San Francisco: People Voice Their Support for Falun Dafa During Activities Held to Commemorate the April 25 Appeal

(Minghui.org) “Falun Dafa is great” said Ms. Su, who moved to the U.S. from China two and a half years ago. “I heard of Falun Dafa in China years ago.”

Practitioners did the exercises as part of their activities to commemorate the April 25 Appeal.

We Should Support Falun Dafa

Ms. Su noticed activities held in the open area in front of the Ferry Building in San Francisco on April 22, 2023 to mark the 24^th anniversary of the April 25 peaceful protest in Beijing. She said, “I think Falun Dafa is good. Practitioners just do the exercises which benefit one’s health. We should support this.”

Ms. Su, who moved to the U.S. from China, said Falun Dafa is very peaceful.

“Falun Dafa is very peaceful,” Ms. Su said as she watched practitioners doing the exercises. “When I was in China, many people did the exercises, and they didn’t bother anyone. I always thought Falun Dafa was righteous. I don’t believe what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) said because one of my relatives practices. She is very healthy.”

She said it was the first time she saw so many practitioners doing the exercises as a group, “I love it. They are peaceful and quiet. I often saw practitioners doing the exercises when I was young. Sometimes many people did them together. After the persecution began, such scenes disappeared.”

Ms. Su said, “I love the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. It is beautiful. Practicing Falun Dafa improves one’s inner character.”

Practitioners do the exercises during events held in San Francisco to commemorate the April 25 Appeal

Passersby learn the exercises.

People stop to read the information on display.

Practitioners tell people about the persecution in China.

Practitioners held banners in Chinatown to tell people about the persecution in China.

Many people saw practitioners doing the exercises that day and took fliers. Several people learned the exercises on the spot.

Luca Jarmadi (right), a tourist from Italy, said the principles taught by Falun Dafa – Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance – lift people’s spirits.

Luca Jarmadi from Italy was visiting San Francisco. He said, “This is interesting. I love this way of living, everyone should be free. I hope Chinese citizens too can have freedom, I am delighted to see Falun Dafa practitioners.”

“The principles taught by Falun Dafa – Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance enable one to lift their spirit, hence it is important to be able to do this. I believe the exercises can improve one’s health and help one relax. At the same time, it teaches one to be truthful, kind and can help relieve stress and pains in the body. The most important thing is to give it a try.”

Ercilia (left) from Australia took a photo with a practitioner.

Ercilia is a tourist from Australia. She learned the third exercise and said, “I feel great, my body feels so relaxed.” When she learned of the persecution in China, she said, “This is not right.”

Her husband also loved the practitioners’ activities and said, “This is great community spirit. Doing the exercises together helps improve one’s health. It is excellent. Perhaps one day I will practice Falun Gong too.”

We Felt a Powerful Energy Field

Arianna (left) and her friend Luisa said they are interested in learning Falun Dafa.

Arianna Lopez and her best friend Luisa Garcia live in San Antonio, Texas. They were holidaying in San Francisco and stopped to watch practitioners do the exercises to soothing music. They said, “We were drawn to their bright yellow clothing. Everyone does the same movement in synchrony. It is very peaceful. We felt a powerful energy field coming from them as we stood here. We both thought: We are interested in learning this.”

Arianna (second right) and her best friend Luisa (first right) from Texas learned the exercises.

After learning the second set of exercises, Arianna said excitedly, “Wow! My whole body feels relaxed. My mind feels clear and the energy field is strong.” Luisa exclaimed as well, “I felt at peace after doing the exercises. It is wonderful to have this opportunity to learn such a beautiful practice. I learned the truth about the persecution as well.”

Luisa added, “The CCP has been suppressing this group of kind people for 24 years. This is outrageous, in particular, the regime is stealing organs from detained practitioners and selling them for huge profits. I am angered to hear this. Regretfully, we don’t see a lot of this reported in the news. I thank you for telling us this.”

They both said they loved that Falun Dafa taught people to follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Arianna said, “In today’s society where moral values are deteriorating, as a mother, I am worried for our future generations. I don’t know how to protect them. If everyone has kind thoughts and constantly remind ourselves as well as educate the next generation, act based on the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance, the world will become a better place.”

This Persecution Should Not be Happening

Sabier Ramos from Mexico was shocked to hear of the organ harvesting.

Sabier Ramos from Mexico stood in front of the display boards for a long time, and looked at the photos of practitioners being tortured. His face looked grave when he asked, “What has become of this world? Can you please tell me what happened?”

When a practitioner explained to him the brutality of the persecution that has been going on for 24 years, he said, “This persecution has taken place for 24 years, yet it is the first time I heard about it. I am sad, this should not be happening.”

He said he did not doubt that the CCP is taking organs without consent and selling them for huge profits. “I am astound to see these pictures. It is terrible! Thank you for telling me what is happening in China!”

After reading the display Kirk, who lives in San Francisco, said, “How can such a horrifying thing take place in today’s society? It is shocking.”

“I lived in San Francisco for so long, but this is the first time I read about the persecution of Falun Gong in China. The CCP’s oppression is terrible, how can it do such inhumane things to people? To my knowledge, Falun Gong practitioners conduct themselves according to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance. I think it is great. How can such kind people be so brutally tortured? It is unbelievable.”

Suzy Dupey, who lives in Omaha, Nebraska, and her friend were in San Francisco for work and pleasure. They signed the petition to end the CCP’s persecution when they noticed activities held by practitioners to mark the April 25 Appeal.

Suzy said, “This is the first time I heard of the persecution. I think this is a persecution of human rights. My instincts tell me I should sign the petition to show my support. I think this affects people living in every corner of this world. We should support one another.”

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.