‘My Heroes’: Faith Group Praised for Exposing ’Evil Nature' of the CCP

Australian leaders praised practitioners of Falun Dafa and condemned Beijing’s egregious human rights record.

Falun Gong practitioners take part in a parade to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day and call for an end of the persecution in China, in New York City, on May 9, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

An academic has declared Falun Dafa practitioners his “heroes” for standing up to the brutal 25-year persecution carried out by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“When we said that Falun Dafa is a great contribution to the world—to humankind—it was actually a very timely and creative response to the bankruptcy of communist ideology in China and around the world,” said Associate Professor Feng Chongyi, from the University of Technology Sydney.

“Due to your effort, the evil and the crimes against humanity committed by the brutal totalitarian regime, more and more people in the whole world have now awakened to understand the evil nature of this regime,” Feng told the crowd during World Falun Dafa Day celebrations on May 10 in Sydney.

He praised the practice for bringing health, mental, and spiritual benefits to society, noting that these values were not compatible with the atheist CCP.

Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, is a meditation practice with moral teachings centred on truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

The practice attracted between 70 and 100 million practitioners in the 1990s, according to the CCP regime’s official estimate at the time.

Former CCP leader Jiang Zemin considered the practice a threat and launched the official persecution in July 1999, which has resulted in arbitrary imprisonments, sentencing, torture, and forced organ harvesting.

The CCP also launched a global disinformation campaign against the practice and actively courted Western institutions and partners to spread this.

Over the last 25 years, Falun Dafa practitioners have in response, launched their own efforts to expose the CCP’s crimes against humanity, encouraging Chinese people to quit the CCP, promoting the “End CCP” petition, and collating the series, How the Specter of Communism Is Ruling Our World.

Standing Up for Rights or the Ballot Box?

While the U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Falun Gong Protection Act—targeting those involved in the forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners—Australia’s public discourse appears to be moving in the opposite direction: where taking a tough stance on Beijing’s aggression is considered a political risk that could lose votes.

This concern was concluded in a 2022 Liberal Party internal review that found former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s tough stance on Beijing was “anti-Chinese” and deemed to have turned away Chinese-Australian voters—a finding one expert disputes.

The issue reared its head again during the 2025 federal election where the Liberal Party performed poorly across several electorates with large Asian populations.

However, some MPs believe standing up for freedom and human rights are more important than the ballot box.

Queensland One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts, who was recently re-elected, expressed admiration for the group’s defence of freedom.

“Falun Dafa’s principles of truth, compassion and forbearance are essential to peace, humanity and to freedom,” Roberts wrote in his message to the local Falun Dafa community for the event.

“In my experience and studies, freedom is a basic human right and essential to human progress.”

Healthy and Peaceful Lifestyle

Meanwhile, other Australian leaders praised Falun Gong for its benefits to society.

“Their dedication to peaceful living, community harmony, and personal growth enriches the social and cultural fabric of our society,” said Bree James, Liberal National MP for Barron River in north Queensland.

Another Parramatta city councillor, Sameer Pandey, shared similar sentiments.

“I am always very supportive of organisations that works with the community to improve health and wellbeing, promotes peace and harmony, provides hope and help and builds moral foundation for the community,” he wrote.

Councillor Jess Diaz of Blacktown City Council praised the group’s peaceful efforts to raise awareness.

“Falun Dafa’s way is a strong contrast to the loud and undisciplined protests and chants,” she said, noting that this was “more effective in highlighting and spreading the message of peace to the world and in keeping social cohesion and prosperity in Australia, where many of us sought refuge.”

Falun Gong practitioners held a rally to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of Falun Dafa’s introduction to the public in Sydney on May 10, 2025. An Pingya/The Epoch Times

Australians Can Do More to Stop Organ Harvesting: Greens

Greens Councillor Judy Greenwood of the Parramatta Council called on Australians to do more against the CCP’s forced organ harvesting.

“‭I call on the Australian medical community to help raise awareness of reports of unethical organ‬ transplant practices and to look into credible, transparent and independent investigations into‬‭ these reports,” he wrote.

Greenwood referred to the‬‭ Migration‬‭ Amendment (Overseas Organ Transplant Disclosure and Other Measures) Bill 2023‬‭, which was‬ passed in the Senate in August 2024 and is still awaiting passage in the lower house.

Falun Dafa practitioners raise awareness about forced organ harvesting atrocities in China, as they march through Manhattan celebrating World Falun Dafa Day, on May 16, 2019. Edward Dye/The Epoch Times

“It aims to fight the illegal organ trafficking and forced organ‬ harvesting from living people, including Falun Gong practitioners in China. David Shoebridge‬‭ [Greens MLC in NSW then] had earlier introduced a similar Bill into the NSW Parliament to make it an offence to receive‬ unethically harvested or trafficked organs within NSW,” he wrote.

While the bill passed its first and second readings in the Legislative Council, it lapsed in February 2019 due to the prorogation of Parliament and was not enacted into law.

The U.S. Congress’ Falun Gong Protection Act includes sanctions for individuals implicated in the forced harvesting of organs of Falun Gong practitioners.

The penalties range from blocking an offender from entering the United States, invalidating the offender’s visa, to imposing criminal punishment of fines of up to US$1 million and 20 years in prison.

Councillors Helen Hughes and Paul Garrard of Cumberland City Council, as well as Councillor Allan V. Green of Blacktown City Council also pledged their support for World Falun Dafa Day.