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Sydney, Australia: Grand March Calls for an End to the Persecution of Falun Dafa

Oct. 27, 2024 |   By Minghui correspondents in Australia

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners held a march in Sydney on Friday, October 25, 2024. The music, colors, and the messages displayed on banners and flags drew a large number of people to stop and watch, and many said they admired the universal values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance conveyed by the march.

The march stretched for hundreds of meters and passed through several busy streets. Many people who watched it said it was peaceful and beautiful and conveyed important messages.

Practitioners held a march in Sydney on October 25, 2024.

The march set off from Martin Place, Sydney’s financial center, at 12:30 p.m. The march included three teams: “Falun Dafa Is Good,” “Stop the Persecution of Falun Gong,” and “Support 437 Million Brave People Who Quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).” They introduced Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong), exposed the CCP’s 25-year persecution, and raised awareness of the movement of withdrawing from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. The march lasted nearly an hour and ended at Belmore Park.

Falun Dafa Teaches Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance

Charlie Campos praised Falun Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.

“It’s a really good march. Falun Dafa teaches Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance,” said Charlie Campos. “It’s really nice. It’s really lovely to see the traditional outfits, the cultivated cultures. It is really, calm. The energy is real calmness. I think it’s really lovely.”

Nikki Verdi said she appreciated the values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.

Nikki Verdi, a digital technologist, said, “It’s great that there’s a collective energy of people coming here together to stand up for what they believe in and share their inner voice with others.

“I think modern society today is really programmed in a way where Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are not very much reflected in our day to day,” she said. “However, I think if you can practice these through meditation, you can really develop a deeper connection with it, with yourself, that you may not necessarily know is there, because you spend so much time connecting with the external world, rather than your internal, inner self.

“It’s definitely educational and something that I’m going to take away and look into,” she said about the march.

The March Draws Attention

Lawyer Sarah Jane said the march delivered messages that should be spread wider to the community.

Sarah Jane, a criminal defense lawyer, said, “Everything was just amazing. It caught me by surprise. I could hear the music from upstairs in my office and I immediately ran down. At first, I thought it was just a fun parade until I started seeing the signs. And then I found that there was more of a message behind it and a message that should be spread to the wider community about the Chinese Communist Party.

She said, “Absolutely I agree with Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. And I do believe in the message behind everything that you guys are saying today and the pamphlet. Everything that is in here is something that I do try to embody in my everyday life.”

Tony, a company manager, agrees with the messages on the banners.

Tony, a company manager, was drawn by the march when he came out of the building where he worked to make a phone call. He said, “This is a very special parade. The music and colors are very unique and wonderful. The people (playing drums) are happy to share the joy. I pay special attention to the messages they express and the peaceful way they express them.”

He carefully read the banners and expressed his support for the messages on the banners displayed in the march that read, “The World needs Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance” and exposed the CCP’s violation of freedom of belief.

“I agree with the messages of these banners. These messages that call for an end to the CCP’s persecution of human rights are peacefully displayed through banners, and can effectively draw public attention. Well done.”

Dawn with a Falun Dafa flyer

Dawn, an administration officer from Darwin, said, “The parade looks very bright. I didn’t realize what it was all about until the flags started going past. I didn’t know about the CCP’s forced organ harvesting, that is awful. If that is what you are getting across, well that is what came across to me, so it works and it stands out.”

John, who has lived in Sydney for 44 years, said, “I saw the parade so I watched it. The colors, that’s what caught me. I like those colors, they’re really quite colorful. The costumes the girls have on, they’re very colorful. The band is very good. It’s the sort of music that anyone can sit and enjoy.”

When John found out that people were not allowed to practice Falun Dafa in China, he said, “If they can do it here, why can’t they do it anywhere? That’s the trouble, people [in China] can’t be people anymore.”

Of the principles Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, John said, “The world stinks right now. It needs a lot of love and everything.”