Toronto, Canada: Falun Gong Practitioners Rally to Commemorate April 25 (Photo)
By Falun Gong practitioners in Toronto
(Clearwisdom.net) On April 25, 2006, Falun Gong practitioners in
Toronto, Canada gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate to mark the seventh
anniversary of April 25, 1999 when 10,000 Falun Gong practitioner went to
Beijing's Zhongnanhai compound [outside the State Department Appeals Office] to
peacefully appeal, and mourn Falun Gong practitioners who have died as a result
of the persecution in the past seven years. Seven years ago on April 25, 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 25 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 dedicated to the persecution of Falun Gong
on June 10, 1999, and then initiated a nationwide comprehensive persecution of
Falun Gong. Thinking back to the April 25 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 "organized 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 20, 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 25 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
excellent order. 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, we made way for passersby on the
sidewalk. After waiting for over a dozen hours, more than 10,000 Falun Gong
practitioners left only clean streets behind. 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
inspired a great wave of quitting the CCP and its affiliated organizations. The
number of withdrawals has gone over 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."
Falun Gong practitioners rally in front of the Chinese Consulate in Toronto to
mark the seventh anniversary of the April 25 Peaceful Appeal
Chinese version available at
http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/4/26/126175.html
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