(Clearwisdom.net)  On April 25, five years ago, in order to safeguard their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and secure a peaceful environment in which to cultivate, more than 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners went to the Appeals Office of the State Council to petition the central government. 

However, this peaceful and lawful appeal was later labeled as "besieging the government" and was used as an excuse to justify the nearly five-year-long cruel suppression of those who practice Falun Gong. Five years later, in the Capital of Canada, Ottawa, Falun Gong practitioners held two symbolic trials of the chief perpetrator, Jiang Zemin, in front of the Chinese Embassy and in Chinatown, to commemorate that peaceful protest.

Zhongnanhai Appeal Participant: "The appeal was voluntary and peaceful"

Ms. Li Jie, originally from Beijing, is now in her 60s. She personally attended the April 25 appeal five years ago. She said, "On the eve of April 25, the assistant (1) of our practice site explained to us that He Zuoxiu (2) published an article to attack and frame Falun Gong in the publication Well Read Teenagers, a journal issued by the Tianjin Educational Institute. Tianjin practitioners tried to clarify the real situation of Falun Gong to the institute, but were unlawfully arrested and even beaten by Tianjin police. He also said that some practitioners wanted to report what was going on to the government the next day. We then discussed about the issue. Some agreed, some not. Most people considered that we should go to report this and appeal on behalf of Falun Gong, because we thought that things would get worse if this kind of incident was not stopped in a timely manner. Today, it is Tianjin Falun Gong practitioners who are arrested and beaten, while tomorrow, it could turn to be practitioners in Beijing, Shenyang or other places. It is our responsibility to stand up and safeguard our freedom of belief. This is also our constitutional rights."

Ms. Li continued, "When the three of us arrived at the Appeal Office, we saw numerous people already quietly standing there. Many people came from other cities. For instance, some people by our sides came from Chengde, some from Shangdong Province. Some senior people in their 60's or 70's also came from outside Beijing. People were well disciplined. Some stood by the roadside, some sat. There were no slogans, no signs or banners. And there was no need to do anything special to maintain order. Several practitioners brought plastic bags and asked us to clean up where we stood or sat. A street cleaner who passed by said that the streets were even more clean than usual. He also said to a police officer, 'See, this is the virtue brought by their cultivation.'"

Ms. Li added, "This way, we quietly waited there for more than 10 hours. No one complained. Many practitioners shared the food they brought with others they did not know of. On that day, the police officers did not use violence. Instead, one officer even gave his soda to some practitioners. Many kind Beijing residents especially came over and brought water to practitioners. At that time, it was the police officers who led Falun Gong practitioners to stand around the Zhongnanhai Compound. Luo Gan and his accomplice utilized practitioners' kindness and trust in the government to deliberately frame Falun Gong."

The perpetrator of the genocide targeting Falun Gong practitioners is symbolically put on public trial

"The scope touched upon by this lawsuit is huge. It involves all of China and many countries in the world. It touches upon millions of people's hearts. At the meantime, it is also an extreme case that an individual who, out of his tremendous jealousy and hatred, abused his power to manipulate the entire state machinery to demonize and eradicate a peaceful practice. This practice is Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa." In the court of morality, outside the Chinese Embassy, the prosecutor stated in Chinese, "The measures Jiang applied are systematic, inhuman and planed in advance. On June 10, 1999, he set up a special institution named "610 Office" and granted it power above the Chinese Constitution and any other laws or regulations to specifically oppress Falun Gong...." "Jiang ordered this Gestapo-like institution, the '610 Office' to deal with Falun Gong practitioners by adopting the policy, 'ruin their reputation, bankrupt them financially, and destroy them physically."

According to the updated data provided by Minghui Net, since July 20, 1999, 955 Falun Gong practitioners are verified to have died from the persecution. The death cases are distributed over more than 30 provinces, municipalities directly under the Central Government and Autonomic Districts. During the symbolic trial, crimes committed by Jiang and his 610 Office were stated through testimonies of witnesses including Zhao Ming.

"The evildoers will be eventually brought to justice"

Falun Gong practitioner Grace said that, over the past five years, Falun Gong practitioners have endured tremendous hardship and pressure. Nevertheless, they have always maintained their peacefulness and rationality and persistently clarify the real situation of Falun Gong to people from all walks of life. Now, the situation has changed in a great deal. The chief perpetrator who willfully defames and persecutes Falun Gong has been sued in more than 10 countries. The evildoers will eventually be brought to justice. This is the inevitability of history.

During the symbolic trial, several people who looked like Chinese government officials went sightseeing around the Chinese Embassy. They stood on the street opposite to our tribunal and silently watched the trial. One of them quietly reached out his hand and made a "V" gesture.

1. Assistant: At each practice site, a volunteer who carries audiotape recorder every morning to the practice site and helps others to learn or correct their exercise movement is called an assistant.
2. He Zuoxiu: Luo Gan's brother-in-law, who carries a title that was used to politically support the regime's policy against Falun Gong.