Thoughts Regarding July 20, 1999: the April 25th Appeal Definitely Cannot Be an Excuse for the Persecution of Falun Gong

As of the 20th of July, 2004, the persecution against Falun Gong launched by Jiang Zemin's regime has gone on for five years. When talking about this persecution today, people still remember the event that happened before July 20, 1999. That is, approximately 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners appealed at the National Appeals Office on April 25, 1999. Some people think the April 25th appeal caused the persecution that began on July 20.

However, I would like to point out that the April 25th group appeal definitely cannot be the excuse for this persecution.

The April 25th appeal occurred because policemen in Tianjin arrested many local Falun Gong practitioners for no reason, telling them that the matter could not be solved locally. Following that, 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners went to the National Appeals Office in Beijing.

As early as 1996, Jiang's regime began to secretly carry out investigations into Falun Gong after judging it guilty and demonising it in the media. However, through their kind and sincere explanations of the true situation, Falun Gong practitioners benevolently resolved things each time by achieving understanding and acceptance from associated leaders and personnel. The arrest of Falun Gong practitioners in Tianjin right before the April 25th incident was the result of a joint effort by He Zuoxiu and Luo Gan. Those men were among the few troublemakers in the earlier years who had failed to achieve their goal of demonising Falun Gong.

The Constitution maintains that citizens have the right to appeal. The number of people appealing does not change the legitimacy of the appeal. In addition, Falun Gong practitioners went to Beijing to appeal because the matter could not be solved in Tianjin, and the State Council in Beijing is the direct supervisor of the Tianjin government. Therefore, the Falun Gong practitioners' appeal was a not one that skipped levels in between. In the process of appealing, Falun Gong practitioners were quiet, peaceful, and disciplined. They had neither a march nor a demonstration, nor did they shout slogans. They did not cause any inconvenience and negative affects to the transportation and daily lives of local people. Meanwhile, on the request of the Premier, they selected a few representatives to talk with him. Their appeal was reasonable, rational, and legitimate. It could be regarded as a model for group appeals. However, Jiang Zemin insisted on saying that the appeal was "besieging" and "causing trouble," and on widely propagating these fallacies. This is entirely a matter of defamation and a frame-up.

U.S. President Bush has come across many protests during his four years of presidency. Mr. Bush, however, did not suppress them by imposing the labels "besieging" and "trouble making" on the people. He knew that his power came from being elected by the people, and that his salary comes from the taxes paid by the people. In contrast, Jiang as the dictator placed himself above the law and against the people who believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. His treatment of the 4-25 appeal is the epitome of his habit of using deceit to achieve his criminal ends.