(Minghui.org) Twenty-five years ago, a peaceful appeal was held in Beijing on April 25, 1999. About 10,000 Falun Dafa practitioners gathered near the Central Appeals Office and requested the freedom to practice their belief. Some said the number of practitioners was as high as 30,000. Regardless of how many were there, this is an important moment in China’s history.
What Happened 25 Years Ago?
The peaceful appeal on April 25, 1999, was an acceptable, justifiable, legal, and moral act.
First, the appeal was legal. Appealing, also known as petitioning, has a long history in China. Since the Jin Dynasty (265 to 420 AD), every official court was equipped with a drum that people could beat and voice their grievances. Officials handled the cases or reported them to higher officials. According to current Chinese law, citizens and organizations are allowed to report their grievances through letters, phone calls, or by visiting offices. The recipients can be government agencies at any level especially those at or above the county level.
Every Falun Dafa practitioner who participated in the appeal on April 25, 1999, was a Chinese citizen. Because the situation at the time could not be handled by local governments, they went to the Central Appeal Office. This was a legal act. That is also why the premier at the time along with his delegates met with a handful of practitioners who volunteered to be representatives and addressed the issue.
Secondly, the practitioners’ demeanor during the appeal was quiet and respectful. The moral corruption in modern China is widespread and alarming. People pursue personal gain at all costs, including harming and killing others. Basic morals like upholding good instead of bad are neglected or even reversed.
The practitioners who participated in the peaceful appeal 25 years ago were dressed neatly, were self-disciplined and polite. They were orderly and did not impede pedestrians or traffic. They even picked up the trash. Their behavior impressed the police, the public, and international society, bringing people hope for a better China.
Thirdly, the appeal involved reasonable and justifiable requests. Practitioners who were at the appeal only had three requests: 1) Release the 40-plus Falun Dafa practitioners detained in Tianjin City; 2) Allow for the practice of Falun Dafa (for example, no more secretly framing Falun Dafa, no more harassing outdoor practice sites with loudspeakers or high-pressure water hoses; no more secretly prohibiting the use of group practice facilities); and 3) Lift the ban on publishing Zhuan Falun and other Falun Dafa books.
According to the Chinese Constitution, Chinese citizens have basic rights related to freedom of belief and freedom of expression. But by the time of the appeal, Falun Dafa practitioners had been deprived of these rights for two or three years and their belief was secretly suppressed. Although the then-premier addressed their requests, Jiang Zemin, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader at the time, could not tolerate it. Consistent with the CCP’s doctrines of hatred and brutality, he established the extrajudicial agency 610 Office to target Falun Dafa and weeks later launched the nationwide, systematic suppression on July 20, 1999.
An Endeavor to Revive Traditional Values
Chinese civilization is based on honesty, trust, loyalty, and mutual respect. Due to the CCP’s decades-long indoctrination, many people reject these traditional values and are taught to embrace communist dogma. They are taught to believe they owe everything to the Party, instead of the other way around. By targeting “minority groups” in its numerous political campaigns, the CCP instilled in people a sense of terror and hatred, leading to a mindset of betrayal, fight, and struggle.
Throughout history, people have followed their conscience and upheld appropriate moral conduct in order to enjoy a stable, prosperous society. But communist ideology promotes its core values of class struggle, hatred, and lies. This is why the regime could not tolerate the peaceful meditation group of Falun Dafa and why China is now filled with counterfeit goods, violence, obscenity, and other types of chaos.
There have been two moral cliffs in the past decades. The Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 broke the spirit of intellectuals whose natural instinct is to fulfill their social responsibilities. The suppression against Falun Dafa and the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in 1999 further destroyed people’s courage and wish to pursue truth, and they drifted along with the downward trend.
A Beacon of Light
Under the totalitarian CCP rule, many people are suffering as violence, suicide, and other tragedies are on the rise. The CCP’s systematic brainwashing also made people afraid to confront the regime. The CCP’s Internet police and the “Little Pink Group” turn black into white to mislead public opinion. Where can people who long for hope turn?
Rooted in mankind’s traditional values, Falun Dafa and its practitioners strive to set an example of upright behavior. By applying the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance in their daily lives, practitioners strive to be better citizens who are considerate of others. Even the brutal suppression and endless defamatory propaganda by the CCP have not stopped their selfless efforts to tell people about Dafa, expose the vicious nature of the CCP, and lead people to a better future.
This is why the peaceful appeal on April 25, 1999, is so important. It offered a beacon of light in the darkness and brought hope to those who were suffering and felt helpless.
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