Canada: Falun Gong Practitioners in Toronto Rally to Commemorate April 25

On April 25th, 2006, Falun Gong practitioners in Toronto, Canada gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate to mark the seventh anniversary of April 25th, 1999 when 10,000 Falun Gong practitioner went to Beijing's Zhongnanhai compound [outside the State Department Appeals Office] to peacefully appeal. Practitioners in Toronto also gathered at the Embassy to mourn Falun Gong practitioners who have died as a result of the persecution in the past seven years.

Falun Gong practitioners rally in front of the Chinese Consulate in Toronto to mark the seventh anniversary of the April 25 Peaceful Appeal

Seven years ago on April 25th, 1999, more than 10,000 law-abiding citizens gathered outside the Appeals Office near the Zhongnanhai Compound to peacefully appeal, requesting that government officials release Falun Dafa practitioners arrested in Tianjin City, and requesting a safe cultivation environment and the right to publish Falun Dafa books. Premier Zhu Rongji and other high-ranking officials met with representatives of Falun Dafa practitioners, and their requests were addressed. The April 25th Peaceful Appeal was resolved rationally and highly praised by the international community.

But Jiang Zemin and his gang spent three months plotting a huge scheme. They first set up a 610 Office [a Gestapo-like organisation set up specifically to 'deal with' Falun Gong] dedicated to the persecution of Falun Gong on June 10th, 1999, and then initiated a nationwide comprehensive persecution of Falun Gong.

Thinking back to the April 25th appeal seven years ago, spokesperson for Falun Dafa Association Zhang Zhaojin expressed that more than 10,000 quietly stood on the sidewalk in excellent order, and quietly left after representatives of practitioners came out from meeting with government officials. Practitioners participating in the appeal never expected that exercising their most basic rights would be distorted as an "organised siege of Zhongnanhai." The practitioners were even more surprised that placing their trust in the government's appeal system became the main excuse for Jiang Zemin's gang to persecute Falun Gong starting on July 20th, 1999.

Zhang Zhaojin said, "During this frenzied persecution, Falun Gong practitioners have been peacefully resisting and doing so with dignity. Falun Gong practitioners were not 'eradicated within three months' as Jiang had thought; on the contrary, the practitioners have persevered and become more steadfast."

Falun Gong practitioner Zhang Yumin, who participated in the April 25th appeal, expressed that it has been seven years, but the memory still remains fresh. Tianjin police beat and arrested practitioners, and said only by going to Beijing could the problem be resolved. So practitioners from across China went to the State Department Appeals Office on Fuyou Street, near the west gate of Zhongnanhai. The police had closed up all road intersections, only leaving the one road to Zhongnanhai. The police deliberately led practitioners to divide into two groups, to surround the Zhongnanhai compound.

Zhang Yumin said that during the whole process, the practitioners were in very orderly. No slogans were shouted, and no signs were displayed. Citizens living nearby said that when others came to appeal, they cried and shouted, making a big racket. But the Falun Gong practitioners were so peaceful and quiet. In order not to block the traffic, practitioners made way for passersby on the sidewalk. After waiting for over twelve hours, more than 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners left only clean streets after them! Even the cigarette butts left on the ground by the police officers were cleaned up. The police were fierce and rude at the beginning, but later they gave us water to drink. They were also amazed by our rationality.

Representative of the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong Yang Kaiwen said that the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party [An Epoch Times publication disclosing the nature and the history of the CCP. Click here for a free download of the Nine Commentaries] inspired a great wave of quitting the CCP and its affiliated organisations. The number of withdrawals is now more than 10 million. Yang Kaiwen said, "Here, I'd like to advise staff at the Chinese Consulate. This has happened for seven years, and as Chinese people, as compatriots, if you still have conscience, you should stop all the slander and lies against Falun Gong practitioners overseas. Be quick to quit the CCP, and do not be buried together with it."