Taiwan Scholars on April 25 Peaceful Appeal in Beijing 26 Years Ago

(Minghui.org) Two scholars in Taiwan spoke about Falun Gong practitioners’ peaceful appeal in Beijing that took place 26 years ago. One of them is Lu Zhengli, the author of A Macro-History of Communist World. The other is Kao Wei-pang, head of Victims of Investment in China Association (VICA).

The appeal took place on April 25, 1999, and is often referred to as the most peaceful mass protest in Chinese history. Over ten thousand practitioners went to Beijing’s National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration that day to ask the authorities to release the 45 practitioners who were illegally arrested in Tianjin three days prior. The practitioners asked the government to grant them an environment to practice their faith (the Chinese Constitution guarantees freedom of belief) and to publish Falun Gong books. Zhu Rongji, the then-premier of China, spoke with practitioners and promised the Tianjin practitioners would be released. After they learned the good news, practitioners cleaned up the area, and then quietly left.

Jiang Zemin, the then-head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), objected to the way the event was handled, and claimed practitioners besieged Zhongnanhai, China’s central government compound. Jiang single-handedly launched the persecution of Falun Gong, which is still ongoing after 26 years.

Poisoning the Well

Lu ran an international company in Taiwan and China, and later became a consultant for several Taiwan-based companies in China. He experienced China’s economic reform and opening-up, and gained a deep understanding of the CCP. He knows the CCP does not represent the real China, and he spent five years studying the Party’s history.

Lu Zhengli, author of A Macro-History of Communist World

About the Falun Gong practitioners’ appeal to release the Tianjin practitioners, to legalize the publication of books, and to officially recognize their right to practice, Lu said their demands were, “Basic human rights.” He could not believe that Beijing launched the persecution in response to the peaceful protest.

The day after the protest, the spokesperson from the Public Complaints and Proposals Administration told a Xinhua reporter that the protest was legal. However, two weeks later Jiang published an article in People’s Daily, the CCP’s mouthpiece, claiming that Falun Gong practitioners besieged Zhongnanhai.

The word “besieged” did a lot of damage and caused people to have a negative opinion of Falun Gong, and this is why some viewed the protest as the last straw to push the CCP to launch the persecution. Lu disagreed, “When the CCP wants to suppress someone, it smears and puts a label on the person and that’s it. This is a common tactic used by the CCP. Many fail to see it and are manipulated into believing the CCP’s lies.” “We should question the words used in the CCP’s mouthpiece. It didn’t just use this tactic on Falun Gong but also human rights lawyers and religious groups.”

Lu suggested people ask, “Didn’t Falun Gong practitioners just stand quietly with their books in their hands? Did they shout slogans and hold banners? Did they bring weapons, batons, or throw tomatoes or eggs? The answer is no. The word “besiege” is not factual, but poisoning the well.”

Lu agrees with Falun Gong’s principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance, and believes that people must be kind and sacrifice for the truth. He said that practitioners outside of China are doing a lot to help end the persecution in China, and he hopes that the Chinese people wake up to the truth one day.

Laws are only words in China

Kao went to China to start a company in 1997, but two years later Chinese officials took it away. He witnessed the CCP’s corruption, and that’s why he founded VICA. After the painful lesson, he believed that in China there is no right and wrong but only pursuit of interest—all laws are only words and powerful officials call the shots.

Kao Wei-pang, head of Victims of Investment in China Association (VICA)

Kao said, “In China, appeal is only a shell, a tool the government used to quiet down its people and stabilize its reign. Appeal is never a legal means for the people to protect their rights.

“Appeal is a long road and the government used it to wear down people’s will. Many protesters spent ten or twenty years and spent everything they had and still did not get justice.”

Kao said he respected practitioners’ 26-year-long effort to tell people the facts about the persecution. Only people with faith have such will to keep going despite all tribulations. He hopes practitioners in China stay safe.