25th Anniversary of Peaceful Appeal Marked by Falun Gong Practitioners Globally

April 25 marks the 25th anniversary of the peaceful mass petition of Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing. Adherents around the world have been holding commemorations of the event since the weekend.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, was introduced to the public in Changchun city of Jilin Province in 1992 by Li Hongzhi. It’s a traditional spiritual practice rooted in Buddhist traditions, following the principles of truth, compassion, and forbearance. Due to its effectiveness in improving the public’s physical and mental health, it spread rapidly across China through word of mouth. In just seven years, the number of practitioners was estimated to be near 100 million.

In 1999, the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was afraid that there were too many people practicing Falun Gong, so it began to secretly suppress Falun Gong in many places across the country and used its media mouthpieces to attack the practice.

On April 25, 1999, more than 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners went to the CCP’s Petition Office of the State Council in Beijing to file a petition, demanding the authorities release 45 Falun Gong practitioners who had been illegally arrested by local police in Tianjin, and also requesting that the authorities allow the legal publication of Falun Gong books and ensure Falun Gong practitioners’ freedom to practice, which is protected by China’s constitution.

The then-CCP premier met with the representatives of Falun Gong practitioners on that day and agreed to the demands.

The “April 25” petition and peaceful demonstration were described by international media at the time as the most successful, rational, and peaceful petition in the history of China’s petitions.

However, the then-CCP leader Jiang Zemin, who was in control of the communist regime and its military and police, launched an unprecedented persecution campaign against Falun Gong practitioners on July 22 of that year. Since then, countless Falun Gong practitioners have been kidnapped, illegally jailed, tortured, and killed, including falling victim to the regime’s live organ harvesting.

It has been 25 years since the April 25 peaceful petition, but the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong is still ongoing.

Los Angeles

On April 21, a rally in support of Falun Gong practitioners was held in front of the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles to commemorate April 25 and call for an end to the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong.

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“In a society under the brutal rule of the CCP, it is very remarkable to solve problems in a peaceful way,” Falun Gong practitioner Xu Zhengzhe told reporters and the public at a press conference. He believes that the peaceful petition on April 25 is of great significance. Mr. Xu regained health after starting to practice Falun Gong in 1994. He said that since then he hasn’t seen a doctor or taken any medicine for 30 years, and his morality has also improved.

Mr. Xu said that it is of great significance to hold events to commemorate the April 25 petition internationally. “Today I’m here to let the South Korean government and public understand the truth. Only when people know what is truly bad can they create a good society.”

Japan

Hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners in Japan gathered in Asakusa, a popular tourist spot in Tokyo on April 21 to hold a parade to commemorate April 25 and call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong.

Japanese citizen Kentaro Abe, who was watching the parade, told The Epoch Times that after he learned about the persecution of Falun Gong, he called on people “not to bow to the oppression of the Communist Party, but to persist in their beliefs, continue to resist the persecution, and make the truth known to the world.” He also praised the Tianguo marching band members’ performance, calling it extraordinary.

Ma Shangen, Shi Ping, Lin Caifeng, Wang Jiayi, Wang Wenliang, and Xu Yi contributed to this report.