(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners in Oslo and surrounding cities in Norway went to the Chinese Embassy on April 25 and held a peaceful protest to mark the 23^rd anniversary of the April 25 appeal. They called on people to be aware of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s persecution of Falun Dafa that has gone on for 23 years.

Practitioners in front of the Chinese Embassy on April 25 call attention to the CCP’s persecution.

Mr. Uy, a Vietnamese immigrant, practices medicine in Lillehammer, north of Oslo. He took leave to go to the Chinese embassy with his wife to participate in the protest. He said, “We are here to condemn and protest the CCP’s persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners. We call for an early end to the persecution.”

Mr. Uy and his wife

Mr. Vidar, another practitioner, said, “The persecution is still going on. I am here to express my support for Falun Dafa practitioners in China. At the same time, we tell the CCP regime that we are concerned about their atrocities. We know the bad deeds the CCP has done, and the persecution cannot be tolerated. We also hope that the Norwegian government can help stop the persecution through various channels.”

Mr. Vidar

The Chinese Embassy is located in a quiet residential area west of Oslo. For the past 23 years, residents there have regularly seen practitioners protesting. Falun Dafa teaches people to practice according to the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. But the CCP uses violent means to persecute them. People who know the truth support and encourage practitioners in different ways. A resident who passed by on a bicycle shouted to the practitioners: “I fully support you!”

Rally in Las Vegas to Mark April 25 Appeal

Practitioners in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States commemorated the April 25 appeal by holding group exercises, giving speeches, and reading poems in an urban park on April 22. They introduced Falun Dafa and condemned the CCP’s 23-year-long brutal persecution. They also called on the world’s righteous forces to jointly stop the CCP’s persecution.

Group practice in Las Vegas on April 22That evening practitioners held a candlelight vigil to mourn those practitioners who died as a result of the persecution.

Practitioners put up banners and display boards and collected signatures on a petition to end the persecution. People exercising in the park, playing football, and barbecuing were drawn by the practitioners’ group exercises and peaceful music. Many watched, took pictures, and signed the petition.

Background: What Is the April 25 Appeal?

Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries worldwide. Millions of people have embraced the teachings—which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance as well as five gentle exercises—and experienced improved health and well-being.

On April 23 and 24, 1999, police officials in Tianjin, a city near Beijing, assaulted and arrested dozens of practitioners who had gathered outside a magazine office to discuss errors in a recently-published article attacking Falun Dafa. As word spread of the arrests and more practitioners inquired with officials, they were told they had to take their appeals to Beijing.

The following day, April 25, some 10,000 Falun Dafa practitioners spontaneously gathered at the Central Appeals office in Beijing, as they had been instructed by Tianjin officials. The gathering was peaceful and orderly. Several Falun Dafa representatives were called in to meet with Chinese Premier, Zhu Rongji, and members of his staff. That evening, practitioners' concerns were answered. The arrested practitioners in Tianjin were released and everyone went home.

Jiang Zemin, former head of the CCP, perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology and issued an order to ban Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999.

Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners due to the persecution over the years; the actual number is suspected to be much higher. More have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.

There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply the organ transplant industry.