Canada: Remembering the April 25 Peaceful Appeal, Falun Gong Practitioners Explain the Facts in Downtown Toronto (Photos)

(Clearwisdom.net) On April 25, 2008, Falun Gong practitioners formed a "Great Wall of Truth" in downtown Toronto to tell people in the city the facts about the nine-year-persecution of Falun Gong in China. The practitioners called upon the international society to condemn the brutality of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and help stop the persecution.

Practitioners explained the facts of the persecution of Falun Gong to pedestrians in downtown Toronto.

Practitioners explaining the facts of the persecution

Falun Gong practitioners formed a "Great Wall of Truth" in downtown Toronto.

Many people signed the petition initiated by CIPFG calling for an end of the persecution of Falun Gong.

On Bloor Street in Toronto, practitioners held banners saying "Falun Dafa Is Good," "Falun Dafa Is a Righteous Practice," "Falun Dafa Helps Hundreds of Millions of People to Stay Healthy and Kind," "Stop the Genocide Against Falun Gong Practitioners," and "Brutal Organ Removal from Living Practitioners Is Happening in Labor Camps in China." Many passersby stopped to read more about the persecution.

Zhang Zhaojin, spokesperson for the Toronto Falun Dafa Association, said the Great Wall of Truth was a meaningful event. "Western society and governments respect Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful protests appeals and protests. They consider what practitioners are doing similar to what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. advocated."

Zhang Rongxuan personally participated in the appeal on April 25, 1999. He said, "I stood right in front of the gate of the central government office buildings. We demanded a peaceful and fair environment for our practice and legal publication of Falun Dafa books. Everyone was calm. After we left, there wasn't a piece of paper or cigarette butt on the ground."

Mr. Zheng and his family all practice Falun Gong. He said that the Department of Public Safety in China started its investigation on Falun Gong in 1998. According to Mr. Zheng, the local public safety bureaus in Liaoning Province, where he was from, mobilized officers to infiltrate local Falun Gong groups and activities. "Many police officers worked undercover. They pretended to be practitioners and joined the study and exercise groups. They collected information on individual practitioners. Some of the officers realized that there was nothing wrong with Falun Gong and revealed their identities to the practitioners. They even told practitioners that, because Falun Gong believes in 'Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance,' it was absolutely not acceptable to the CCP, that the CCP would not allow any belief."

"After the peaceful appeal on April 25, local practitioners tried to tell the public the facts about the practice. However, the police continued to follow and harass the coordinators of local Falun Gong groups. The police even took pictures and videotaped practitioners while they were doing the exercises."

Mr. Zheng believed the CCP arrested practitioners in Tianjin City and somehow tricked the practitioners into going to Beijing to further appeal. The state media, Beijing's mouthpieces, later reported that these practitioners were violent protesters. The appeal in Beijing became an excuse that triggered the persecution.

Gina, a Romanian Falun Gong practitioner, started the practice three years ago. "The CCP persecution of Falun Gong has lasted nine years and it brings shame to mankind. Falun Gong practitioners have high moral standards and steadfast belief in the practice, which is exactly why they are able to withstand this brutal persecution and persistently try to tell people the truth of the persecution in peaceful ways. Their belief in 'Truth, Compassion, and Tolerance' has kept them going and attracts many people to join them during the persecution."

Huaman, a passerby, told the reporter, "I didn't know this brutal persecution has been going on in China for nine years until after I saw these pictures. I am in shock that in the 21^st Century there are still people being persecuted for their beliefs. I will do my best to help."

A filmmaker learned about the persecution of Falun Gong five years ago. The grandparents of one of the filmmaker's classmates were persecuted because they practiced Falun Gong. The filmmaker said, "I am surprised to see the persecution is still happening. I want to do some research on this issue and make a documentary to help the public understand the persecution."

Many passersby signed the petition calling for the end of the persecution. The petition was initiated by the CIPFG, Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong.