(Minghui.org) Ms. Zhen, a teacher in her 20s, and her family were on a train to Beijing on April 25, 1999. The train was packed at 6 p.m., and everyone was quiet. Some bent their heads reading, and some wore military uniforms.

Ms. Zhen suddenly recalled that she had not asked for leave at her workplace and had to work the next day. She borrowed a mobile phone, which was rare and very expensive in those days, to call home and arrange leave. The owner of the phone had a business in Shenzhen. He told Ms. Zhen he was a Falun Gong practitioner on his way to Beijing to appeal.

Ms. Zhen, who had been practicing Falun Gong for three years by then, said that nearly everyone in the carriage that evening were fellow practitioners. So many people had heard that 45 practitioners in Tianjin had been arrested unreasonably and wanted to go to Beijing to appeal for their release.

On April 25, 1999, in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) suppression, including stopping the publication of Zhuan Falun and the illegal arrest of the Tianjin practitioners, more than 10,000 practitioners from all over the country gathered at the National Appeals Office in Beijing to clarify the facts of the practice to the government. They had three requests: release the practitioners arrested in Tianjin, allow the publication of Zhuan Falun, and give Falun Gong a legal cultivation environment. Then Premier Zhu Rongji met with representatives and agreed to the requests. All the practitioners quietly dispersed.

The April 25 appeal was a precedent for dialogue between the Chinese government and ordinary citizens. It also displayed to the world the demeanor of Falun Gong practitioners, who conduct themselves according to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Since 1999, practitioners all over the world have commemorated this important day to demonstrate the resilience and compassion shown by practitioners in China when facing the persecution back then.

Practitioners in the Netherlands held activities at the Chinese embassy in The Hague as well as near the country’s House of Representatives on April 23, 2026, to mark the 27th anniversary of the Beijing appeal. They called for an end to the persecution.

Practitioners in the Netherlands gathered at the Chinese Embassy in The Hague on April 23, 2026, to call for an end to the persecution.

Participants in the Beijing Appeal: An Unforgettable Experience

Ms. Chen, who lives in the Netherlands, was working in Beijing in 1999. Not long after she began to practice Falun Gong, she heard that dozens of Tianjin practitioners had been arrested. Many practitioners wanted to go to Beijing to appeal. She went to the National Appeals Office alone. She saw many practitioners from all over the country standing on both sides of the street. They were quiet and peaceful. It was already early summer in Beijing then, yet she did not feel hot that day. She felt very comfortable.

Ms. Zhen also lives in the Netherlands. She did not get all the way to Beijing for the April 25 appeal, because by the time the train she was on pulled into Gongzhuling Station in Jilin Province, news had spread that the Premier had already agreed to the Falun Gong practitioners’ requests. Ms. Zhen got off the train and returned to Changchun. She said she will never forget this experience. Although she did not personally go to the Beijing appeals office to speak out for her faith, she saw so many practitioners on that train. Everyone simply wanted to be good, and they wanted to go to Beijing for a common cause. She felt proud to be one of them. She saw how popular Falun Gong was and the positive changes it brought to China.

President of the Netherlands Falun Dafa Association: Stop Persecuting Falun Gong, Stop Transnational Repression!

At the rally, KaYan Wong, president of the Netherlands Falun Dafa Association, reflected on April 25, 1999. She recounted the appeal by over 10,000 practitioners, who were requesting a legal cultivation environment.

Today, in response to the CCP’s ongoing persecution and transnational repression, she pointed out that, like practitioners all over the world, practitioners in the Netherlands will continue to protest the persecution peacefully and rationally.

She called on officials in the Chinese government not to follow the regime by persecuting Falun Gong, to stop the state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting, and to stop the transnational repression.

KaYan Wong, president of the Netherlands Falun Dafa Association, speaking at the rally

People Want to Learn Falun Gong

Eline van Wouwe saw practitioners doing the exercises when she passed by the Chinese embassy. She said, “This is the first time I’ve heard of Falun Gong. It is also the first time I’ve heard that you have done so much to fight for the right to practice. Thank you for coming here. I just signed the petition to show my support, and I am thinking of joining you in the practice.”

Hugo Makkink, a surf coach, had spent time with students who were tourists from China. When he learned about the torture and mental pressure practitioners have endured for their belief, he signed the petition at once. Seeing practitioners meditating, he said, “This is extraordinary! I dreamed I was meditating last night, and today I run into you!” He asked where he could find a practice site and said he planned to learn the exercises.

Raising Awareness of the Persecution

In the afternoon on April 23, practitioners set up display boards and did the exercises on Bezuidenhoutseweg near the temporary offices of the House of Representatives and Den Haag Centeraal Station to inform people of the ongoing persecution in China.

Practitioners set up display boards and did the exercises near Den Haag Centeraal Station, which is near the the House of Representatives (De tweede Kamer) on April 23.

People stopped to learn about Falun Gong.

Practitioners handed out flyers to passersby and asked them to sign the petition that calls for an end to the human rights atrocities in China.

Practitioners’ enormous banners at Bezuidenhoutseweg caught people’s attention.

Olievier Beler, who lives in Leiden and is majoring in information studies at university, works parttime in The Hague. He said the practice was an excellent way to keep fit when he saw practitioners demonstrating the exercises. He said the CCP’s suppression was terrible. “Yet, this continues today,” he said. He was grateful to practitioners for informing him about the persecution, and he took photos of the display boards. He said he wanted to help practitioners spread the message and get more people to pay attention to the human rights abuses.

Asi, who is from Iran, said, “I felt a pure energy when I saw you, very quiet. This practice should be good for improving health. The CCP should not suppress you. It is your right to do the exercises.”

Regarding the CCP’s persecution, she said, “They are losing people’s hearts, they don’t consider people’s real needs and force them to obey. Falun Gong can make so many people come together. The power of faith terrifies the CCP, so it goes all out to persecute it.”

She encouraged practitioners to continue their efforts to raise awareness of the persecution and wished them success.

Passersby sign the petition to call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong.