Foreign Minister Alexander Downer’s electorate in Adelaide received a visit from over a hundred Falun Gong practitioners, attempting to raise awareness among his contingents regarding the controversial restriction of the peaceful appeal outside the Chinese embassy in Canberra.

In support of the press conference, held by Falun Gong practitioners outside the Mr. Downer’s Adelaide office, Senator Natasha Stott Despoja issued a statement saying “the decision of the Minister for Foreign Affairs to prevent Falun Gong practitioners from holding banners in front of the Chinese Embassy for the past three years is indefensible and the Democrats strongly oppose it.”

Members of the Opposition including the ALP’s Chris Bowen and Greens senator Bob Brown have also publicly condemned Mr. Downer’s actions while NGOs such as The Public Interest Advocacy Centre and Australian Lawyers for Human Rights have also strongly denounced Mr. Downer’s restricting of freedom of speech.

A spokesman for the Falun Gong practitioners Mr. John Deller, said the purpose of the activities was to bring attention to Mr. Downer’s restriction on freedom of speech and expression, the persecution in China and to explain to people what Falun Gong is.

	Falun Gong members re-enact Chinese torture methods used on their practitioners at a gathering in Sydney, 22 February 2005. (Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images)

Mr. Downer issued the certificates after Chinese foreign minister, Mr. Tang Jiaxuan asked the Australian Government to prohibit Falun Gong practitioners appealing outside of the embassy.

Throughout Mr. Downer’s seat of Mayo many wore t-shirts with the words “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” the main tenets of the meditation group. More than 1000 signatures for a petition against Mr. Downer’s certificates were gathered.

An anti-torture exhibition outside the South Australian State government was also held to raise awareness of the brutal persecution against Falun Gong in China, now heading towards its sixth year.