25 years ago on April 25, 1999, thousands of Falun Gong practitioners gathered near the National Appeals Office in Beijing to request a legal environment for their spiritual practice. Their peaceful and rational demeanor garnered worldwide attention, introducing Falun Gong to many people around the world. Li Dianqin, a Falun Gong practitioner who now resides in New York and participated in the appeal from Shenyang to Beijing at the time, recalls that everyone was very quiet during the appeal, leaving no litter behind and even moving the police emotionally. She heard a police officer say, “Look, this is virtue!”
Li Dianqin, who started practicing Falun Gong in 1995, was a counselor at a practice site in a residential area in Shenyang. On April 24, 1999, she learned at the practice site that an article defaming Falun Gong written by He Zuoxiu titled “I Do Not Support Teenagers Practicing Qigong” was published in the Tianjin Education College Youth Magazine. Falun Gong practitioners from Tianjin went to the college to address the situation, pointing out the falsehoods in the article and requesting a correction. However, the Tianjin police arrested dozens of Falun Gong practitioners. The practitioners only received a response from the Tianjin Municipal Committee, which told them that Tianjin could not handle the matter and directed them to report it to Beijing. Consequently, the practitioners decided to go to the National Appeals Office in Beijing to appeal.
Li Dianqin said, “We heard at the practice site that we would go to Beijing the next day to tell the government that it was wrong for Tianjin to arrest Falun Gong practitioners. Falun Gong teaches people to be good, unlike what He Zuoxiu said.”
“The counselors received the notice, but the regular practitioners were not informed yet. So, the next day, we bought express train tickets and went to Beijing,” Li Dianqin said.
On April 25, Li Dianqin and her group purchased express train tickets from Shenyang to Beijing, arrived at Beijing Railway Station, passed Tiananmen Square, and reached Fuyou Street where the National Appeals Office is located. She reminisced, “It was crowded with people there. We maintained our calmness, some practiced, some sat, but no one made a sound. There were police officers nearby, but upon seeing us, they didn’t do much. They observed that none of us caused trouble or displayed any negative behavior. Apart from practicing and sitting, those who moved around were just going to the restroom without making a sound. The scene reflected the high moral standards of Falun Gong practitioners, which the police noticed and did not interfere with.”
There were no slogans, no banners, no misbehavior—just the exercise of rights granted by the constitution.
By the evening of April 25, Li Dianqin heard the notification that “everyone should withdraw,” indicating that the Tianjin practitioners had been released, and they could return home. Since they had to wait for the train back to Shenyang, they left Fuyou Street relatively late.
Li Dianqin said, “By that time, most people had already left, sparsely scattered. But the police were still there. A female officer called out, ‘Come here, come here! Look at the ground. These people didn’t even leave a crumb of bread. This is virtue!'”
Time flies, and 25 years have passed, but Li Dianqin vividly remembers the scene of the peaceful appeal in Zhongnanhai on April 25th, especially the words of that female police officer to her colleagues: “Come here, come here! Look at the ground. These people didn’t even leave a crumb of bread. This is virtue!”
Li Dianqin remarked that some people claim that the subsequent crackdown on Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party was a response to Falun Gong practitioners “surrounding Zhongnanhai,” but in fact, it was quite the opposite. Falun Gong practitioners did not besiege Zhongnanhai; they were simply exercising their constitutional rights to address the government. Falun Gong provided an opportunity for the Communist Party to correct its mistakes, hoping it would recognize the error and change course. Falun Gong, with the utmost goodwill, aimed to prevent potential persecution through peaceful persuasion. However, the evil Communist Party could not tolerate the presence of so many good and aspiring individuals in China, leading them to commit atrocities and stake themselves to the pillar of historical shame.
Li Dianqin recalled that 1999 coincided with the tenth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, during which the Communist Party declared “stability overrides everything.” The peaceful appeal on April 25th by Falun Gong practitioners demonstrated their peaceful, rational, fearless confrontation with authority, embodying great benevolence and endurance. In the face of tyranny, they courageously upheld the spirit of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance, leaving an indelible mark in history.