(Minghui.org) Falun Dafa practitioners gathered in front of the Chinese embassy in Canberra, Australia on April 23, 2020, to hold a candlelight vigil. They commemorated the April 25 Peaceful Appeal and mourned fellow practitioners who lost their lives due to the persecution. On April 25, 1999, over 10,000 practitioners peacefully appealed to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to release practitioners illegally arrested in Tianjin.

Practitioners held a candlelight vigil in front of the Chinese embassy in Canberra, Australia, on April 23, 2020.

Canberra Falun Dafa spokesperson, Hao Li said, “The April 25 Appeal, which was a peaceful and rational appeal to the Chinese government, is a display of moral integrity and courage which upheld righteousness and conscience. It was also a display of Falun Dafa practitioners’ great compassion and forbearing spirit. They appealed to uphold the freedom of belief endowed to citizens by China's state law, and to uphold the universal principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. They did not seek political gain but only wanted to let the government understand cultivators’ true situation.”

“This was good opportunity for the government to win the hearts of a 100 million citizens who believe in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. However, Jiang Zemin, who was the CCP leader at that time, slandered these 10,000 thousand Falun Dafa practitioners, saying that they besieged Zhongnanhai (the CCP’s central headquarters and State Council of China). He made use of the entire country’s media to spread these lies to all of China and even overseas. He implemented brutal tortures, persecution, and orders to murder these people. To date, at least 4,641 Falun Dafa practitioners have been persecuted to death.”

Hao Li pointed out, “Twenty-two years have passed. Although the practitioners went through fearful and bloody days and nights of imprisonment, and such evil persecutions that were never seen on this earth, practitioners have diligently continued to clarify the truth. The international community’s understanding of the truth about Falun Dafa practitioners’ efforts against the persecution is also increasing by the day.

“More and more people respect Falun Dafa for bringing goodness and hope to humankind. We persist in our belief: The good and the evil will have their due rewards and retributions, as that is the law of Heaven. Righteousness will ultimately triumph over evil. The heinous crimes that the main culprits who brought on the persecution of Falun Dafa and their followers have committed will definitely be punished by not only the state law but also the law of the Heavens! The insufferably arrogant CCP is heading towards disintegration as it carries on its persecution of Falun Dafa. None of the political figures who persecuted righteous beliefs have ever been successful.”

April 25 Peaceful Appeal Participant's Precious Memories

Ms. Lu, who currently lives in Canberra, sighed deeply as she recounted her experience 22 years ago. Ms. Lu said, “On April 25, 1999, as a practitioner I wanted to speak up for Falun Dafa, thus I went to the Beijing General Office of the State Council. Our requests were very simple: First, to release the 45 Tianjin practitioners who were beaten and arrested. Second was to allow the Falun Dafa books to be published legally. Third, let us have a legal cultivation environment and our right to exercise our freedom of belief.”

Ms. Lu was 28 years old. She recalled that on the night of April 24, 1999, a practitioner told her that they were going to the Beijing General Office of the State Council because the Tianjin police arrested many practitioners without valid reasons. Practitioners felt they needed to go and clear up the facts and request that the practitioners be released. Ms. Lu said, “I immediately decided to go with them and appeal to the government. I stayed in a small city in Liaoning. Only one train goes to Beijing at night. I went back home, put on a jacket, brought the train ticket money and ran to the train station. I was very lucky, as once I stepped aboard the train, the train started off. The next morning, I reached Beijing.”

“When I hurried to the west side of Zhongnanhai (on Fuyou street), I saw that there were many people. There were practitioners who came from all different regions of China. Although we did not know each other, everyone was very disciplined, and abided by the standards of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Although there were so many people, it was very quiet. Most people just quietly read their books. The people who are standing in front stood in neat rows despite there being no one there to maintain the order. Everyone just stood quietly and waited for the results.

“Although the weather in Beijing is not very warm in April, it is still over 20 degrees Celsius (68° F) in the afternoon. I wore a thick jacket and felt hot but I did not take it off. This is because I did not want to disturb the quiet and peaceful ambiance. I felt that the righteous energy field at that time was very strong. Despite the sun shining down on the people, no one complained about the result taking too long, that the weather was too hot, or that they were hungry.

“Everyone just hopefully waited. Throughout the entire appeal process, there were no slogans or catch phrases used. Everyone just waited quietly and reflected their heartfelt feelings as Falun Dafa cultivators. Their minds were full of compassionate thoughts. They believed that the government would definitely give a satisfactory answer to this group of kind-hearted citizens. Everyone stood there the entire day.”

Ms. Lu said, “News came in the evening that the appeal was accepted and processed in an open-minded fashion by the premier of the State Council, and that the Tianjin practitioners had been released. Everyone went back to their homes. Before they left, everyone voluntarily cleaned up the area where they stood.”

Ms. Lu said, “Over these 22 years, I went through thick and thin in the process of my cultivation. The scene of the April 25 Appeal is still fresh in my mind. It is a really precious memory. The evil is most afraid that the truth will be disclosed. They are most afraid that the Falun Dafa practitioners will spread light and hope to the whole world. I hope that more Australians and all people on earth can see clearly the CCP’s evil nature.”