(Clearwisdom.net) On the afternoon of Sept. 5, 2007, the Asia Pacific Human Rights Foundation in Australia held the 2007 Human Rights Awards Ceremony in the Parliament House of New South Wales. Mr. Liu Chengjun, a Falun Gong practitioner killed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) for tapping into the TV system to broadcast the facts about Falun Gong, was the recipient of the Fidelity Vindicator Award.
The award ceremony was one of the series of activities by overseas dissident organizations held during APEC. The CCP expressed disaffection regarding the ceremony and officially requested the Australian government to cancel the activity, but the request was declined. Member of Legislative Council Gordon Moyes and a Member of the Legislative Assembly attended the ceremony and issued awards.
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Mr. Pan Qing, Chair of the Asia Pacific Human Rights Foundation, said holding the human rights awards ceremony during the APEC summit aims to express a view on the development of China. The value of humanity is the core of the development.
Recipient of Fidelity Vindicator Award Spread Truth Through TV Broadcast
Five years ago, Falun Gong practitioner Liu Chengjun and his fellow practitioners tapped into nine channels of the cable TV network in Changchun and broadcast a fifty-minute-long video exposing the persecution of Falun Gong by the CCP. The head of the CCP, Jiang Zemin, was shocked and aggravated by the incident. During the retaliating nation-wide arrest, five thousand Falun Gong practitioners were arrested and six of them died from the persecution. Fifteen of them were sentenced to terms ranging from four to twenty years. Mr. Liu Chengjun was tortured to death after nine months of imprisonment.
The Asia Pacific Human Rights Foundation holds Mr. Liu Chengjun introduced the true story to millions of TV viewers and set a great example for non-governmental right-safeguarding movements. He deserves the Fidelity Vindicator Award.
Member of Legislative Council Calls Award to Liu Testimony of History
At his greeting speech, Member of Legislative Council Gordon Moyes said he had called on his colleagues to support Falun Gong and participate in protests, so he was added to the blacklist of the CCP. The CCP had pressured to cancel the ceremony and the discussion in the Parliament House.
Moyes raised his voice and said however, that the parliament system in the British Commonwealth worked as follows: If you would like to talk to the Speaker of the Parliament, come to the Parliament. The Chinese Embassy would never be able to forbid such activities. This was called freedom.
Moyes called the award to Liu Chengjun a testimony of history.
Falun Gong Spokesperson Hopes Award Will Bring Significance and Value of Truth to More People
Mr. Zhang Erping, spokesperson for the Falun Gong Association, said he was honored to receive this award on Liu's behalf. The heroic undertaking of Mr. Liu and his fellow Falun Gong practitioners shook the conscience of the world. It was because of their tenacious and sustained effort that the true story was brought to more and more people and helped them break away from the CCP. The award reminded people of the appalling crimes against humanity still going on under the cover of the prospering Chinese economy. People would witness the disaster the CCP would bring to the world by suppressing Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance and destroying the traditional Chinese culture and morality. He expressed his wish that the award would make more people learn the significance and value of the truth. He called for all to stand together in safeguarding justice and ending the persecution for our own selves as well as for the bright future of the nation.
Two Canadian Human Rights Advocates Receive Vindicator of Justice Awards
Former Canadian MP David Kilgour and renowned Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas received Vindicator of Justice Awards.
Mr. Pan Qing, Chair of the Asia Pacific Human Rights Foundation, issued awards to the two recipients and gave a speech. He said the persecution of Falun Gong was the worst persecution in China in the twentieth century. Falun Gong practitioners and people around the world formed an unprecedented resistance in the history of the CCP and struggled hard to clarify the truth and safeguard justice. The efforts of the two Canadian human rights advocates remarkably pushed forward investigation of the persecution, effectively brought the persecution to the attention of the international community, prepared international opinion to end the persecution, and established international cooperation for the advancement of China.
Matas: "We Heard the Voice Truly Representing the Chinese People."
Mr. David Matas said that he and Mr. Kilgour had seen an anti-China force at times. However, at this ceremony, they heard the voice truly representing the Chinese people.
Mr. David Kilgour said he would dedicate the award to the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong in China (CIPFG). APEC should face the human rights condition in China. People in thousands and thousands of forced labor camps in China worked sixteen hours a day. How would APEC respond to such a question?
The ceremony issued eight awards. All Chinese recipients were either killed, imprisoned or forbidden to leave China. Only the Canadian human rights advocates were able to receive the awards in person. Friends and groups representing other recipients received the awards on their behalf.
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