‘Shocking and Horrifying’: Attacker of Anti-CCP Protester Sentenced in Australia

Kang Zhao, 30, was arrested, charged, and sentenced for assaulting a Falun Gong practitioner, Nancy Dong, after he was caught spray-painting a sign belonging to Dong which read: "“CCP ≠ China” and “End the Evil CCP.” (Courtesy of ACT Police)

A Chinese national who attacked a Falun Gong practitioner in Australia’s capital city of Canberra last year has apologised to his victim and been fined $3,000 (US$1,973.59) by the ACT Magistrates Court.

Kang Zhao, 30, was arrested by police after trying to leave the country in December 2022. He pleaded guilty to charges of common assault, property damage, and defacing property.

The incident in question occurred in October last year after Kang and two accomplices (including his wife) were caught vandalising a sign attached to a vehicle belonging to Nancy Dong, a Falun Gong practitioner. The sign read: “CCP does not equate to China” and “End the Evil CCP.”

Chinese national Kang Zhao, 30, leaving the ACT Magistrates Court on March 9, 2023, after being fined $3,000 by the court for assaulting Falun Gong practitioner Nancy Dong during the Floriade Flower Festival in Oct. 2022. (Courtesy of Song Hua)

After being filmed, a scuffle then broke out after Zhao attempted to take the victim’s phone.

“This young man then grabbed my neck with his elbow, lifted me up, and threw me to the ground. He then started to kick and punch me. I almost fainted from the fall, and I lost the ability to resist his attack,” Dong alleged at the time.

The altercation led to bruising on her arms and injuries to her lower body.

Injuries sustained by Falun Gong practitioner Nancy Dong after an altercation with pro-Beijing men in Canberra, Australia on Oct. 4, 2022. (Courtesy of Nancy Dong)

Attacker Remorseful for Actions

On March 9, the court handed Kang a $3,000 fine and told him he had 28 days to pay it. Magistrate James Lawton said a good behaviour bond was unnecessary because Kang was soon to return to China.

His lawyer, James Maher, said his client believed the sign was an “affront” to his homeland and that he was acting out of “national pride.”

Maher said Zhao was remorseful.

“I am grateful for his honour’s findings that I acted excessively to protect my wife and her property in relation to the common assault,” Zhao claimed in a statement he released after the sentencing.

“This is a big lesson and something I take very seriously.”

Dong Hopes Assailant Can Understand the Truth

Dong read out a victim impact statement to the court.

“The violent attack that happened to me in public in Canberra is a shocking and horrifying experience. Five months have passed, my injured leg has not fully recovered. It still hurts, and I even feel hard to lift my leg,” she said.

Dong also complained of heart pains, insomnia, and nervousness following the incident.

Falun Gong practitioner Nancy Dong outside the ACT Magistrates Court on March 9, 2023, after her assailant Kang Zhao, 30, was fined $3,000 for an incident during the Floriade Flower Festival in Canberra, Australia in October 2022. (Courtesy of Song Hua)

“Back in China, I suffered from brutal persecution for practicing Falun Gong. I was arrested on many occasions, and during the last time, more than a dozen policemen broke into my home at midnight, seized our personal belongings, including cash and took both me and my husband away.

“Our 9-year-old daughter was left alone at home with no one taking care of her. Because of not giving up practicing Falun Gong, I was illegally sent to the labour camp for one year and my husband for one and a half years. We were forced to do 12-14 hours of hard labour work every day, making plastic flowers, handmade products, lighters, etc.”

She said to Zhao that he had injured her physically and mentally and that she had the right to compensation.

Victim Offers Forgiveness to Her Attackers

“However, if you can realise your wrongdoing and sincerely apologise to me, I will forgive you. Because Falun Gong teaches me to practice Truth-Compassion-Tolerance and treat all people with kindness and forgiveness under any circumstances,” Dong said.

“I hope that you can understand that CCP is not China. Please do not hurt others again in the name of patriotism, and please respect others’ freedom of expression.”

Falun Gong is an ancient Chinese spiritual practice that is currently banned in China, and its practitioners experience ongoing persecution from the Chinese regime.

Since its prohibition in July 1999, Falun Gong practitioners across the world have been peacefully protesting against the CCP’s ban and persecution while also exposing the human rights atrocities carried out by the totalitarian regime.

This comes amid a wave of withdrawals from the CCP and its affiliated organisations that have seen over 400 million Chinese people quit the CCP, according to Tuidang, the Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party.