Italy: Practitioners in Different Parts of the Country Hold Activities to Commemorate the April 25 Peaceful Protest (Part 2)

(Minghui.org) To commemorate the 26th anniversary of the peaceful appeal by Falun Gong (Falun Dafa) practitioners in Beijing 26 years ago on April 25, 1999, practitioners in different parts of Italy held activities to raise awareness of the ongoing persecution of the practice in China.

(Continued from Part 1)

Florence: Unforgettable Peaceful Scene

The event in Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, was held in the Piazza Santa Maria Novella on April 25. Drawn by the exercise demonstration, many people stopped to ask for more information. They were interested in learning how to practice and said they supported practitioners in China. Many people signed a petition that calls to end the tragedies in China.

Activity at Piazza Santa Maria Novella on April 25

A couple and their two teenagers chatted with practitioners. They learned some of the exercises that day and said they loved doing them. They said they were glad to meet practitioners and would continue learning the exercises at the group practice site in their city.

Another man said he saw hundreds of Falun Dafa practitioners doing the exercises when he visited China in 1998. “The peaceful scene was unforgettable,” he said. He heard about the persecution in China but did not pay attention to it. After talking with a practitioner and reading information at the booth, he realized the situation was much worse than he thought. He signed a petition urging an end to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) atrocities.

A tourist from Palestine said she knew about the human rights violations against Falun Dafa practitioners in China. “We cannot ignore it and let it continue,” she said as she signed the petition.

Turin: Sharing the Information with More People

Event in Turin on April 25

Practitioners in the Piedmont held an event in Turin on April 25. They did the exercises and collected signatures. Many passersby accepted materials and asked what they could do to help. After signing the petitions, they took materials and said they would share the information with others.

Venice: People Encourage Practitioners

Practitioners also set up a booth at Mestre, a borough in Venice, on April 13 to commemorate the peaceful appeal 26 years ago. Many people stopped and read the posters, talked with practitioners, and signed petitions to support their efforts. One person encouraged them, saying, “Please continue your efforts until this [persecution] is over.”

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 and include 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 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 appeals 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, the 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.