(Minghui.org) Canadian Falun Gong practitioners from Toronto gathered at Queen’s Park in front of the Ontario Legislative Building on April 20 to commemorate the peaceful appeal by practitioners in Beijing on April 25, 1999. Despite sudden, heavy snow and hail, many people attended the event, including some human rights experts and community leaders. They thanked practitioners for their courage and hoped the 25-year-long persecution would end. 

Forty practitioners were arrested in the nearby city of Tianjin, and over 10,000 practitioners gathered at the Central Appealing Office in Beijing asking for the release of the detained practitioners. Although the then-premier addressed the issue on the same day, the CCP nonetheless launched a national suppression three months later, and the tragedy has continued.

A large-scale rally was held at Queen’s Park in front of the Ontario Legislative Building on April 20 to commemorate the peaceful appeal by Chinese Falun Dafa practitioners in Beijing in 1999.

The Persecution Has No Legal Basis

Reverend Stainton, the President of the Taiwanese Human Rights Association of Canada, attended the rally.

Reverend Stainton, President of the Taiwanese Human Rights Association of Canada, believed that April 25th is indeed a day that needs to be commemorated by all those who care about China’s human rights and China’s future. After the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, many Chinese citizens succumbed to power, remained silent, and focused on material interests. In this context, Falun Gong practitioners peacefully appealed to the government in a rational manner about their legal rights explaining that the suppression was groundless. 

Stainton said that our government, our media, and our human rights organizations should remember April 25th, because this day changed every aspect of China as a country, and was the beginning of a new era in China.

As a pastor, Stainton pointed out that during the Roman Empire, Christians suffered persecution just like Falun Gong practitioners do today. However, Christians ultimately won by relying on their faith. Falun Gong practitioners in China and overseas are practicing their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, a spiritual foundation for any civilization. He continued that this belief does not violate the law, morality, or the divine. He called on the Canadian citizens to take the persecution seriously and stand with Falun Gong practitioners.

Salute to Peaceful Falun Gong Practitioners

Dean Baxendale, CEO of Optimum Publishing International.

Dean Baxendale is the CEO of Optimum Publishing International. In his speech, he first wanted to pay tribute to the thousands of brave practitioners who carried out the peaceful petitions in 1999 to safeguard their beliefs, culture, and human dignity.

The commitment to defend freedom of speech and freedom of religion is clearly written in the Chinese Constitution, he noted. However, the CCP chose to ignore the truth and continues to ignore any expression of our freedom of speech or religion today. Since the peaceful appeal in 1999, the CCP has been suppressing and trying to eliminate all Falun Gong practitioners. The spirit and perseverance of practitioners are so admirable that they should be embraced and supported by every Canadian. As someone working in the publishing industry, he admires Falun Gong practitioners and will support them.

Baxendale also condemned the CCP’s crime of organ harvesting. The cruel organ transplant system established by the CCP is itself a crime and should be condemned by every government. He could not understand why some people continued to acquiesce and surrender to the CCP.

In the end, he called on more people to stand up and work together with Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghurs, Taiwanese, Hong Kong as well as Tibetans to make their voices heard. He said it is important for Canadian officials at all levels and asked them to stop the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in Canada during this transnational repression.

“The Best Decision I Made in My Life”

Falun Gong practitioner Youyou.

Young Falun Gong practitioner Youyou talked about her experience at the rally. On April 24, 1999, her parents heard that Falun Gong was being slandered and practitioners in Tianjin had been arrested. They decided to appeal to the government the following day. Although only a teenager at the time Youyou was worried because she remembered the Tiananmen Square Massacre 10 years ago and her grandfather’s experience of being mistreated during the Cultural Revolution.

Despite the pressure and fear, her mother still chose to speak on behalf of practitioners. My mother used to suffer from stomach problems and arthritis, from which she recovered after she began to do the Dafa exercises. Her father suffered from vertigo in the past and he also recovered from it. “Falun Gong is good! It spreads from person to person, heart to heart, and spreads throughout the country,” said Youyou.

The practitioners who attended the peaceful appeal on April 25, 1999, knew they could face violent suppression, but they still stood quietly on the side of the road. This happened “because they know that there is nothing wrong with living in accordance with Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. On a personal level, Falun Gong helped Youyou improve her personality and character. “Practicing Falun Gong is the best decision I made in my life,” she added. 

Since 1999, the Falun Gong community has been recording and reporting the CCP’s brutal persecution of practitioners. However, 25 years have passed, and the international community still has not taken substantial action to stop the CCP’s atrocities. Although the suppression happens in China, it is not far away. “If we do not safeguard freedom and democracy, we will also lose them when communism penetrates the free world. Let us stand together and defend the basic human rights and freedom of mankind,” she continued. “Let us tell the CCP to stop persecuting Falun Gong.”

Deep Gratitude

José said the peaceful appeal in 1999 is important for the world.

José is a Falun Gong practitioner from Argentina and he came to Canada four years ago. When speaking at the rally, he first expressed his gratitude to Master Li, founder of Falun Gong. “The practice taught me how to be a better doctor, a better husband, and a better person, and made me more peaceful. I will be forever grateful to Master Li,” he said.

During the peaceful appeal in 1999, about 10,000 people gathered there quietly because their faith was suppressed. Before leaving, they cleaned up the area without blocking traffic or disturbing others. This shows the character of practitioners, who are innocent and who strive to be better citizens following the Falun Gong teachings.

Finally, he praised those practitioners for their efforts in resisting tyranny in a peaceful way with kindness and courage. “Thank you to all the practitioners who stood up for their beliefs at that time. They may not have realized that, even today their actions still inspire countless practitioners and supporters to continue spreading this beautiful practice around the world. This allows people from different corners of the world to have the opportunity to understand Falun Dafa while benefiting from it physically and mentally.”