In New York, a parade and vigil took place in New York to commemorate the 1999 event known as the April 25 appeal, which attracted around 10,000 people in Beijing.
The legacy of unprecedented peaceful protests that took place in communist China decades ago was recently commemorated in New York in the form of parades and vigils. Several participants in both events were one of the Chinese protesters at the time, and were insisting on the right to practice their faith freely.
April 25, 1999 – To this day, 26 years ago, 10,000 Falun practitioners gathered in Beijing, the capital of China, to one of the biggest protests in China’s recent history. The event, known as the April 25 appeal, came three months before the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a brutal campaign to eradicate the group.
After taking the train for more than an hour, Wang said he had arrived in Beijing around 9am local time on April 25th. We then headed to the Letters and Appeals Office near Zhongnanhai, the CCP’s top leader compound.
“I went there early, but there weren’t many people. Later, more and more people arrived. We all stood there very quietly, without yelling slogans or raising flags.
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“We then heard about 9pm that several representatives of Falun Gong had spoken to Zhu Rongji (then China’s Prime Minister) and some of our requests were met. “As for me, I went straight to a nearby train station and headed home.”
On April 19, 2025, Binzen, King of Flushing, New York. Provided by Wang Bingzeng
Tianjin authorities released 45 Falun Gong practitioners on the evening of April 25, 1999. The New York-based Farnn Dhafa Information Center said it was an organized decision by Chinese authorities, believing that several Falun Gong practitioners who made appeals were “facing police and police to do so.”
Regarding the opportunity to take part in the parade, the king shed tears in his eyes and said he was excited and emotional.
“I want to break up CCP as soon as possible and say this with all my heart, so that the Chinese can regain their freedom,” he said.
Falun Gong
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dhafa, is a spiritual discipline characterized by meditative exercises and teachings based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.
The practice was extremely popular in China by the late 1990s, with official estimates that the number of practitioners at the time reaching over 70 million. The CCP began persecution on July 20, 1999, fearing that support for the practice could threaten the rules.
Zhang Guiing in Flushing, New York, April 19, 2025. Courtesy of Zhang Guiing
Doctor Changing also participated in the parade. Speaking at a rally after the parade, Chang said he was an eyewitness to a mass arrest in Tianjin in April 1999.
She said the police officers had a violent arrest. An old woman in the 60s was pushed and beaten violently, a young girl started crying as she was beaten, and a young man who came to protect the girl was injured after hitting a wall.
Zhang also went to Beijing on April 25, 1999. She said the appeal was peaceful and orderly from start to finish.
Samuel Ortiz, president of the Queens-based Puerto Rican Leadership Association, was among those who came to watch the parade. He said he had heard of the three principles of Falun Gong.
“I think compassion is everything,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz also heard about the forced organ collection of the Chinese administration, and said he called such practices ominous and shocking.
“We should gather all the powers of heaven and earth together and lead them to justice,” he said. “That’s awful. Beyond the Middle Ages.
“I think we need to shed a light on justice, and I think one of the goals of our journey is to bring people together. Find out what we have to do together to boost humanity.”
Falun Gong practitioners will be attending a vigil in front of the Chinese consulate in New York on April 19, 2025. Larry Dye/The Epoch Times
All night
About 500 Falun Gong practitioners stayed up all night in front of the Chinese consulate in New York on the evening of April 19th to commemorate the April 25th appeal.
Wen, who is from Haylong Jiang Province in northern China, said he began practicing Falun Gong in 1994. Since the start of persecution, Wen has been arrested five times and said he completed seven years of imprisonment in 2023.
Wen, who currently lives in the United States, expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to openly practice her faith in a society that values freedom.
Wen Ying and her husband Liu Jianping took place in New York on April 19, 2025. Zhao Fenni/The Epoch Times
Gao Hongmei came on a vigil suing to the Chinese regime to release his mother, a Falun Gong practitioner named Hu Yulan, who is in the 70s. Gao said her mother was sentenced to five years in 2020.
“There are many Falun Gong practitioners, including people who were still in prison when they were at their mother’s age,” Gao said. “Now, I hope that the CCP will soon end the persecution and free all Falun Gong practitioners.”
Gao Hongmei in New York on April 19, 2025. Zhao Fenni/The Epoch Times
The Tian Guo Marching Band will be taking part in the parade to celebrate the 26th anniversary of the April 25th appeal held in Flushing, New York on April 19, 2025. Larry Dye/The Epoch Times
Falun Gong practitioners will be taking part in the parade to mark the 26th anniversary of the April 25 appeal held in Flash, New York on April 19, 2025. Larry Dye/The Epoch Times
Falun Gong practitioners will be taking part in the parade to mark the 26th anniversary of the April 25 appeal held in Flash, New York on April 19, 2025. Larry Dye/The Epoch Times
Shi Ping contributed to this report.
