On April 25, 1999, over ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners in China went to the State Council Petition Office in Beijing to appeal, requesting the right to live with justice, dignity, and conscience. Three months later, the Chinese communist regime responded to their peaceful gathering by launching a massive and deadly persecution campaign that contiunes unabated to this day.
Twenty-seven years later, on April 25, Falun Gong practitioners in Toronto, Canada gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate to commemorate this history and urge the international community to work together to stop both the persecution in China and Beijing’s increasingly severe transnational repression targeting Falun Gong overseas. After the rally, they held a “Truth Great Wall” event in downtown Toronto on Bloor Street.
Witnesses recount history: peace at the edge of Zhongnanhai
At the event, two witnesses who were present in Beijing 27 years ago recounted details of that day, challenging what they say is a distorted historical narrative by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Feng Xiumin, nearly 70 and a former Tianjin municipal government employee, recalled in her speech that she once suffered from severe insomnia and stomach illness, and felt life was hopeless. After encountering Falun Gong, she said she became “free of illness and light in body,” experiencing what she described as a miraculous recovery. However, in April 1999, a defamatory article published by the Tianjin Education Institute disrupted this peace.
“At that time, we went to report the real situation. Several military trucks arrived and arrested many people,” Feng recalled. “Military police used electric batons to beat people. Many practitioners were left bleeding or had dislocated arms. When we went to the municipal government to request the release of those detained, officials told us: ‘We cannot handle this. You should go to Beijing tomorrow to appeal.’”
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The next day, Feng bought a train ticket and went straight to Beijing. In an interview with China Watch, she recalled that upon arrival, she did not know the way and asked police for directions to the petition office. After hearing she was a Falun Gong practitioner, the officer instead guided her directly to Zhongnanhai.
“Over ten thousand practitioners stood quietly along the wall. Later, representatives came out and conveyed the Premier’s message that the practice was legal. Everyone felt the matter had been resolved and dispersed quickly. Who could have imagined that the CCP would later go back on its word and launch a campaign of persecution only three months later? I was arrested multiple times in China, sent to labor camps twice, and dismissed from my public job.”
After arriving in Canada, Feng said she deeply appreciated freedom: “This is a completely different world from China. The government respects human rights and belief. I hope Canadians realize that the persecution by the CCP has already extended overseas and is even harming people here.”
Jessica Feng, a Beijing native, added her own unforgettable memory. She had just graduated from university and went to the appeal site early in the morning on April 25 with her family, hoping to help clarify the truth about Falun Gong.
“At the entrance of Lingjing Hutong, there was already a long line of people standing neatly along the wall, voluntarily leaving the sidewalk clear. There were students, government workers, and elderly people in their 80s and 90s. Throughout the entire day, no one shouted, no one littered. All entrances and walkways were consciously kept open, and traffic was not affected at all. When we left, the ground was spotless. This high level of self-discipline was later falsely labeled by the CCP as a ‘siege of government buildings,’” she said.
Transnational repression intensifies, calls for justice
Speakers at the Toronto rally stated that the peaceful protest 27 years ago has been followed by nearly three decades of violent persecution, and that in Canada today, it has evolved into full-scale transnational repression.
Huang Shan, a local Falun Gong practitioner, said: “For 27 years, the CCP has carried out comprehensive repression in Canada, including hate propaganda, surveillance, intimidation, cyberattacks, and threats against family members in China. Leaked documents show that Xi Jinping personally ordered a new transnational repression campaign, which has sharply escalated over the past two years, combining disinformation campaigns against Shen Yun and Falun Gong, legal warfare, and fake bomb threats. A defected senior diplomat confirmed that persecuting Falun Gong is a ‘daily task’ for Chinese diplomatic missions abroad.”
Participants called on the Canadian government to respond to what they described as violations of sovereignty and civil liberties.
“Freedom of belief is a universal human right that transcends borders, politics, and ideology,” they stated. “We urge the Canadian government to take action to stop all CCP transnational repression activities in Canada. The cost of depriving basic human rights is immense. This anniversary is not only a moment of reflection, but also a call to action.”
Human rights lawyer: peaceful appeal exposes CCP’s rule-of-law claims
Wu Shaoping, director of the Overseas Chinese Human Rights Lawyers Association, told China Watch that the April 25 appeal holds significant legal and historical meaning.
“This was a top-tier, rational assembly under the law,” Wu said. “There was no violence, no destructive behavior, and it did not disrupt public order. It was originally a basic constitutional right. Yet the CCP could not tolerate even such peaceful expression. This event completely exposes the falsehood of the CCP’s so-called ‘rule of law’—it is in fact rule by law over the people, not governance under law.”
Wu further analyzed the origins of the persecution and the establishment of the illegal “610 Office” on June 10, 1999, created specifically to target Falun Gong practitioners. He argued that due to the regime’s fear of illegitimacy, it must suppress belief systems that challenge its authority.
“The 610 Office operates above the law. The CCP regime is inherently anti-human and anti-civilization, incompatible with universal values of democracy and freedom. The international community must understand that as long as the CCP remains in power, it will continue to pose a threat globally.”
27 years of persistence: continuing to speak out
Western Falun Gong practitioners Daniel Sky and Bogdan Diordiev also expressed their commitment to freedom of belief.
Daniel told China Watch that he has never missed the April 25 commemoration. He said Falun Gong practitioners’ 27-year persistence represents a model of peaceful resistance, and he will continue to speak out for justice.
Bogdan stated that recent fake bomb threats against Shen Yun performances in Toronto represent a challenge to democratic society, urging the public to recognize CCP infiltration tactics and not become desensitized by propaganda.
From the quiet standing in Beijing in 1999 to the long-term gatherings in front of the Chinese Consulate in Toronto in 2026, Falun Gong practitioners have consistently upheld the principles of “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance” in their peaceful resistance.
As Feng Xiumin said: “We will persist until the day the CCP collapses and the persecution completely ends.”
