Dublin, Ireland: Rally Commemorates April 25 Appeal and Helps People Learn About Falun Dafa

(Minghui.org) Practitioners held a rally in Dublin on April 20, 2024 to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of April 25 appeal. They told people about Falun Dafa and called for an end to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 25-year-long persecution. 

Practitioners demonstrated the exercises during the event in Dublin on April 20, 2024

Many people paused to read the display boards and signed a petition calling to end the persecution. They learned that Falun Dafa practitioners in China were persecuted and tortured for persevering in their belief. Some asked where they could learn the exercises; others left their contact information; some wrote down the website address so they could read Falun Dafa books online. 

People learn about Falun Dafa and sign the petition calling to end the persecution. 

Peaceful Protest Milestone

Mr. Liu addressed the rally and said that despite the CCP’s oppressive control approximately ten thousand practitioners peacefully requested their right to practice their belief on April 25, 1999. This historic moment is worth commemorating and treasuring. The April 25 Appeal is a milestone for peaceful protesting, and reminds people to not keep silent about the persecution, he said. 

He pointed out that on July 20, 1999, the CCP initiated the persecution and said that those who follow Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance to be good people suddenly became “enemies of the state.” For the past 25 years, Minghui.org has recorded thousands of persecution cases. 

Mr. Liu said that in China thousands of practitioners are incarcerated in prisons and detention centers where they are tortured, and even subjected to live organ harvesting. “This persecution must stop. The CCP is damaging peoples’ conscience.” 

He called on the public to work together to end the persecution and treasure the historic moment 25 years ago. “April 25 is a beacon of hope to break through the darkness of the persecution. Practitioners’ will to persevere are the legends of our generation.”

Eliminate Fear 

Malika from Xinjiang supports Falun Dafa practitioners. 

Malika is from Kashgar, Xinjiang. She is fluent in five languages and works as a translator for a Turkish company. Malika moved to Ireland more than ten years ago, and said she often sees Falun Dafa practitioners clarifying the truth on the street. “Every time I see you, I come over to sign the petition.”

Malika said that ten years ago she and her family members were locked up in a concentration camp. Since then she lost contact with them. She hopes the persecution ends soon and that more Chinese people will be freed from fear of the CCP. 

Some Chinese renounced the CCP and its affiliated organizations during the event. Some were young people, and this was the first time they heard of the April 25 Appeal, due to the CCP’s information censorship. A young man surnamed Zhang listened to a practitioner’s explanation of the April 25 Appeal and why the CCP persecutes practitioners. He was appalled and said, “The CCP always lies. No one believes it.” 

Like other young people from China who passed by the rally, Mr. Zhang and another international student traveling with him were interested in the large display board which exposed the CCP-staged Tiananmen self-immolation. They read the information carefully, and took photos and videos. Seeing the enlarged photo showing the so-called self-immolator Wang Jindong, Mr. Zhang told a practitioner that there were Buddhist meditation statues in his hometown of Shanxi. When the practitioner said that Falun Gong is a practice of the Buddha school, Zhang looked at the way Wang Jindong sat, he said, “I know the Tiananmen self-immolation was staged.” Both of them renounced the CCP on the spot. 

A student said he heard of Falun Dafa when he was in China, but he had some questions. A practitioner answered his questions and said that practitioners follow Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance to improve their character. He asked how one could learn to practice. The practitioner explained what cultivation is and suggested he visit the falundafa.org website and read Zhuan Falun. He nodded in agreement. 

I Must Come Back to See This

Noelle commends Falun Dafa. 

Noelle participated in another parade and noticed practitioners doing the exercises. “I felt compelled to come back and see this,” she said after signing the petition. 

She accepted a handmade lotus flower and listened to a practitioner’s explanation that Falun Dafa teaches people to follow Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. She said, “Wonderful. People should follow them. It’s meaningful.” 

She encouraged practitioners to continue peacefully protesting the persecution. 

I Wish to Try

Ahmed from Egypt said Falun Dafa was peaceful. 

Ahmed from Egypt noticed the rally after he got off a coach from the airport. He said he never heard of Falun Dafa before, but after seeing the exercises demonstrated by practitioners, he said Falun Dafa is beautiful. He asked if he could see the practitioners again, because he wished to learn the exercises during his visit to Ireland.

Ammar said he saw practitioners during his trip to Taiwan. 

Ammar from France, was happy to see practitioners and repeatedly asked if they were from Taiwan. He took out his passport from the bottom of his backpack, pointed to the stamp from the Taiwan Immigration Department, and said that when he recently traveled to Taiwan he met Falun Dafa practitioners, “They were meditating like you, and wore yellow jackets.”

Due to his limited time in Taiwan, Ammar only briefly learned what Falun Dafa is. He was surprised to see practitioners in Ireland. He said that he was interested in spiritual practice and cultivation. He left his contact information and hoped to keep in touch with practitioners.

Admires Falun Dafa

Alex hopes the persecution ends as soon as possible. 

Alex from Romania works in healthcare. He noticed the practitioners’ event during his lunch break and chatted with them for a long time. He said he admired traditional Chinese culture and that the Falun Dafa exercises looked tranquil.

Alex was shocked by the pictures of practitioners in China being tortured. He said that such atrocities were something that only happens in a barbaric era.

He hopes the persecution in China ends soon, “I hope that one day, many people will practice the Falun Dafa exercises on Tiananmen Square!”