Australia: Commemorating the April 25th Appeal in Melbourne

On April 25th, Falun Gong practitioners from Melbourne held an activity downtown - forming a Wall of Truth, clarifying the truth about Falun Gong, and commemorating the "April 25th" Appeal.

Practitioners' Wall of Truth

Ms. Wang, a practitioner who attended the original April 25th Appeal in Beijing in 1999, shared her own experiences about the peaceful and legal appeal.

The reason that Falun Gong practitioners went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong in 1999 was that a journal in Tianjin had published an article slandering Falun Gong on April 11th, and some practitioners, who went to talk to the journal editors on April 18th-24th, were arrested by the police. When other practitioners requested their release, they were told to take their case to the higher authorities in Beijing. Many practitioners therefore went to Beijing, requesting that the government release those practitioners.

Ms. Liang also told what she witnessed in Tianjin in 1999. She said that practitioners went to the journal office on April 23rd, and peacefully submitted their request, asking the journal to make up for its mistake and restore Falun Gong's reputation. However, more than 300 policemen from the Tianjin Police Department arrived; they beat practitioners and arrested 40 of them. This is why practitioners went to Beijing to appeal on the 25th.

Many people, including a lot of Chinese tourists, saw the practitioners' Wall of Truth in Melbourne. They accepted the truth-clarifying materials and read the contents carefully. Some Chinese tourists videotaped the wall. Many Westerners expressed their support.