Korea: Practitioners Commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the April 25th Appeal

April 25th, 2009 marked the tenth anniversary of the "April 25" peaceful appeal near Zhongnanhai in Beijing. To commemorate the event, a range of activities have been held around the world. The Korean Falun Dafa Association held press conferences in front of the Chinese Embassy in Seoul and another at the Chinese Consulate in Busan on April 24th and 25th. The association strongly urged the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to stop the illegal suppression of Falun Gong, and at the same time, the Falun Gong spokesperson cautioned officers in the Chinese Embassy to think for themselves, not fall for the CCP's lies and to stop interfering with Falun Gong practitioners' activities in Korea.

Spokesperson for the Korean Falun Dafa Association Mr. Wu Shilie speaks at the event to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the April 25 peaceful appeal

Venue of the commemoration event

Mr. Wu Shilie, spokesperson for the Korean Falun Dafa Association, said, "Since Falun Gong was first introduced to the public on May 13th, 1992 in Changchun City, Jilin Province, it rapidly spread across China by word of mouth. The great popularity is in part because Falun Gong does not charge any fees, and has tremendous healing effects. Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful appeal on April 25th, 1999 was an opportunity for the world to come to know Falun Gong."

Mr. Wu continued, "Practitioners who participated in the April 25th appeal were not organised to do so, they did not shout slogans or carry signs, and the issue was resolved at 9:00 p.m. the same day. Then all practitioners left peacefully, without leaving a single scrap of paper on the ground. Western media outlets commented that the April 25th initiated a new era of peaceful appeal.

"April 25th was also a turning point for Falun Gong to be known by the international community. However, the CCP revealed its deliberate intent of suppression, and launched a persecution campaign against Falun Gong on July 20th, 1999. Falun Gong practitioners who have experienced the persecution can be found all around the world." Mr. Wu said, "Falun Gong has been spread to over eighty countries. Falun Gong only brings benefits and does no harm to a nation or its people."

Mr. Wu cautioned the staff of the Chinese Embassy to stop executing tasks interfering with Falun Gong activities. He encouraged them to make their own judgment: "You have experienced freedom, democracy and peace in Korea, and you have been listening to the CCP's lies. You're diplomats, so you must abide by the law in Korea. You must stop interfering with Falun Gong practitioners' legal activities in Korea."

Pei Xianmin, a researcher for the National Fisheries Research Institute, said that the Korean police have had sufficient understanding of Falun Gong's basic situation recently, and they have become very supportive. He added that today is a public holiday, but the police from Busan and Haeundae came out and gave much help to the practitioners' activities.

Mr. Wu Shilie said in an interview that before the CCP started the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, there were only a handful of people in Korea practicing Falun Gong, but now there are about 200 practice sites in Korea. According to a conservative estimate, 50,000 copies of the book Zhuan Falun in Korean have been sold.

He added that prior to the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong in 1999, people in over 30 countries practiced Falun Gong. Ten years have passed, and Falun Gong has not been defeated; instead, people in over 80 countries and regions are practising Falun Gong. Mr. Wu said that the number of practitioners will rise sharply later. This shows that the CCP's slander against Falun Gong, instead of destroying the practice, has backfired.

Spokesperson Mr. Wu and the coordinator of the Falun Dafa Association delivered a letter of protest to the Chinese Embassy at the conclusion of the rally.