(Minghui.org) Practitioners peacefully protested in front of the Chinese Embassy in Stockholm on April 26, 2025, to commemorate the 26^th anniversary of the April 25 Appeal. They called on the Swedish government and the public to help end the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong).

Practitioners do the exercises in front of the Chinese Embassy in Stockholm on April 26.

Witness Recounts the April 25 Appeal

Phoebe was born in Beijing and started practicing Falun Gong with her parents when she was five years old in 1997. Twenty-six years ago, when she was still in elementary school, she participated in the April 25 appeal in Beijing with her parents. Phoebe said that she felt honored and proud to be a part of the appeal.

Phoebe said she and her family witnessed the extraordinary power of Falun Dafa. “As a child I was weak and sick. My mother told me that they gave me Chinese medicine starting when I was three months old. After I started practicing Falun Dafa, Master resolved my illness and I became healthy. My father quit smoking and drinking, and my mother’s acne disappeared. I know from the bottom of my heart that Falun Dafa is good and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” she said.

When she learned that her parents planned to go the State Appeals Office on April 25, 1999, she wanted to go with them. “I didn’t think too much about it at the time. I just wanted to tell the government that I recovered my health after I began practicing Falun Dafa and I no longer needed to take Chinese medicine.”

Phoebe recalled, “What impressed me most about that day was that there were so many people that I couldn’t see the end of the line. Everyone was standing quietly, waiting for the outcome of the negotiation. The young practitioners stood in front. I was surrounded by the elderly and children, and we stood in the back so that we could sit on mats and rest when we were tired.

“I sat quietly for a long time so I wouldn’t disturb anyone. I still remember that we arrived very early in the morning and got home very late at night. Because there were so many people and it was inconvenient to go in and out that day, I didn’t drink or eat much, but I was still very happy because I learned that the matter had been resolved.”

Phoebe said, “We stood there quietly to petition peacefully. We just wanted to clarify the facts to the government. The CCP later claimed we besieged the government compound. That is not true!”

Unregrettable Choice

Three months after the appeal, the CCP initiated the persecution of Falun Gong. Phoebe’s parents were repeatedly persecuted for their belief in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.

“I witnessed the police break into our home and ransack it. They arrested my parents and put them in a brainwashing center. Then they were sentenced to two years of forced labor. The CCP’s long-term and brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners harmed my entire family, turning my upstanding and kind father into a completely different person from what he was before the persecution. He died two years ago.

“I know that believing in Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance is not wrong and that Falun Gong practitioners have not done anything illegal,” she said. “It is precisely with this belief that I have continued to practice Falun Gong alone over the years when my parents were severely persecuted. I will never regret participating in the April 25 appeal or insisting on clarifying the truth and protesting the persecution for more than 20 years.”

Peaceful Protest

Falun Gong practitioners have continued to protest the persecution peacefully for the 26 years since the appeal in 1999. This time, they did the five exercises together and displayed eye-catching banners. Some distributed fliers to passersby and collected signatures, while others used loudspeakers to read an open letter to the embassy employees.

Practitioners read an open letter to the embassy employees.

People Support Practitioners

The Adidas Half Marathon was being held in Stockholm that day, and the runners passed by the practitioners’ activity. When they saw the eye-catching banners and the peaceful group exercises, many runners raised their hands and gave a thumbs-up or waved as they ran by.

There were many pedestrians out and about who talked to the practitioners. After learning about the CCP’s persecution, many people signed the petition calling for the brutality to end.

Adidas Half Marathon runners pass by the practitioners’ activity.

Practitioners clarify the truth to the volunteers of the marathon.A passerby signs the petition.

After signing the petition, one man told a practitioner, “I live nearby. Every year at this time, the Chinese Embassy play songs with loudspeakers in the yard. This not only disturbs you but also seriously disturbs the residents, because the sound travels very far.

“The residents have complained to the Swedish authorities. Today I came to see if the Chinese Embassy has restrained itself.” He said that he’d worked in several countries, including Hong Kong and Italy, so he was familiar with the current situation in China. He said, “Falun Gong practitioners are doing very well.”