(Minghui.org) On the 14th Anniversary of Falun Gong's April 25 Appeal in Beijing, Houston practitioners held a rally in front of the Chinese Consulate to commemorate this peaceful and rational appeal, which has since become a historical landmark.

休士顿学员中领馆前集会纪念“四•二五”和平上访十四周年
Falun Gong practitioners hold a rally in front of the Chinese Consulate in Houston to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the April 25 Appeal.

Practitioners displayed banners reading, “Falun Dafa – Truthfulness Compassion Forbearance,” “Commemorating the 14th Anniversary of the April 25 Appeal,” and “Stop Persecuting Falun Gong” in front of the Chinese Consulate on the afternoon of April 25, 2013.

A local resident gave the practitioners a thumbs-up. Mr. Victor, who works near the Chinese Consulate, told a reporter, “It has been many years since I first heard about the persecution. I often see them [Falun Gong practitioners] in front of the Chinese Consulate. I have seen their children grow up. I know the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) doesn't allow freedom of belief, but the people have their belief. They will get freedom someday, like Gandhi. It takes a long time. Don't give up. Generation after generation, it will come someday.”

Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Li observed, “Falun Gong practitioners in China need a lot of courage to speak the truth under the dictatorship in China. The April 25 appeal was peaceful, compassionate, and non-violent. It was a manifestation of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. If I had been in China at that time, I would have done the same thing. The CCP's media misled the people with many lies. They made people believe that the April 25 appeal was the reason for the suppression. It isn't true. The head of the CCP, Jiang Zemin, would have persecuted Falun Gong no matter whether there was an April 25 appeal or not, because Jiang was afraid of Falun Gong's central tenet of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. This was the true reason for the persecution. My fellow practitioner and I set up a truth-clarification booth in the Houston Chinatown. Many Chinese people have since learned the true story. Some even started practicing Falun Gong.”

Practitioner Mr. Yang said, “It has been 14 years since the April 25 appeal in Bejing. Falun Gong practitioners have been clarifying the facts in a peaceful and compassionate way. Time has proved the righteousness of the April 25 appeal. I hope the persecution will end soon!”