Around the coming of April the 25th, the sixth anniversary of the “4.25” incident, a reporter interviewed an eyewitness to the large-scale peaceful appeal at Zhongnanhai, Mr. Li, who is now residing in Russia. The following is the result of the interview.

Reporter: Mr. Li, nice to see you. On April 25th, 1999, Falun Gong practitioners made the first large-scale peaceful appeal in Chinese history. Could you say something about this incident?

Mr. Li: All right. It has been six years since the “4.25” peaceful appeal. Whenever I recollect the “4.25” incident it always disturbs me.

By 1999, the Public Security Department had been conducting a nationwide investigation in their attempt to find any evidence against Falun Gong. But no “evidence” of any wrongdoing by Falun Gong had been found. By the eve of April 25th, an article by He Zuoxiu was published in a magazine in Tientsin City to slander Falun Gong. Some Falun Gong practitioners went to clarify the facts of Falun Gong to the magazine publisher. Thus the Tientsin incident happened in which the police beat and detained the practitioners for no reason. When being informed of the news, I felt obliged to appeal at the Appeals Office of the State Council in the hope of telling the authorities the facts, asking for an immediate release of the detained practitioners, and requesting normal and interruption-free circumstances to practise cultivation. Our appeal involved no appeal for political power.

On April 25th, I arrived on Fuyou Street by 6:00 a.m. By then, there already had been a lot of people, including quite a few policemen, but everyone stood in order, listening to the orders of the police. We stood in the places as directed by the police. In order not to block the traffic, we took the initiative to stand beyond the blind path so as to allow the passers-by to pass freely. Originally the police appeared anxious. But upon seeing the practitioners bringing their behaviour under self-control, the police started smoking and seemed relaxed. One of the policemen not far away from me still explained to one person making an enquiry about the incident, “They practise Falun Gong, and come here to make an appeal. I have read their book, which is quite good. It teaches people to be good persons.” I still have a vivid memory of the scenes of that day. The whole process of the appeal had been photographed. Each of us had a clear understanding that this was not a place for having fun. Bearing kindness in our mind, Falun Gong practitioners from all walks of life managed to communicate our sincere wishes to the government. Falun Gong practitioners are aboveboard, calm and peaceful. So many practitioners were standing in orderly lines. Besides, the ground was kept clean, and even the cigarette butts thrown on the ground by the police were picked up by the practitioners. No slogan was being shouted and no sign was being displayed. The practitioners had been quietly waiting for the outcome of the dialogue between their representatives and Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji. Not until 9:00 p.m. were the practitioners informed that all the problems concerning the appeal had been resolved in a satisfactory way. Feeling content with the outcome, everyone picked up the trash and left peacefully. But much to everyone’s surprise, soon after that, the Chinese Communist leader Jiang Zemin overruled Zhu’s decision and launched a brutal crackdown on the kind and innocent people with their firm belief in “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.”

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched the crackdown in the name of “stability as the overriding priority.” With its nature of falsity, evilness and violence, it is unlikely to tolerate a group of people with their belief in “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” Jiang Zemin jealously felt that Falun Gong could be a threat to his power. Out of his personal jealousy, he used his political power to launch the oppression. As is known to everyone, the dictatorship of the CCP has brought enormous damages to the Chinese people. As a result, withdrawal from the CCP is our righteous and conscientious choice.