(Clearwisdom.net) On April 25, 1999, ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners peacefully gathered outside the National Appeal Office in Beijing to appeal for their right to freedom of belief, a right promised to every citizen in China's constitution. As the first-ever large-scale peaceful appeal to the notorious suppressive regime, the "April 25" Appeal generated a sensation around the world, and the courage, nonviolence and rationality of this special group was noted by the international media.

The April 25 Appeal marked a new page in the history of China. In the past eight years of brutal persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), more and more people have realized the evil nature of the CCP and its horrific atrocities, through Falun Gong practitioners' tireless truth-clarification efforts. Consequently, as of April 25, 2007, more than 21 million Chinese people have bravely quit the evil party. The CCP appears to be heading to its doom. At the same time, despite the persecution, Falun Gong has continued to grow around the world and the practice is now recognized worldwide as a peaceful belief.

Visitors were shocked by the brutal persecution happening in China

Practitioners demonstrate the Falun Gong exercises

A practitioner explains, "Everyone should learn about the truth of this persecution"

A woman learns the exercises

To mark the anniversary of this historic event, on April 25, 2007, local practitioners held a truth-clarifying event at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia. As the venue of the 1996 Olympic Games, the park is always packed with tourists. Practitioners demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises and displayed truth-clarifying posters. The graceful and serene exercise demonstration and the elegant exercise music attracted many tourists. When they read the posters, with no exception, everyone was shocked by the brutal persecution. Many said, "This is not tolerable!" Some asked if they could donate some money to help. There were also people who asked: "How can we help end this persecution?" When the practitioners revealed the CCP's atrocities of harvesting organs from living Falun Gong practitioners, people were shocked and express their indignation

A college student said, "It is very sad that such a persecution is happening today. This reminds me of the Nazis. I believe that it is very important to let people know the truth. If they don't know the truth, they can't help."

A young man told a NTDTV reporter: "I learned about Falun Gong several weeks ago from one of my friends...Falun Gong practitioners are good people and innocent! The persecution is completely wrong. Everyone should learn about the truth of the persecution. This will be beneficial to us as well as the practitioners. I know that Falun Gong practitioners believe in 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance.' These are the principles that we all should follow.

The graceful movements and the energy field of the Falun Gong exercises attracted many tourists. After reading a lot of the truth-clarifying materials, a man named Peter sat in with the practice group and learned the exercises very seriously. When she did the exercises, a woman said that she could feel strong energy.

The practitioners learned that many visitors to Atlanta come from afar. For example, there were people from South America, Las Vegas, and San Francisco. Although it appeared to be coincidental, they all came to reconnect their predestined relationship with Falun Dafa.