It may have been a low key attempt by a leading member of the Chinese Communist Politburo to his visit Australia but many members of the local Chinese community offered him a peaceful message that he was not welcome.
Zhou Yongkang, one of the nine-member Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee (the leadership group that rules China), arrived in Australia for a five day visit to meet Australian officials.
According to members of the Falun Gong community in Australia, Zhou is one of China's worst human rights abusers and is one of four senior Chinese officials personally responsible for the persecution of the peaceful spiritual movement in China, and is the only one still in power. The other three officials are Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan and Liu Jing.
In response to the 66-year-old Zhou’s visit rallies, vigils and protest were held in both Sydney and Canberra. One of those who protested Zhou’s visit was Canberra resident who is a small business owner and a Falun Gong practitioner who left China following the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre.
“We want the Australian public to know what sort of a man Zhou Yongkang is and expose the crimes he has committed,” said Ms Wei.
“The public needs to know what sort of a person Australia is dealing with.”
Security for Zhou’s visit was tight and he gave no public statements to the Australian press. Ms Wei said in Canberra on the weekend local Falun Gong practitioners held peaceful protests outside the Chinese embassy, along main roads and outside the Grand Hyatt hotel where Zhou stayed. Ms Wei said that three large buses were used to block the view of the protestors from the hotel. Sources from within the Australian government said that the buses were organised by the Chinese authorities.
“Over the past years when we have protested against the arrival of Chinese officials who are implicated in the persecution of Falun Gong there would be big buses parked there blocking us,” said Ms Wei.
“In the past [the Australian Federal Police] had very strictly restricted us to a certain designated area – this year they were quite kind and not forcing us to move to other places,” she said.
The media release also stated that Zhou directed “the Chinese legal system to be used as an illegal punishment tool” whilst also was responsible for the ‘Golden Shield’ Internet censorship and surveillance project and instigating crackdowns before and during the Beijing Olympics when over 8000 Falun Gong practitioners were arrested.
Zhou visited Australia after being invited by the Australian Government and among the officials he met were Attorney-General Robert McClelland, with the aim to encourage closer law- enforcement cooperation between China and Australia. Zhou put forward what to Falun Gong practitioners was the ludicrous suggestion that Australian law-enforcement agencies should “learn from” those in China.
“Perhaps Australian law enforcement agencies can learn from this criminal how not to police a nation,” said Ms Wei.
Three female Falun Gong practitioners who were held in labour camps and tortured to renounce their beliefs also lodged a criminal case against Zhou in the NSW Supreme Court.
