I Experienced the Historic April 25 Appeal

(Minghui.org) On Sunday, April 25, 1999, I went to the Falun Dafa practice site near the Marine Bureau in Beijing, as usual. To my surprise, the place usually full of practitioners was very quiet that day. I asked the few practitioners who were there and was told that most of the group had gone to Zhongnanhai, the central government compound, to peacefully appeal for the release of practitioners illegally detained in Tianjin.

Back then, I had only practiced Falun Dafa for a few months. I didn’t quite understand the purpose of the appeal and I didn’t feel comfortable going there. After I returned home, I became anxious about the practitioners in my practice site who had gone for the appeal. As I couldn’t get in touch with them, I decided to go to Zhongnanhai myself to take a look.

I rode my bike around Zhongnanhai and saw many practitioners there. Most of them were standing on the north side of Wenjin Street and the west side of Fuyou Street. They kept in good order and did not block local traffic. I was relieved to see that things were peaceful and the government hadn’t taken a violent approach to deal with them. As I couldn’t find anyone I knew, I went back home.

In the late afternoon, a practitioner asked if I could bring some mats to them, as they had sat on the concrete ground for a day. I found several meditation mats we usually used, tied them up, and headed back to Zhongnanhai.

I found my local practitioners on Fuyou Street. Most of them were sitting on newspaper or plastic sheets. Some were sharing their cultivation experiences and some were quietly reading Falun Dafa books. I handed the mats to them. The younger practitioners then passed them to the older practitioners, while older practitioners wanted those who traveled from nearby provinces such as Liaoning and Hebei to use them. Although we didn’t know each other there, it felt like we were part of a big family. Touched by the atmosphere, I decided to stay and wait for the final result of the appeal.

As it gradually became dark, I went to a nearby telephone booth to call my family (most of us didn’t have cell phones back then). I was surprised to see that over ten practitioners were waiting in line, “Wow, so many people!” I blurted out.

The practitioners in front of me turned around and said, “If you have an urgent matter, you can go ahead of me.” Those before them also offered to let me make the call first. I knew everyone was calling home for the same purpose. It’s Dafa that brought us together, where we established the sacred and close bond. I was touched by their selflessness. I thanked them and stood at the end of the line.

More practitioners then came. Same as me, most of them blurted out, “Wow, so many people!” I also offered to let them make the call before me. But no one jumped the line. Everyone kept their conversations very brief, then passed the phone to the next person.

Just through this little thing, I felt I was purified and uplifted. No wonder Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) said, “Our Falun Dafa is the only piece of absolutely pure land.” (Teachings at the Conference in Canada)

I returned to where I was after calling my family. After a while, we heard that the practitioner representatives had gone in and were received by then-prime minister Zhu Rongji. We were also told that Zhu promised to let us peacefully practice Falun Dafa, and he also instructed the police to release the practitioners arrested the day before in Tianjin.

Thinking that the appeal had successfully concluded, we began to leave the site. Some practitioners volunteered to clean up the trash. So I also picked up the newspapers, plastic sheets, and water bottles left on the ground, and discarded them in the nearby trash can. No one was giving any orders, and everyone did it on their own accord.

Walking away with the crowd, I was also touched by how quiet and orderly it was. No one shouted anything or tried to get ahead. What was left behind was a quiet and clean street.

No words could describe my feeling at that moment. I just felt proud to be a part of such a group. I made up my mind that no matter what happened in the future or how difficult the journey would be, no one could stop me from practicing Falun Dafa.