(Minghui.org) On April 25, 1999, more than 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners went to the State Appeals Office in Beijing to request that the government honor their constitutional right to freely practice their belief. This event was called the largest and most peaceful human rights demonstration in modern Chinese history, yet it was distorted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which claimed that the practitioners “besieged Zhongnanhai [the central government compound].” The regime later used the peaceful gathering as a pretext to persecute Falun Gong.
To commemorate the 27th anniversary of the April 25 appeal, Falun Gong practitioners in Finland have held activities at various locations to spotlight how the CCP persecutes Falun Gong and to call for the persecution to end.
On April 23, 2026, practitioners staged a quiet protest in front of the Chinese Embassy in Helsinki. On April 25, commemorative events were held simultaneously at the popular Sibelius Park and in the bustling Kamppi Centre, both in Helsinki.
On April 23, 2026, practitioners staged a peaceful protest in front of the Chinese Embassy.
Practitioners conduct a commemorative event at Sibelius Park.
Commemorative event at the Kamppi Centre.
Passersby learn about the April 25 appeal and the persecution of Falun Gong.
People sign a petition calling for an end to the persecution.
During the events, many passersby expressed their support and signed a petition calling for an end to the persecution. Some people said, “You are remarkable.” Many said that holding such activities is a very good way to reach people.
A Teacher Learns About the Situation and Expresses Concern
While practitioners were setting up their canopy, a teacher named Maria came up and said she wanted to sign a petition. Another woman who works in food delivery also hurried over to sign it. Practitioners displayed three petitions: one to be submitted to Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, one calling for an end to the CCP’s state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting to be submitted to the G7+7 countries, and another calling to end the CCP.
Maria (left) and a delivery worker sign the petitions.
While discussing how the CCP censors the Chinese people, Maria said, “They monitor people, their neighbors, and everything.” She said she’d heard about the forced organ harvesting. When practitioners further explained that the persecution and the forced organ harvesting in China are carried out at the state level, Maria was appalled: “That makes me feel sick. I feel terrible. What should we do?”
When the practitioner mentioned that China is a one-party dictatorship, Maria sighed, “That’s unbelievable. Finland has more than twenty political parties, so it’s hard for me to imagine that.” She said she hopes that people in China can live and work in peace as they do in Finland, without worrying about their children’s safety or facing injustice.
She also asked how long practitioners had been exposing the human rights abuses in China and whether their efforts have been effective. The practitioner responded that they’ve raised awareness ever since the persecution began, by communicating with the public and informing the media and governmental officials.
Teenager: “I Want Everyone in Kamppi to Know About Falun Gong”
Elija, who is 14, and his soccer buddy Sam stopped at the practitioners’ booth on April 11. They said they’d learned about Falun Gong a year ago. When a practitioner mentioned that practitioners in China have their organs harvested, Elija immediately said, “Stop this forced organ harvesting!” They said they have a channel on social media with over one thousand followers and they would let more people know about Falun Gong. Sam learned the Falun Gong exercises on the spot while Elija filmed him.
The practitioner gave them small handmade origami lotus flowers and explained that the lotus emerges from the mud yet remains unstained, symbolizing that one’s heart should remain pure regardless of the situation one finds oneself in. The bookmark attached to the lotus reads, “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.” The practitioner said, “Even if someone is not a Falun Gong practitioner, they can follow these principles to be a good person.” Elija said he totally agreed. The youths took some informational materials and said they would hand them out to people.
On April 25, the boys came to the booth again and handed out materials and made more videos. When asked how they introduce Falun Gong to others, Elija said, “I tell them that it can bring inner peace, and the persecution involves human rights issues.” Sam said, “I ask that people sign the petitions on my channel.”
Then they took a stack of flyers to distribute in the Kamppi shopping center. They returned half an hour before the event ended and Sam said, “I only have four left, but I want more. I want everyone in Kamppi to know about Falun Gong.”
People from Different Countries Sign the Petitions
Nikotin from Canada signed immediately after he talked to practitioners. He said, “I know that practitioners are imprisoned in China, their organs are taken by the government, and they are being persecuted. It’s very bad—the CCP’s actions are unacceptable.”
Nikotin
Taho from Iran stopped at the booth with his friend Mastani. When Taho asked why the event was being held, a practitioner pointed to another practitioner and said, “She was illegally detained for two and a half years for practicing Falun Gong in China. The purpose of this event is to spread the facts and help end the persecution.”
Mastani said she knows some Uyghurs and is aware of the situation in China’s detention camps. She said, “We also come from an authoritarian country, where human rights violations are horrible.” She mentioned that some of Iran’s internet censorship equipment comes from China. Before they left, Taho wished the practitioners success.
A woman signs the petitions to express her support.
Joanna and Jesper walked up to the table, and Joanna signed the petitions without hesitation. She said she’d previously heard about the persecution and later saw information about organ harvesting on social media. Joanna told Jesper that the CCP persecutes all groups with belief: “They don’t allow people to have other beliefs; they only allow people to believe in the CCP.”
Three people from Turkey wanted to know who was killing Chinese people. A practitioner explained that the CCP harvests organs from Falun Gong practitioners while they are still alive. One said, “I understand now—they take these people’s livers and kidneys,” and then explained it to his companions in Turkish. He and his friends were appalled, and they signed the petitions. The practitioner handed each of them an origami lotus flower. One of men said he would hang the lotus in his car and added, “It’s important to sign these petitions. I’m glad to have met you, and I hope everything goes well for you.”
Background: What Is the April 25 Appeal?
Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) was first introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in Changchun, China, in 1992. The spiritual discipline is now practiced in over 100 countries worldwide. Millions of people have embraced the teachings—which are based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance as well as five gentle exercises—and experienced improved health and well-being.
On April 23 and 24, 1999, police officials in Tianjin, a city near Beijing, assaulted and arrested dozens of practitioners who had gathered outside a magazine office to discuss errors in a recently-published article attacking Falun Dafa. As word spread of the arrests and more practitioners inquired with officials, they were told they had to take their appeals to Beijing.
The following day, April 25, some 10,000 Falun Dafa practitioners spontaneously gathered at the Central Appeals office in Beijing, as they had been instructed by Tianjin officials. The gathering was peaceful and orderly. Several Falun Dafa representatives were called in to meet with Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji and members of his staff. That evening, the practitioners’ concerns were answered. The arrested practitioners in Tianjin were released and everyone went home.
Jiang Zemin, former head of the CCP, perceived the spiritual discipline’s growing popularity as a threat to the CCP’s atheistic ideology and issued an order to ban Falun Dafa on July 20, 1999.
Minghui.org has confirmed the deaths of thousands of practitioners due to the persecution over the years, though due to the difficulty in getting information out of China, the actual number is suspected to be much higher. Many more have been imprisoned and tortured for their faith.
There is concrete evidence that the CCP sanctions the harvesting of organs from detained practitioners, who are murdered to supply the organ transplant industry.
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Category: April 25 Events
