Falun Gong Member Spat at in Australia Amid CCP Hate Campaign

Maryann Leatham (R) seated with other members of the Falun Gong community meditating at a public display aimed at raising awareness of the persecution in China in Cavill Mall on the Gold Coast, Australia. Courtesy of Falun Dafa AssociationA woman of Chinese appearance has spat at a member of the Falun Gong community in the tourism heart of the Gold Coast.The incident occurred on Jan. 2 at the busy Cavill Mall in Surfers Paradise where Falun Gong practitioners regularly set up public displays to raise awareness of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) brutal persecution against the practice.It also occurred the same day the CCP consulate in Sydney released a public statement calling on Australians not to attend the upcoming performances of Shen Yun, which showcases 5,000 years of true Chinese culture while exposing the persecution against Falun Gong.Husband and Wife Accost Falun Gong PractitionersMaryann Leatham, a commercial cookery teacher of Scottish background, said the incident began when a Australian man walked up to her and another stallholder to show them an image on his phone: “What is this? Do you know what this is? You do, don’t you?” he said.He probed further when Leatham appeared confused, accusing them of “lying.”Leatham says the image was related to the self-immolation hoax staged in Tiananmen Square on Jan. 23, 2001, when five individuals allegedly set themselves on fire.The incident was quickly filmed and disseminated by CCP state-run media throughout the country and globally, with claims the self-immolators were Falun Gong practitioners. Even primary school textbooks reprinted the story.The hoax was aimed at damaging the reputation of the Falun Gong community, and a Washington Post investigation later found major problems with the sequence of events, concluding that “two of the self-immolators had never been seen practicing Falun Gong.”Screenshot of NTDTV report on the “self immolations” staged on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China on Jan. 23, 2001. Screenshot/NTDMeanwhile, Leatham asked the man where he found the photo, and he pointed to a lady sitting nearby outside the Cavill Mall McDonald’s indicating she was his wife.Leatham explained the image was concocted and circulated by the CCP to turn public opinion against Falun Gong, and invited the man to ask his wife over so she could hear the truth.However, after some to-and-fro the man stood by his opinion and walked away.About 15-20 minutes later, the couple walked by. The man didn’t say anything, but the wife turned to Leatham saying, “You are all full of [expletive],” and then spat at her—fortunately missing.The Epoch Times contacted the Queensland Police Service who acknowledged that a complaint had been reported.Bystanders join in a meditation with local Falun Gong practitioners in Cavill Mall on the Gold Coast, Australia on Jan. 2, 2026. Courtesy of Maryann LeathamUnder Section 245(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld) spitting can constitute an assault. A typical common assault offence carries a maximum sentence of 3 years’ imprisonment.The incident occurred the same day the the CCP consulate called on Australians not to see Shen Yun, claiming that the New York-based performance was used by Falun Gong practitioners to promote “anti-China narratives.”Shen Yun was founded by artists fleeing the CCP’s persecution. The group’s mission is the revival of 5,000-years of Chinese civilisation, which was systematically destroyed by the CCP after it took power in 1949, notably during the Great Cultural Revolution.In response to the consulate, Senator Ralph Babet said Australians would not take “cultural instructions from an authoritarian regime that censors art, crushes religion, and jails dissidents.”Regarding the latest incident, Babet condemned the woman’s actions saying he stood with the “Chinese people who want to be free from the coercion of the CCP.”“Australia is not an extension of Beijing and the CCP, and our streets are not a playground for foreign authoritarianism. No one in this country should be harassed, intimidated, or silenced for their beliefs, speech, or peaceful assembly,” he told The Epoch Times.“Freedom of conscience and expression are not negotiable in a free society, and they must be defended without apology.”‘Overwhelming Grief’ After Bondi AttackFor Leatham the incident has drawn some similarities to recent Bondi Beach terror attack against the Jewish faith.“I feel a deep sadness for people who have been misled by lies and deceit. What saddened me most was how such incidents are used to create fear and a sense of danger around people because of their faith or background,” she told The Epoch Times.“In the aftermath of the Bondi attack, I felt an overwhelming grief—not only for the victims, but for how violence and hatred are repeatedly used to divide communities and make people feel unsafe simply for who they are or what they believe.”Nina Smythe, a member of the Queensland branch of the Falun Dafa Association of Australia, called the incident “deeply concerning.”“It highlights how the [CCP] regime’s decades long propaganda campaign against Falun Gong is still working to dehumanise us and incite hatred both inside China and beyond its borders,” she told The Epoch Times.“Sadly there are numerous accounts of these types of incidents, and we are seeing an escalation beyond these types of acts to bomb threats and explicit violent messages of mass shooting.”Local Falun Gong practitioners distribute flyers and talked to passersby about the spiritual practice in Cavill Mall, Gold Coast in Australia on Jan. 2, 2026. Courtesy of Maryann LeathamSmythe called on the government to do more about the CCP’s transnational repression—which targets overseas communities—especially amid deteriorating social cohesion following the Bondi attack.“Freedom House recently released a report on the issue, ‘More Action Needed to Ensure Safety: Combating Transnational Repression in Australia,” recommending the government examine whether a Senate inquiry into Australia’s current responses to transnational repression is warranted,” she said.“Transnational repression is not just damaging Australian diaspora communities. Left unchecked it is changing Australian’s values and our way of life and directly threatening community safety.”Daniel Y. Teng contributed to this report.