The rally, which was celebrating 80 million Chinese people who have withdrawn from the Chinese Communist Party, was held at Queen Elizabeth Square.
"The only way that we can work together in the future is to adopt democracy, adopt truth and set those as standards for our society—not politics, not oppression, not the party line,” said Mr Craig who was very aware of human rights abuses taking place in China.
"We have a moral obligation to inform a country that we disapprove of their human rights abuses in spite of trade, sports or diplomatic relationships," he said. "Truth should come before economics."
In July 1999, China's Communist Party [CCP] launched an unlawful campaign of arrests, violence and propaganda with the intent of “eradicating” Falun Dafa which at that time was practised by around 100 million people, according to the Falun Dafa Information Centre.
Since then the campaign has grown in violence and scope with millions having been detained or sent to forced labour camps. The information centre has recorded more than 3,000 deaths and 63,000 cases of torture in custody.
The 80 million withdrawals can be compared to the number of people who have died at the hands of the communist regime, said Auckland Council Civil Liberties President, Barry Wilson, in addressing the rally.
These figures show that the Chinese people had become disillusioned with the corruption, cruelty and the lack of humanity within the communist party and that the party was disintegrating, Mr Wilson said.
“And it is great also to see that justice systems around the world are finally accepting court cases against those communist leaders who led the charge against Falun Dafa," he added.
He anticipated the day when the the New Zealand legal system would bring to justice the members of the ruling CCP responsible for the human abuses committee set against practitioners of Falun Dafa.
Quit the CCP campaign is a peaceful movement that gives the Chinese people a chance to withdraw from the communist party as a way of showing their disgust at the heinous crimes against humanity that have taken place since the regime seized power 60 years ago.
Falun Gong is an ancient traditional “qigong” practice with its roots in China's divinely-inspired cultural heritage desecrated under communist rule.
