The April 25 incident was widely reported by western media. 10,000 Falun Dafa practitioners gathered in Beijing on that day of year 1999, outside the central government compound, to present their peaceful request for a legal and non-hostile environment to practice their spiritual beliefs. It was witnessed by all the reporters presented that the gathering was completely peaceful and orderly, and lawful according to China's own constitution and law which promise freedom of assembly and appeal. After a few practitioners were able to meet with certain high-level government officials, everyone quietly went home.

Chinese government later denounced the appeal "a political gathering with conspiracy of overthrowing the government", and used it as an excuse for their brutal crackdown.

The fact is:

The gathering was triggered by what had happened in Tianjin, a nearby city, two days ago, where police arbitrarily arrested 45 and beat many Falun Dafa practitioners. The April 25 gathering was a lawful group appeal by practitioners, out of their trust of and hope for the central government, after their petitions to the local government of Tianjin were ignored.

All that Falun Dafa practitioners requested was that the government could

• Release the innocent fellow practitioners arrested in Tianjin;
• Lift the ban on publishing and distributing Zhuan Falun, the main book of Falun Dafa;
• Allow a legal and non-hostile environment for practicing Falun Dafa in China.

The appeal was peaceful and apolitical, and the requests were nothing more than the basic human rights supposed to be guaranteed by the Chinese constitution: the freedom of thoughts, conscience, and beliefs.