On the morning of April 25, 2002 at 9:00 a.m., several dozen Falun Dafa practitioners from Chicago and surrounding areas gathered at the Chinese Consulate in Chicago, practicing the exercises and making a peaceful appeal, to commemorate the historic event the took place three years ago, the peaceful appeal made by over 10,000 Falun Gong on April 25, 1999.

The event on April 25, 1999 demonstrated to the world how a large-scale appeal could be filled with peacefulness and rationality. The matter was solved on that very day. If the Chinese leadership could have followed its citizens' wishes and seized the opportunity, a stable and prosperous society would have drawn near. If more and more people conduct themselves according to "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance," society would indeed become more stable!

Unfortunately, the Chinese ruling dictator Jiang, out of his paranoia and selfishness, decided to relentlessly persecute over 100 million innocent and kind citizens. He manipulates the military and police forces as well as special agents to carry out his brutal persecution. At the same time, Jiang's regime also mobilizes propaganda, diplomatic and economic means to suppress Falun Gong. In addition, Jiang uses trade and bilateral relationships as a threat to exert pressure to other governments, and spends billions of dollars to avoid being denounced at the annual UN Human Rights Commission for its poor human rights record.

The persecution of Falun Gong has lasted for nearly three years. The world community has denounced the persecution and Falun Gong has been recognized and spread in over 50 countries. People all over the world are peacefully practicing Falun Gong. Take Chicago as an example, On April 25, the third anniversary of the April 25^th Event, like Falun Dafa practitioners elsewhere, Chicago Dafa practitioners used their unique methods to display to the public the grace and glory of Falun Dafa. Practitioners displayed banners that read, "Commemorate the third anniversary of April 25^th peaceful appeal," "SOS: Urgently rescue Falun Gong practitioners being persecuted in China," and "Stop killing Falun Gong practitioners in China." Practitioners also prepared photos and display boards, to show people Falun Gong practitioners' peacefulness and their great compassion and forbearance, and expose Jiang regime's inhuman brutality. Practitioners sent forth righteous thoughts at the top of every hour to eliminate the evil. Practitioners also handed out truth-clarifying literature to passersby. One elderly practitioner said, "I've distributed 600 copies of Dafa materials today."

In the evening, the practitioners lit a row of candles on the ground in memory of their fellow practitioners who were tortured to death. The commemoration activity lasted until 9:00 p.m.