Alannah Mactiernan (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to table a petition that has been presented to me by a group of Western Australians. This is effectively half of a petition, and I understand that one of my Liberal colleagues from Western Australia will be tabling the other half. This petition was provided to me by Dr Albert Lin and a group of Western Australians who practice Falun Gong.

The petition read as follows—

To the Honourable The Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives

This petition of certain citizens and residents of Australia draws to the attention of the House that Falun Gong is a peaceful meditation practice based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. Falun Gong practitioners in China have been subjected to the most brutal and relentless persecution by the Chinese Communist regime since July 1999.

According to investigative reports published by human rights lawyer David Matas and former Canadian Secretary of State for the Asia Pacific David Kilgour, a large number of imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners have been subjected to forced organ harvesting for China's transplant market and lost their lives ( www.organharvestinvestigation.net ).

We therefore ask the House to request the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister to openly and forthrightly call for an immediate end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

from 4,130 citizens

Petition received.