(Clearwisdom.net) Between 7:30 pm. and 9:30 pm. on April 25, 2008, Falun Gong practitioners, along with families, friends and supporters, held a candlelight vigil in front of the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles to commemorate the April 25 Appeal in 1999, to protest the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong and to memorialize Falun Gong practitioners that have passed away as a result of the persecution in the past nine years.

Nine years ago, over 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners exercised their constitutional right to peacefully appeal for Falun Gong to the State Appeals Office in Beijing, one of the largest and the most peaceful civil rights movements in Chinese history since the CCP took power. They peacefully and rationally safeguarded their rights and freedom of religion as Chinese citizens.

However, the CCP branded the peaceful appeal as "Falun Gong's siege of Zhongnanhai" (the Chinese Communist government's headquarters near the State Appeals Office). For the past nine years, Falun Gong practitioners have withstood the persecution with rationality and peace. According to the Minghui website, 3,148 Falun Gong practitioners have been confirmed to have died as a result of the persecution of Falun Gong as of April 25, 2008, while many thousands more death cases remain unconfirmed due to the CCP's tight control over the details of the persecution.

Ms. Zhou Yuling and Mr. Wu Xuegang, two practitioners from Beijing, narrated their experience of appealing to the State Appeals Office in Beijing on April 25, 1999.

Ms. Zhou Yuling recalled, "I decided to appeal to the State Appeals Office after I heard that the police in Tianjin had arrested Falun Gong practitioners. The police in Tianjin told local practitioners that the Public Security Bureau was involved in the arrest and that only the State Council in Beijing has the power to release them."

Ms. Zhou added, "The Chinese Constitution grants each Chinese citizen the right to appeal. All we have done is to exercise our legal right. Besides, Falun Gong practitioners are cultivating themselves to become better people. They don't deserve to be arrested."

According to Ms. Zhou, she arrived at Fuyou Street at 6:00 am. on April 25 and saw that some practitioners had already arrived. At first, practitioners spread out on Fuyou Street. Then the police approached them and asked them to form a line.

"We stood across from Zhongnanhai, trying to keep our distance. But the police led us across the street to form lines right outside the walls of Zhongnanhai. Next they moved us across the street, only to move us back to the side of Zhongnanhai again later. We moved back and forth many times. Finally, the police moved us from across the street of the west gate of Zhongnanhai to the side of Zhongnanhai. I saw the police moving practitioners from another location as well. We stood in line from morning until past 9:00 pm."

During the appeal, the practitioners didn't shout any slogans or display any signs or banners. Some practitioners quietly read Falun Gong books, and other practitioners quietly practiced the exercises. Except for several practitioners picking up trash with garbage bags, no one walked about.

Ms. Zhou Yuling recalled, "The practitioners at the scene were very quiet and peaceful. Anyone witnessing the scene would be touched."

Mr. Wu Xuegang said, "We were merely standing quietly on the sidewalks. To avoid blocking the traffic on the sidewalk, we backed away from the portion of the sidewalk reserved for blind pedestrians. The CCP claimed that Falun Gong practitioners besieged Zhongnanhai. It was a lie, and anyone can easily see through that. Think about it, it would have been very easy for 10,000 people to attack Zhongnanhai if they wanted to. We are cultivators following the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. We would never do that. We were peacefully appealing to the State Appeals Office for a legal cultivation environment and for the release of the arrested practitioners."

Professor Wu Yingnian of UCLA, a spokesperson for Falun Gong practitioners in Los Angeles, said, "We must tell the world's people that we continue to persevere in our faith after nine years of persecution and abuse. We continue to fight for our right to practice Falun Gong in China. We call upon governments, organizations and Chinese people worldwide to condemn the CCP's brutalities and to end the CCP's persecution of Falun Gong."

Professor Wu said, "The April 25 Appeal was legal, justifiable and reasonable. It was an exercise of Chinese citizens' constitutional rights. Falun Gong practitioners have responded to the ruthless persecution with great compassion, great forbearance, peace and rationality. Compromising or giving in to evil is not the same thing as kindness. Safeguarding the right to be good is the right thing to do."

Professor Wu added, "While Falun Gong practitioners are safeguarding their freedom of religion, assembly and speech, they are also safeguarding the freedoms of all Chinese people. Only when all the Chinese people truly enjoy freedom of speech, assembly and religion will China become a great country."

Professor Wu said, "The CCP repeatedly accuses people of being anti-Chinese. In reality, the CCP is the largest anti-Chinese force. Since the CCP took power in China, it has caused the deaths of over 80 million innocent Chinese people during its many political movements. Now the CCP officials are rampant in their corruption, splurging on Chinese taxpayers' hard-earned money and bullying Chinese civilians," said Professor Wu.

"Under the CCP's tyrannical rule, the Chinese people's right to vote, to know the truth and even to live like a decent person have been deprived. It's the CCP that has brought shame to China. If we want to protect China, we must protect every Chinese citizen's rights," he said.

In conclusion, Professor Wu urged Chinese people worldwide to stand up to the CCP's tyrannical rule alongside Falun Gong practitioners and their supporters, and to withdraw from the CCP and its two affiliated student leagues.