Remembrance of April 25, 1999 – Peaceful Appeal of Falun Dafa Practitioners
New Delhi. The peaceful protest of 25 April 1999 in China can be called a milestone, which even Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi would have appreciated. About 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered at the Zhongnanhai Central Government Complex in Beijing and protested peacefully for their civil rights, to appeal against the Chinese media’s slanderous articles about the Falun Gong cultivation practice. Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) is a cultivation practice of mind and body, originated in China in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Because of its health benefits and spiritual teachings, Falun Gong became so popular in China that within a few years millions of people were practicing it. The growing popularity of Falun Gong came to the chagrin of the Chinese Communist rulers.
The April 25 appeal, in the history of China’s Communist regime, was notable not only for its size, but also because it was entirely peaceful and orderly. However, the Chinese regime twisted the facts. To this day, the communist regime accuses Falun Gong of “laying siege to the Zhongnanhai Central Government Complex” on April 25, 1999. They falsely allege that the mob of 10,000 was a violent threat to the nation and its leaders. But nothing could be further from the truth. Traffic moved smoothly throughout the day. Some abhyasis took initiatives to ensure smooth flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Practitioners continued to walk on the side of the road, allowing pedestrians to use the sidewalk. They were calm and orderly.
The then Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji met with Falun Gong representatives and assured that the government would not oppose Falun Gong. After that the 10,000 abhyasis started going back peacefully. As they left, the abhyasis cleaned up their surroundings, even picking up cigarette butts dropped by the police. Two months after the false promises of the Communist regime, on July 20, 1999, Chinese Emperor Jiang Zemin began the most brutal crackdown on Falun Gong practitioners that continues to this day. Till date millions of Chinese people have been abducted and imprisoned, tortured, fired from schools, jobs, or left homeless for practicing Falun Gong. There have been 80,000 cases of torture in China. Thousands were murdered.
The suppression and genocide of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party is a crime against humanity. Indian citizens should also condemn the human rights abuses in China and support the Falun Gong practitioners. In this context, this petition is becoming very popular in many countries including India: www.change.org/supportfalungong You can also help end the 23-year-long oppression of Falun Gong practitioners in China by signing this petition. You can find more information about this at www.faluninfo.net.
