London, UK: Commemoration Event Marks the April 25 Appeal Anniversary

(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners from London and surrounding areas held an event at St. Martin Place in central London on April 29, 2023 to commemorate the April 25 appeal in Beijing 24 years ago. They called for an end to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution. 

Many people stopped to watch practitioners’ waist drum performance and exercise demonstration

It was a warm spring day, and the streets were filled with people. The practitioners held a press conference, exercise demonstration, waist drum team performances, solo performance and other activities, which drew the attention of many passers-by.

Support from Prime Minister and Members of Parliament

Before the event, the British Prime Minister’s Office sent a letter expressing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s support for Falun Dafa practitioners.

The letter stated, “It is a commendable achievement for the Falun Gong practitioners to uphold their practice in such a way and I would like to extend my congratulations for their peaceful appeal to have reached 24 years.”

Representatives of the British Falun Dafa Association read the letters sent by the Prime Minister’s Office and Members of Parliament. Letter from the British Prime Minister’s Office

Twelve other British officials also sent letters to express support, which were read during the event. Lord Pearson of Rannoch stated, “The Chinese Government’s treatment of Falun Gong can safely be described as evil. Feel free to quote me, and keep fighting.”

Bob Doris MSP stated, “The repression and denial of basic civil liberties that have been perpetrated by the Chinese state has been well documented. These crimes are an ongoing moral and ethical scandal.”

Patrick Grady MP stated, “Many MPs across the House of Commons support practitioners of the Falun Gong and their right to practice their faith without fear, and we send our support and solidarity in the fight for freedom and an end to persecution.”

Chair John Dee of European Friends of Falun Gong speaks in the rally. 

John Dee, Chair of European Friends of Falun Gong, said in his speech, “On April 25, we commemorate the 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners who gathered in Beijing 24 years ago to petition the Chinese government, demanding the release of a group of Falun Gong practitioners who were previously detained in Tianjin. These practitioners were not seeking political power. They just wanted the freedom of speech and expression of ordinary Chinese citizens.”

“Falun Dafa has had such a profound impact on millions of people that it is impossible to overestimate its importance in changing the course of human thought. It teaches people to be compassionate while also looking inward for their own faults, look at yourself rather than blaming others, and always try to find the truth. We all hope that these positive factors will eventually become a turning point for humanity, and finally overcome the oppression and suppression that the Chinese Communist Party has imposed on many people for many years.”

Singer Mika Hale sang the song Dedu, drawing many passers-by to stop to listen. 

Public Support for Falun Dafa 

Many people stopped to learn about Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) and signed the petition calling for an end to the persecution.

Passers-by learn about Falun Dafa and sign the petition. 

A Chinese doctor was drawn by the waist drum team’s performance and asked a practitioner what kind of activity it was. The practitioner explained the background of the April 25 Appeal. The doctor said she knew something about the persecution in China. She said her classmate’s entire family practiced Falun Gong, “Her parents were arrested for practicing Falun Gong. This is a fact I know.”

“Everyone has the right to choose what they believe or not to believe. It (the CCP) cannot force people to believe or not to believe,” she said. “I believe the CCP has done a lot that should not be done. The CCP is not like what it claims (to be).” She said she hopes that one day Falun Gong will be allowed to be freely practiced in China.

The world just experienced the COVID pandemic. As a doctor, she also felt the impact deeply and said, “The Chinese people are very pitiful. They are oppressed but can only accept it. It is not that the Chinese do not have thoughts, but they dare not have them. They dare not express their thoughts, because telling the truth in China will make you suffer. The CCP will mobilize your family and your relatives to put pressure on you. The CCP’s tactics are extremely evil.”

Afghan Manzoor wishes to learn Falun Gong. 

Ms. Manzoor from Pakistan stopped to watch the activities with her two daughters. She wished to learn the exercises and said, “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is very good, especially the word forbearance, which is very important. If everyone can tolerate those around them, everything will become peaceful. Forbearance is very important for peace.”

An Indian man shed tears after reading the display boards showing the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. He asked the practitioner sadly, “Is this true?” The practitioner said, “It’s all true.” He went to the table to sign the petition, and wept as he signed.

After watching practitioners demonstrate the exercises and reading the display boards, several teenagers signed the petition. One said solemnly after signing: “This matter is very important to me!”

Starting to Practice Falun Gong After Learning About April 25 Appeal

Tony Archer practices Falun Dafa.

Tony Archer is 76 years old, but he is in good spirits. He can speak multiple languages and is learning Chinese. He said that he has had many ups and downs in his life, he was a teacher, and he also went astray as a drug addict. One Sunday in 2001, he read a newspaper report about the April 25 Appeal and afterwards started to practice Falun Dafa.

He recalled that he was puzzled when he read the report and thought, “There are so many troops in China, why is Jiang Zemin (the CCP head) afraid of these people?” He said, “I was surprised. I thought this was a very important thing. Practitioners are good people and they don’t want to hurt anyone.” 

He was learning some qigong exercises at the time, but when he read that so many people practiced Falun Gong, he thought that this practice must be very powerful, and it might be the best thing for the world. He said, “The article had a huge appeal to me. I think it was published in the Sunday Observer. There were two pages. I didn’t go anywhere that Sunday. I read it three or four times and thought, ‘I must go to find out. I want to know about Falun Gong.’”

Tony doubted whether he could practice Falun Gong at first, because he felt that his heart nature was not good enough. But after he learned to practice the first four of the five sets of exercises, and he said, “I can’t believe what happened. I felt I couldn’t believe it. I felt like Falun Gong had a huge influence on me.”

The next day his Tai Chi instructor saw him and asked, “What have you done? Why are you different?” Tony said, “He could tell that within 24 hours I had changed and was like a different person. I was also amazed.”

He continued, “Many people who knew me asked, ‘What happened to you?’ After practicing Falun Dafa, I became brighter. I started learning Chinese and I also learned to play the flute. I was not in the mood to learn music before. I always want to tell people how good Falun Dafa is. It saved my life.”

The activities started at 11 a.m. and ended after 5 p.m.

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 & 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 appeal 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.