(Minghui.org) Practitioners held a rally in Dublin’s city center on April 22, 2023 to mark the 24th anniversary of the April 25 peaceful appeal. They also called on people from all walks of life to help end the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China.

It was cloudy and rainy that afternoon. Passers-by were impressed with the practitioners’ persistence. Many took photos, talked with the practitioners, and signed a petition to support their effort to call for an end to the persecution. Some people also asked for information about local practice sites. Others decided to learn the Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) exercises on the spot.

Practitioners held activities on April 22 to mark the 24^th anniversary of April 25 appeal. Passers-by stopped to read the information. 

Ms. Liu, Director of the Irish Falun Dafa Association, said, “On April 25, 1999, more than 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners went to Beijing to peacefully appeal for their right to practice. Over the past 24 years, practitioners have raised awareness about the CCP’s persecution peacefully and rationally.”

Ms. Liu, Director of Irish Falun Dafa Association, addressed the rally. 

“The CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong has lasted for 24 years.” A few days ago, Professor Cen Hua, the mother of Irish Falun Gong practitioner Li Songyuan, was seized and illegally detained by the Beijing authorities because of her belief. Ms. Liu said, “She is just a microcosm of the millions of Falun Gong practitioners who are being persecuted. In the past 24 years, the CCP has established a complete system of persecuting Falun Gong. Millions of practitioners have been arrested, imprisoned, deprived of sleep, tortured, and even killed for their organs.”

She called on kind-hearted people to help stop the CCP’s persecution. 

Calling for the Release of Her Mother Cen Hua

April 25 is also a special day for practitioner Li Songyuan. Twenty-four years ago, her mother—Ms. Cen Hua, together with many Falun Gong practitioners, went to the State Council Appeals Office to appeal in accordance with the law, requesting the release of Falun Gong practitioners who were illegally arrested in Tianjin.

Falun Gong practitioner Li Songyuan addressed the rally. 

On April 14, 2023, Professor Cen was seized by the CCP authorities because she persisted in practicing Falun Gong. Her 88-year-old mother was also abducted. Her mother was later released due to Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss, but Professor Cen was sent to the Chaoyang District Detention Center in Beijing. The CCP authorities have not allowed her family to visit her.

“I hereby implore the Irish government, media, and kind-hearted people to lend a helping hand, and call on (the CCP) to immediately release my mother, Ms. Cen Hua!”

Public Supports Practitioners

Mark stood under an umbrella and listened to Li Songyuan’s speech. He said, “It’s so heartbreaking.” He said he heard about the CCP’s persecution of religious groups before, but this was the first time he heard about Falun Gong and how the CCP persecutes kind-hearted people who believe in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. 

When Mark heard that the CCP harvests organs from practitioners while they are alive, he said, “This is too bad. Are you collecting signatures?” He hoped that his signature could help stop this violent suppression.

After learning about the CCP’s persecution of practitioners from the rally, Luke said, “The CCP is very authoritarian. It’s crazy that people can’t have their own beliefs.”

Luke said that he liked Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He said that all orthodox beliefs have similarities, and what the CCP wants is to control and influence people. 

Passers-by sign the petition.

Rosin had a long conversation with a practitioner. She explained that she worked in China for three months. During this period, she witnessed two foreign colleagues being kidnapped by the CCP. The authorities did not give any reason. They were only released after the company paid their bail. This experience made her realize the evil nature of the CCP. When she heard that Falun Gong practitioners were brutally persecuted for their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, she felt sad but not surprised. “The CCP is really bad,” she said repeatedly.

Seeing the photos of Falun Gong practitioners meditating on the leaflet, Rosin was interested. As a meditation therapist, she said that she knew the benefits of meditation very well. A practitioner told her that Falun Gong is taught for free and that all the books can be downloaded for free from the FalunDafa.org website. She happily wrote down the website and contact information before leaving.

DeLaurence lived in Malaysia for 14 years and likes Asian culture. She carefully read each display board and saw the photos of practitioners tortured by the CCP police. She pointed to the display boards and repeatedly shook her head in disbelief. “It’s so heart-wrenching,” she said. 

“There are always these bad people in the world, DeLaurence said. “It’s great that you can tell (the world) about this persecution.”

She went on to say, “I want to pray for (the persecuted Chinese) Falun Gong practitioners.”

After listening to a practitioner’s introduction of the five sets of Falun Gong exercises, she expressed her interest. While pointing to the leaflet in her pocket, she said, “I will definitely read it carefully. I like Falun Gong. We will meet again.” 

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 & 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 appeal 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, 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; the actual number is suspected to be much higher. 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.