(Minghui.org) The April 25 appeal in Beijing, China was the largest peaceful public demonstration of any persecuted faith group in that country. Over 10,000 Falun Dafa practitioners stood in a quiet and orderly manner outside the Petition Office of the State Council to request the release of 45 arbitrarily detained practitioners and the freedom to practice their faith, which is protected by the Chinese Constitution.
Although the event happened 25 years ago in 1999, the strength and compassion of the practitioners in China have created ripple effects around the world. Practitioners across six continents have continued to raise awareness of the persecution for the past two decades and counting, including practitioners in Bulgaria.
On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the April 25 Appeal, Bulgarian practitioners shared their impressions of that peaceful demonstration and how it inspired them to improve their own morals and support their fellow practitioners in China.
Freelance Journalist: “April 25 Appeal Shows That Good Always Conquers Evil”
Lilia Kostova began doing the Falun Dafa exercises in 2008, and officially took up Falun Dafa in 2014. Today, she works as a German teacher and freelance journalist.
Lilia Kostova, a German teacher and freelance journalist, addressed the rally.
Before she became a practitioner, she was a civil activist in Bulgaria. When she learned of the appeal in Beijing, she was very moved by the kindness and calmness of Falun Dafa practitioners while appealing their cause.
“I know about April 25 from reports and shared eyewitness accounts. I myself have been a civil activist in Bulgaria for many years and that’s why this protest moved me so much,” she said. “I imagine all these ten thousand people: Peaceful but firm in their desire to show what the truth is.”
She was also impressed by the discipline of the practitioners, which allowed them to present their request with “dignity and intelligence” to the authorities. Even though they all came spontaneously, without any prior organization, she admired how they could “keep their composure the whole time, not leave behind any garbage and they even cleaned up the trash discarded by the police.
“For me, the April 25 date is the strongest argument in support of the thesis that good always conquers evil,” said Lilia.
She said the demonstration that day has motivated countless practitioners around the world, like herself, to follow the example of those 10,000 practitioners 25 years ago and stand firm but kind in the face of injustice.
“[We have] to be enduring, disciplined, to not to lose patience, to show with our behavior the beauty and the power of Dafa, to affirm goodness and truth and not lose hope despite all difficulties,” said Lilia.
Lecturer: “April 25 Appeal Shows Something That Authoritarian Regimes Cannot Understand”
Martin Georgiev is an architect, a senior assistant, and lecturer at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Geodesy. He was introduced to Falun Dafa by a friend in 2001.
Martin Georgiev (front left)
Back then, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had already begun persecuting Falun Dafa in China. Through reading news reports from sources outside of Bulgaria, Martin and his friend discovered the abuses that befell practitioners—which called to mind the terrors that Bulgarian people suffered under 45 years of communist rule.
“I remember my friend sharing his thoughts: ‘Since the Communist Party is persecuting these people, they must be good,’” said Martin.
He added that during this early phase of his practice, learning about what happened on April 25 in Beijing “served as inspiration” for him to continue his cultivation and help raise awareness of the persecution.
“I’m deeply touched by the fact that [the practitioners in China] always cared for others and never resorted to violence, even when confronted with grave injustice,” he said. “Just [looking at] the photographs is enough for one to feel that this mass of people is not the usual protesting mob. Everybody stands calm but alert, lined up strictly along the edge of the sidewalk. No one is shouting or disturbing others.
“For so many people to gather spontaneously and act as one—there must be a kind of internal force holding them together. This is something the authoritarian regimes cannot understand and that is why they fear it,” continued Martin. “When people share high ethical standards and are concerned for others, there is no need for somebody to force them [to do things.]”
Martin said he also witnessed the resilience of Chinese practitioners up close when he met a practitioner mother and her three-year-old daughter who escaped China and came to Europe. This experience left a lasting impression on him.
“Though her husband was killed, and her family destroyed, she had the commitment to travel the world alone with a small child and just one or two suitcases of luggage! Who knows how many hardships she had to face?” he said.
Museum Specialist: “The truth has been revealed through April 25”
Ivelina Romanova took up Falun Dafa when she was living in Germany in 2006. When she returned to her home country, she was happy to find other Bulgarian practitioners and joined them in meditating.
Ivelina Romanova
She has been a museum specialist for 25 years. She said Falun Dafa led her to a more fulfilling life.
“Falun Dafa has given me health, taught me to be more tolerant of my loved ones and the people I meet in life. It has given me peace and confidence in what I do for others. It has helped me to correct bad aspects of my character, to think more deeply about moral values,” said Ivelina.
Hope for the Future
This year marks the 25th year since the April 25 appeal. Each year, Bulgarian practitioners hold events around the date to commemorate the bravery of their 10,000 peers.
“In Bulgaria, more and more people are learning the truth about the persecution of Falun Dafa in China, and with their signatures on the petitions [condemning the persecution], we are receiving their sincere support,” said Ivelina. “The truth has now been revealed, and the world increasingly understands the evil nature of the CCP.”
The strength of the practitioners in China, like that shown on April 25, have also been instrumental in helping Bulgarian practitioners hold onto their own “strong faith in the good,” she said.
“Only peacefully and in unity can we change the world,” she said.
For Lilia, the practitioners on April 25 represent the power of “traditional values” that have existed in ancient societies like China and Bulgaria for thousands of years. Even though the CCP worked hard to purge these values from Chinese society, the peacefully protesting practitioners are a sign that these values are still there.
The three practitioners said they find in the April 25 appeal a reason to hope for a better future for the practitioners in China.
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