United Kingdom: London Candlelight Vigil Marks April 25th

On Friday 25th April, UK Falun Gong practitioners held a candlelight vigil opposite the Chinese Embassy in London. The vigil was to protest against the 9 years of persecution Falun Gong practitioners have suffered at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Banners told passersby about the human rights abuses Falun Gong practitioners have suffered. Leaflets were also given to people who wanted to find out more. The leaflets detailed the CCP's stealing of internal organs from living Falun Gong practitioners. The organs are sold for large profits to transplant sufferers whilst the practitioners' bodies are cremated to destroy the evidence. These organ harvesting atrocities were brought into the public eye by a Canadian investigation team who published a report called Bloody Harvest.

April 25th is a date that Falun Gong practitioners commemorate every year. Nine years ago, on April 25th 1999, in order to appeal for justice for Falun Gong, around 10,000 practitioners went to peacefully appeal and clarify the facts to the Chinese government in Beijing. Unjust persecution against Falun Gong was already taking place and they requested the government to stop the unfair treatment of practitioners by those who had ulterior motives.

UK Falun Gong practitioners have now been protesting 24 hours a day at the Chinese Embassy since September 2000. Many Londoners are familiar with the protest and support Falun Gong practitioners in their call for freedom from persecution and the end of the Chinese communist Party's tyranny against Falun Gong. Several London celebrities have pledged their support for the protest, including a rock group that released a song about the 8-year protest.