li said that in February 1999, Sydney Falun Gong practitioners, planning to hold their first character formation found a helicopter rental company to help shoot the photos. However, the manager turned them down, citing expense and shooting problems.
Unexpectedly, John, the company owner heard their conversation on the side and was deeply moved by the practitioners.
After confirming that Falun Gong’s exercises were taught for free at Darling Harbour, he decided to fly the plane himself without charge. John also invited his friend, a professional aerial photographer, to take photos.
“The shooting process was thrilling,” Mr. Li recalled. “Since there were clouds covering, John couldn’t see the ground after taking off and thought it would be impossible to shoot.”
“Just when he was about to give up, the thick clouds seemed to be pushed away by a Buddha’s hand. A slit was neatly opened from the sky, facing the character patterns below. The photographer seized the chance and shot the videos.”
“It sounds like a fairy tale, but it was indeed [our] character formation experience.”
Following the photo shoot, John went to have his ninth surgery and experienced what he firmly believed was a miracle event.
John originally thought he was going to heaven, but didn’t expect that not only was the operation very successful, he recovered at an incredible rate, which even the medical staff found amazing.
‘A Great Cause’: Aerial Photographer
Peter Jose, the aerial photographer helping with the event this year, also highly praised the activity.“I’m 100 percent with you guys. I just think this is incredible,” he said.
Mr. Jose, a veteran captain for 25 years, is the owner and photographer of Drone Pilot Pete, a drone aerial photography company. He has done aerial photography for many large-scale events, covering sporting events, weddings, and other different themes.
“[The character formation] is amazing. I love the dedication. I love the organisation,” he said.
‘Beautiful and Peaceful in the Heart of City’
Residents Jenny and her sister Elizabeth Atkins, felt joy upon seeing the character formation event.“It looks beautiful and peaceful in the heart of the city. Looks gorgeous to walk across it,” Jenny said.
She strongly identifies with Falun Gong’s principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance,” especially “compassion (kindness).”
“I think practising kindness is a fundamental principle we should all live by,” she said.
“If the world was kinder, we won’t have the problems that we’ve got.”
