In London on April 20, 2024, some Falun Gong practitioners in the UK held a parade and gathering to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the peaceful appeal on April 25. People along the parade route exclaimed, “So beautiful!” and “The parade looks really cool!”
This year’s parade featured five major formations – the Falun Dafa Hongzhi World Formation, the Falun Dafa Gongfa Display Formation, the White-clad Formation commemorating persecuted Falun Gong practitioners who died, urging an end to the persecution and supporting the “Three Withdrawals” movement of 420 million Chinese people quitting the Chinese Communist Party, and the Waist Drum Team Formation.
The parade started from the Royal Institute of British Architects (opposite the Chinese Embassy in the UK), passed through Oxford Street, Chinatown, and ended at Downing Street, where many spectators enthusiastically stopped to watch the parade. Following the parade, Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference in front of the UK Prime Minister’s residence with several dignitaries and celebrities offering their support.
On April 25, 1999, tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners spontaneously came to the State Council Appeals Office in Beijing’s Zhongnanhai to peacefully petition, demanding the authorities restore a free environment for practicing Falun Gong and other three requests, known as the “April 25 appeal.” This event brought global media attention to Falun Gong, with practitioners’ courage and peaceful rationality earning praise and concern from the international community.
Ms. Gu, a Falun Gong practitioner, exposed the brutal persecution by the Chinese Communist Party against Falun Gong practitioners at the press conference, sharing her personal experiences. She stated, “After practicing Falun Gong, I tried to treat everything around me with kindness, resolving conflicts by examining my own shortcomings and following the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.”
After being persecuted by the Communist Party, Ms. Gu’s life underwent drastic changes, making it difficult for her to even lead a normal life at times. She recalled, “During the 24 years of persecution, on so-called ‘sensitive days,’ the police and community personnel harassed me, sometimes in the middle of the night or before dawn, conducting illegal searches.”
The persecution not only greatly affected Ms. Gu but also plunged her family into fear. She described how her young daughter was left without a mother’s care, summoned to the school office for unlawful interrogation by the police, and how her family faced frequent intimidation and extortion from the police.
After coming to the UK, a land of freedom, Ms. Gu found the terror she faced during the years of persecution even more valuable, saying, “I hope the global forces of justice can pay attention to the persecution of Falun Gong and help advocate for an end to the persecution.”
Benedict Rogers, Executive Director of Hong Kong Watch, attended the press conference and voiced his support, stating, “As we commemorate the 25th anniversary of tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners peacefully appealing to the Chinese Communist government to uphold their religious rights, I want to clearly and loudly say: I stand completely with Falun Gong practitioners!”
Having attended Falun Gong activities for ten years, Rogers expressed his shock, anger, and heartbreak at the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party. He emphasized that a regime that detains and tortures people for their belief in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance can’t be a reliable business partner. A regime that conducts forced organ harvesting isn’t a trustworthy friend either.
Simon Cheng, founder of the UK Hong Kong Overseas Alliance, highlighted the universal principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, saying, “In China, the scale of persecution suffered by Falun Gong practitioners is hard to comprehend. They are arbitrarily detained, tortured, and even killed simply for upholding their conscience and rights. Despite enduring unimaginable hardships, they steadfastly adhere to their principles, undeterred by the forces persecuting them.”
John Dee, Chairman of Friends of Falun Gong Europe, discussed Falun Dafa’s worldwide spread, with over a hundred million practitioners currently practicing globally. Dee detailed how the Chinese Communist Party abruptly turned against Falun Dafa in 1999, initiating a quarter-century-long persecution that resulted in thousands of deaths and affecting millions through forced organ harvesting and other brutal methods.
Throughout the 25 years, Falun Gong practitioners have not given up, using their perseverance to reveal the truth of their persecution to the world. Dee emphasized that Falun Dafa encourages people to follow the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, seeking only the rights to speech and expression, rights stripped away by the Chinese Communist Party.
Dee believed in the principle of “One Good Deed Overcomes a Hundred Evils,” a principle that he felt would be apparent in the evil persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party.
Jessica, a marketing professional, viewed the event as a peaceful protest with everyone coming out against the persecution. Her friend Deborah concurred, stating, “Falun Gong has the right guiding principles. Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are peaceful concepts, and those who have such beliefs must be noble individuals.”
Deborah expressed anger at the persecution of these kind individuals by the Chinese Communist Party, mentioning that if her children lived in such a country, it would be unfortunate as there would be no freedom, no dignity, with people enslaved by the Communist Party, and their organs forcibly harvested for profit.
They pledged to share the information they learned today with their friends.