April 25, 1999, more than 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners peacefully appeal in Beijing





Recalling the "April 25" Peaceful Appeal

By Li Ming

(Clearwisdom.net) Nine years ago, on April 25, 1999, more than ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners went to appeal in Beijing of their own accord. This large-scale, peaceful appeal under the Chinese Communist regime shocked the world and was viewed as a miracle in China's recent history. Soon afterwards, Jiang Zemin's clique launched mass arrests of Falun Gong practitioners nationwide on July 20, 1999, marking the beginning of a most brutal persecution of cultivators. What was it about the "April 25" appeal that so frightened the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)?

Recalling "April 25"

On April 11, 1999, He Zuoxiu published an article titled "I Do Not Agree with Adolescents Practicing Qigong" in the magazine Science and Technology for Youth (published by Tianjin College of Education). The article singled out and attacked Falun Gong by fabricating stories, slandering and falsely blaming Falun Gong, vilifying the image of Falun Gong practitioners, and defaming the founder of Falun Gong. After the article was published, some practitioners in Tianjin felt that they needed to clarify the facts to the departments involved and hoped to mitigate the article's adverse impact by talking with the editorial office of the magazine. From April 18 to 24, several practitioners went to Tianjin College of Education and a few other relevant departments to clarify the facts.

On April 23 and 24, officials from the Tianjin Bureau of Public Security sent armed police officers to beat and disperse Falun Gong practitioners who went to appeal. Some practitioners were injured and bleeding; 45 were arrested by the police. When practitioners asked for their release, officials from the Tianjin Municipal Government told them that the Ministry of Public Security had intervened in the matter, and without authorization from Beijing, the arrested practitioners would not be released. The authorities of the Bureau of Public Security in Tianjin suggested to the practitioners, "Go to Beijing. The matter can only be resolved if you go to Beijing."

The fact is that, long before 1999, officials from the Ministry of Public Security had assigned agents to investigate Falun Gong nationwide in an attempt to collect evidence to prosecute Falun Gong. However, they could not find anything of which to accuse Falun Gong. For years, there had been attacks on Falun Gong in the government-controlled media, but this time it had accelerated to the point where armed policemen used violence against practitioners. The intensified persecution shocked practitioners and news about the "Tianjin incident" quickly spread among them around the country.

On the evening of April 24, practitioners from various places, who trusted and had high expectations in the central government, went to the Appeals Office of the State Council, hoping that the "Tianjin Incident" could be resolved in a just and fair manner. Around lunchtime on April 25, China's then-Premier Zhu Rongji received Falun Gong representatives, who raised three requests: 1) Release the arrested practitioners in Tianjin; 2) Allow practitioners to have a relaxed cultivation environment; 3) Allow the publication of Falun Gong books.

The peaceful appeal in Beijing, in which more than ten thousand practitioners participated, remained in good order from the beginning to the end, without any noise, posters, or slogans. After Premier Zhu received Falun Gong representatives and made a preliminary decision to resolve the matter, Falun Gong practitioners left quietly. The peaceful appeal and the end result gained praise from the international community at that time.

However, Jiang Zemin was furious over Falun Gong's peaceful and rational appeal on April 25. He went berserk and personally launched the comprehensive persecution against Falun Gong on July 20, 1999.

Falun Gong's peaceful appeal demonstrated the true demeanor of spiritual cultivation

Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful appeal demonstrated the true demeanor of spiritual cultivation. The three requests raised by practitioners during their appeal on April 25 not only reflects the fact that they cherish their spiritual practice, but also demonstrates their firm adherence to the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" and their efforts to safeguard the rights of the broad mass of people, so that they would be able to practice spiritual cultivation. The fact is that, after people started to practice Falun Gong, they regained good health, and many who were terminally ill gained a second life. Falun Gong helped people understand the principle of "good will be rewarded with good, and evil with evil" and enabled young people who had gone astray to mend their ways. Falun Gong has helped people to understand the meaning of life and let go of personal fame and gains, be kind to people, and think of others in all circumstances. As a result, their family life has become harmonious, conflicts between neighbors were dissolved, social environments and social order have greatly been improved, and all these have naturally improved the quality of life for people and their living environment. None of these is achieved by political or economic means, but a natural result of Falun Gong cultivation that enables people to return to their true nature and to improve their moral standard.

The peaceful "April 25" appeal effectively demonstrated the demeanor of Falun Dafa spiritual cultivators. They asked for a relaxed cultivation environment so that people could enjoy the basic right to return to their true selves and be good people through cultivation based on the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." This is something fantastic for any civilized society and will only bring tremendous benefits to the society. This is also the reason why Falun Gong has been able to spread to over 80 countries and regions within such a short time of a few years, and has received over a thousand proclamations from various countries in recognition of Falun Gong's merits.

The CCP is most fearful of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance"

Why was the CCP so frightened by Falun Gong's peaceful appeal?

The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party has offered penetrating analysis on the evil nature of the CCP. No matter how hard the CCP tries to beautify itself, it cannot conceal its deceitful, evil, and violent nature. The history of the CCP is one of evilness, which destroys the morals of humanity. This Party stops at no evil and has been guilty of embezzlement and corruption, whoring, burning down people's property, killing, and seizing public wealth. The Party head, Jiang Zemin, even sold out China's territories as head of state. As evil personified, the Party forbids people from having morals or a conscience.

For close to 60 years under the tyranny of the Communist regime, China's five thousand years of divine culture has been ruthlessly destroyed through the CCP's political purge movements, such as the "Anti-three" and "Anti-five" campaigns, the "Great Leap Forward," the "Anti-Rightists" movement, the "Great Cultural Revolution," and more. The CCP has forced the Chinese people to betray their basic code of human conduct handed down by traditional Chinese culture. Around 80 million people have perished due to these purge movements the CCP has inflicted upon China. The CCP is speeding up the destruction of human nature in its ruthless killing.

The CCP needs evil conditions to support its existence, and the destruction of human nature and human morality provides the very soil for the Communist regime to maintain its living. For this reason, the noble demeanor demonstrated by Falun Gong practitioners during the peaceful "April 25" appeal and their just request for the right to practice spiritual cultivation became a thing to be greatly feared by the regime. The fact that Falun Gong attracted close to 100 million people from all walks of life in China within a short period of a few years, by word of mouth, from heart to heart, and the fact that so many people from all sectors have taken the path of cultivation and become kindhearted, scared the CCP most.

See through the evil CCP for what it is and be a dignified Chinese

During the last nine years, in order to continue the persecution, the CCP has used lies to slander and defame Falun Gong and used personal interests and benefits as well as threats to bind the Chinese people to its persecution machine, making them directly or indirectly participate in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners who believe in the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." The CCP is purposefully destroying people's morals and conscience.

In recent years during the persecution of Falun Gong, China has experienced natural and man-made calamities one after another, and criminal cases of all kinds are on the rise. The people living in China sense this intensely.

While persecuting Falun Gong practitioners, the Communist regime uses all kinds of evil means to destroy people's morals and conscience and abuses human nature. Its conduct has enraged heaven and earth and it cannot be tolerated. The time when gods bring the evil CCP to account is not far away!

As Chinese people, including the Communist members and high-ranking Communist officials, we are descendants of Yandi and Huangdi: why would you choose to sink so low and confuse "loving the Party" with "Loving China" and become sacrificial objects for the evil CCP? Gods cherish every being, and each being should also cherish his or her own life in the first place!

For the last nine years, Falun Gong practitioners have given no thought to their own life or death and have made unremitting efforts in clarifying the facts to people and distributing the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. The reason for this is to help people recognize the evil nature of the CCP, break away from it, and reject it, so that they can be clean Chinese people and be able to choose a bright future for themselves.

(http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2008/4/26/96771.html)