Rallies Held in US Cities to Commemorate 1999 Peaceful Appeal in China
Falun Gong practitioners held events in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Seattle, Chicago, and New York to observe what is now known as the April 25 appeal, an event that took place in Beijing, China's capital.
On April 25, 1999, about 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners from various walks of life and across China gathered near Zhongnanhai, the compound of high-ranking officials of the Chinese Communist Party. They demanded the release of 45 fellow practitioners who had been arrested days earlier in Tianjin city and called for the protection of their rights to practice their faith freely.
During the April 25 appeal, then-Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji
The peaceful protest became one of the excuses for the Chinese regime to launch a brutal persecution to eradicate the group on July 20, 1999. CCP propaganda has portrayed the April 25 appeal as a 'siege' against the Party.
Los Angeles
On the evening of April 22, nearly 200 Falun Gong practitioners gathered outside the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles to commemorate the April 25 appeal. Each of them held a candle to remember fellow practitioners who had been persecuted to death at the hands of the Chinese regime.
Zheng Cunzhu, chairman of the local committee of the China Democracy Party in Los Angeles, said at the event that overseas Chinese and governments in the West should be concerned about the ongoing persecution against Falun Gong.
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'If we are not vigilant and allow the CCP's authoritarian force to expand around the world … in the end, it will spread worldwide like COVID-19,' Zheng said.
Hundreds of thousands of practitioners have been subjected to torture while incarcerated,
Philadelphia
Gong Qinhua, a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, spoke at a rally in Philadelphia's Chinatown on April 19. She recalled witnessing the events of April 25, 1999.
Gong said she traveled to Beijing with her family and arrived very early on that day.
'The practitioners were all extremely quiet without causing a disturbance. Some just stood there, while others did the Falun Gong exercises or read,' Gong said.
'In the evening, knowing that the CCP authorities had promised not to suppress Falun Gong and would release the Tianjin practitioners, the crowd dispersed quietly.'
Gong Qinhua speaks at a rally commemorating the 26th anniversary of the April 25 appeal, in Philadelphia, Pa., on April 19, 2025.
Yang Qian/The Epoch Times
Gong said the Chinese authorities arrested the 45 Falun Gong practitioners in Tianjin to lure practitioners from all over the country to come to Beijing and file their appeals.
When they arrived in the capital city on April 25, 1999, she said, the police also 'deliberately arranged' for the practitioners to gather on the sidewalks of two streets next to Zhongnanhai, creating the impression that they were carrying out a 'siege.'
Roughly 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners peacefully appeal outside Zhongnanhai, the central headquarters for the Chinese Communist Party, in Beijing on April 25, 1999.
Courtesy of Minghui.org
Thousands of Falun Gong practitioners line up on the street outside Zhongnanhai, the Chinese Communist Party headquarters, in a peaceful protest, in Beijing, China, on April 25, 1999.
Goh Chai Hin/AFP via Getty Images
'Some people think that if the April 25 event had not occurred, the suppression against Falun Gong could have been avoided. This view reflects a lack of understanding of the CCP's conspiratorial nature,' Gong said.
'The CCP often sets up traps, such as calling on intellectuals to speak up during the
Other Cities
On April 20, Falun Gong practitioners in Seattle held an event to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the April 25 appeal at downtown Westlake Park.
In Chicago, a group of local Falun Gong practitioners held their event in front of the Chinese Consulate on April 19.
Falun Gong practitioners in front of the Chinese Consulate commemorating the 26th anniversary of the April 25 appeal, in Chicago, Ill., on April 19, 2025.
The Epoch Times
In New York, thousands of Falun Gong practitioners took part in a
Sun, from northern Liaoning Province, said he didn't get the chance to participate in the appeal 26 years ago because he was just a high school student at the time.
Sun Ye and his wife, Yuan Jing, at a parade commemorating the 26th anniversary of the April 25 appeal, in Flushing, New York, on April 19, 2025.
Sarah Lu/The Epoch Times
'This is my first time taking part in an April 25 event. To be able to come to this free society and participate in such a grand event, I am very fortunate,' Sun said.
'I hope people can remember this part of history, understand the truth about Falun Gong, and work together to stop this persecution.'
Yang Qian, Ma Shanen, and Sarah Lu contributed to this report.
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