Media Release 6 June 2007

Wellington City Council divided over Falun Gong's freedom/rights in NZ.

Controversy surrounding Falun Gong's exclusion from major cultural parades sees Wellington City Councillors Andy Foster and Celia Wade-Brown call for a policy review.

1) By labelling Falun Gong as a “political group”, the Wellington City Council have arbitrarily excluded the spiritual group's brass band and dancers from the Cuba Street Carnival and the Chinese New Year Parade.

2) In a bizarre twist the Falun Gong entry was excluded from the Chinese New Year celebration although the group consists of 95 percent Chinese. Falun Gong's entry brings to life true, traditional Chinese culture and shares the principles of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance.

3) It is believed that the exlusion of Falun Gong is one way the City Council maintains its “harmonious relationships” with its sister cities in China. In 2005 the WCC refused permission for Falun Dafa to peacefully protest outside the Chinese Embassy.

4) Human rights lawyer Tony Ellis has pushed the WCC to address the exclusion of Falun Gong from City Council events.

Background:

Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) is a personal cultivation practice embodying the principles Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Falun Dafa is rooted in traditional Chinese culture and thus has rich cultural content to share with communities. Falun Dafa is not a political group and they have no political aspirations.

Falun Dafa was banned in China on July 20, 1999 by former Chinese president Jiang Zemin who, China watchers say, was fearful that Falun Gong's popularity was overshadowing his own legacy. Today, hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners are being illegally detained in concentration camps, detention centres, forced labour camps, brainwashing centres and mental institutions.

ENDS

© Scoop Media