(Clearwisdom.net) On April 25, 2011, Falun Gong practitioners gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles to commemorated the 12th anniversary of the April 25th appeal by doing the sitting meditation and the standing exercises. They also protested the ongoing persecution of the practice by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Practitioners in Los Angeles hold a candlelight vigil in front of the Chinese Consulate to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the April 25th appeal
Ms. Wei from Beijing personally experienced the April 25th appeal twelve years ago. She said, “At that time, we tried to stand far back, practitioners voluntarily stood against the walls, leaving all roadsides for pedestrians. Everyone was quiet. Some practitioners read the book, some stood peacefully. At the beginning, the police didn't know what we were doing, and came over to ask practitioners. We told them about the Tianjin incident. The police later found us to be so peaceful, and they were also relaxed.”
“We believed that the Chinese government could give us kind-hearted people a proper resolution. But after April 25, the entire environment for practicing Falun Gong turned out to be completely different from what the CCP publicly propagated.” Ms. Wei said that after April 26, her practice site was decorated with flower pots, and an elderly women's Yangko dance group took over the spot. The location that they did weekly Fa promotion at the gate of the State Oceanic Administration on Chang'an Street was circled with yellow ribbons. “The international community mistook the situation. They thought that the CCP had become broadminded, but those of us inside China experienced all kinds of interference,” said Ms. Wei.
Gary came to Los Angeles from China several months ago. He was subjected to illegal forced labor and sentenced twice for practicing Falun Gong while in China. He said that while held in a forced labor camp, he witnessed 33-year-old practitioner Mr. Liu Jian, manager of the Fangxin Bookstore in Jinan City, being pushed from a high building. He died because he refused to be “reformed”. Gary also suffered physically and mentally. “I had never thought of being imprisoned and living with murderers and rapists, being bullied by the heads of the cells. I couldn't do the exercises or study the Fa. I couldn't even hold a hunger strike, because I would be force-fed in a brutal way. I couldn't see my family. My parents were elderly and in poor health, my child was young. I was made to do heavy labor 18 to 22 hours daily, and sometimes I worked until 3 or 4 o'clock the next morning. If we were slow, the heads of the cells would beat us with clubs; some criminal detainees and Falun Gong practitioners were beaten to death.”
Democracy activist Mr. Zheng Cunzhu in Los Angeles took part in the candlelight vigil. He said, “One of my classmates, Guo Shenghuan, was imprisoned several times for practicing Falun Gong. Today, I'd like to represent him, to meditate and commemorate this special day in front of the Consulate.”
Mr. Zheng wrote a paragraph that same evening, “I have participated in protests many times in front of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles. Each time there have been passionate speeches. Today, however, this group of people was quiet. But this silence is much louder that those loudly chanted slogans. Their solemn faces show their determination and invincibility.”
The CCP has attempted to interfere with freedom of belief with political power since it launched a nationwide persecution. Falun Gong representative Mr. Li Youfu said, “Today we are here, in a peaceful way, to commemorate this special day, to express to the people that we firmly believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. We cultivate Falun Dafa and will never waver.”
Background:
On April 25, 1999, over 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners in China gathered outside the State Council Appeals Office to demand their basic rights of belief and the immediate release of 45 fellow practitioners who had been unlawfully arrested. Though as a result of the appeal the Chinese Communist regime promised to protect the practitioners' rights and released the arrested practitioners, three months later, the regime started a nationwide persecution to "eliminate Falun Gong." The brutal persecution has continued for 12 years.
