Why Did So Many Falun Gong Practitioners Go to Beijing?
According to the Chinese government’s propaganda, approximately 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners went to Beijing on April 25, 1999, whereas the actual number was much larger according to some witnesses. The direct cause of the April 25th Appeal was the so-called “Tianjin Incident.” Mr. He Zuoxiu published an article on April 11, 1999 titled “Teenagers Should Not Practice Qigong” in Teenager Expo Magazine, which slandered Falun Gong with information that had already been proven to be untrue. Between April 18 and 24, Falun Gong practitioners in Tianjin went to the Tianjin Teacher’s College (the publisher of Teenager Expo) to clarify the truth about Falun Gong. On April 23 and 24, the Tianjin Public Security Bureau sent in 300 S.W.A.T. policemen and arrested 45 Falun Gong practitioners. The Tianjin police told the local Falun Gong practitioners that they did not have the authority to release these practitioners because they had received an order from the Public Security Bureau in Beijing.
