San Francisco: Photo Exhibition Commemorates April 25 Appeal

(Minghui.org) Practitioners held a photo exhibition in front of San Francisco’s city hall on April 23, 2024 to commemorate the 25^th anniversary of April 25 appeal. They displayed photos and banners and distributed fliers to raise awareness of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) persecution of Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong).

Photo exhibition in front of San Francisco City Hall on April 23, 2024

Passersby learn about Falun Dafa and the CCP’s persecution. 

Event coordinator Wu Junxiang said that the photo exhibition commemorated a special day. “On April 25, 1999, more than 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners went to the Appeals Office of the State Council in Beijing to petition, and asked that the Falun Gong practitioners who were arrested by the Tianjin police be released. The practitioners’ petition was peaceful and rational. But the CCP still began to persecute practitioners three months later. We are here today to call on the US government to pay attention to the persecution.”

Speak out for Practitioners in China

Mr. Su Feng, a Falun Gong practitioner who participated in the event, said he was in high school in Qingdao when the April 25 appeal occurred. His family members who practice Falun Gong told him that the government had some misunderstandings and arrested some practitioners in Tianjin. “We were not nervous at all at that time because we felt that Falun Gong is so good. Practitioners are very kind and selfless and do not violate any laws. If there are any problems, the government can investigate. The government must have misunderstood us.

“I gradually realized that it’s not that the CCP did not understand us,” Mr. Su said. “The principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance that Falun Gong practitioners follow are fundamentally different from the evil nature of the CCP. The persecution is determined by the nature of the CCP. But even in the face of persecution, we still clarify the truth to people in the most peaceful way and demand an immediate end to the persecution.”

Mr. Chuong from Vietnam is a civil engineer, and stood in front of the city hall holding a banner that read “Stop the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong.” He has practiced Falun Gong for three years and said, “I’ve benefited from practicing Falun Gong. I’ve become a better person and my family is more harmonious. I’m here today to tell people about the CCP’s persecution of Falun Gong. We can practice Falun Gong freely in the United States, but in China, people are deprived of the right to practice. I want to speak out for Falun Gong practitioners in China.”

Glenn Rogers condemns the CCP’s persecution. 

When San Francisco landscape designer Glenn Rogers passed by, he was interested in the exhibition and took out his cell phone to take pictures of the photos. He said, “These pictures show the CCP’s brutal persecution. Practitioners are healthy after practicing Falun Gong, but the CCP harvests organs from living people and sells them. This is very barbaric.”

Writer Linda Jackson said she was interested in learning the Falun Gong exercises. “I often see people practicing Tai Chi and doing exercises in the parks around San Francisco. I admire the Chinese people’s emphasis on physical and mental health. As I get older, I need inner peace and health more. I came here today and found a way to improve my body and mind. I am very grateful that you are here.”

She said, “I know what’s happening in China, and I know that Falun Gong has been persecuted for a long time. It’s important to let people in China know that we are here and care about them.”