(Minghui.org) (Continued from Part 1) To commemorate the 27th anniversary of the peaceful April 25 Appeal in Beijing, Falun Gong practitioners in Australia held a rally at Martin Place, Sydney’s business and financial center, on April 16, 2026.
Practitioners set up a table to provide informational materials and collect signatures. Many people signed the petition that calls for an end to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution.
Practitioners demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises on Martin Place on April 16.
People learn about Falun Gong and sign the petition.
A reporter (left) talks with a practitioner about the event.
Public Condemns the Persecution
Rita Grasso
Rita Grasso said she paid attention to the news and learned about Falun Gong online. “This mind and body meditation is great. It is a spiritual practice to allow you to return to your true self, help you navigate external challenges, and provide psychological relaxation. This is truly wonderful and profoundly important. For many people, meditation serves as a vital coping mechanism,” she said.
She said that the CCP’s persecution is terrible, “It is a terrible thing against humanity. Falun Gong is peaceful, loving, and beneficial to health. This is an exercise, not a political issue. It [the persecution] is crazy. It is totally crazy. Doesn’t even make sense.
“This persecution is the most incomprehensible thing I have ever encountered—that people could be killed simply for meditating. Why? In an age when the entire world is connected online, how can such deception still persist? The world is watching. It is one of the saddest realities a person could witness. It is utterly absurd, and it is always the vulnerable who suffer the most.”
She added that she was aware of reports accusing the CCP of forcibly harvesting and trafficking organs from Falun Gong practitioners. “Such atrocities are horrifying. It makes me question how we can call ourselves a civilized society. It feels as though humanity has learned nothing from history. We have not changed; we are walking backward into the darkness, putting the shackles back on.”
Jemma Robertson (first on right) and Sally Mulligan (second from right)
Sally Mulligan said, “I know Falun Gong is banned in China. Practitioners are intimidated because the communist government does not allow them to practice. It controls religions and beliefs.”
She said she heard of the CCP’s state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting, “I believe these kinds of abuses can occur. Of course, this wouldn’t happen in Australia; however, I understand that in some countries—where there is little public oversight and the government is not held accountable—situations like this do arise. Take China, for example: when those in power operate without transparency or checks on their authority, they can act with impunity because they effectively function as the highest power in the state.”
She said that such events were good, “This is indeed a very clear way to convey the truth, because many Australians may not yet be familiar with Falun Gong. If they understood that, in China, people can be punished simply for their beliefs, I think most Australians would be shocked. The absence of freedom—the inability to think, speak, or practice one’s faith openly—is, to us, truly appalling.”
Jemma Robertson said, “I saw people in yellow clothes in Brisbane and Sydney holding such events. I know they are related to human rights. Apparently, the human rights plight in China is quite different from that in Australia. I think everyone should have freedom of belief or religion.
“It is wonderful to see people taking part in events like this—full of enthusiasm and the courage to get involved. Sadly, they would not be able to do the same in their home countries, where they might fear negative repercussions and do not enjoy freedom of speech. That is why I am so glad to see them able to express themselves freely here in Australia.”
The Tian Guo Marching Band played during the event at Martin Place.
Many people listened to the Tian Guo Marching Band and took photos.
The woman in the blue jacket took photos and complimented the band on their classical music.
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