SAN FRANCISCO—About 200 people from the Bay Area held a rally on April 24 in front of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, commemorating the anniversary of Falun Gong practitioners’ peaceful appeal in Beijing.

Rally attendees shared with The Epoch Times their memories and thoughts of the appeal that took place 27 years ago.

On April 25, 1999, over 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered outside the Appeals Office in Beijing, requesting that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) release 45 fellow practitioners who had been arbitrarily arrested in the city of Tianjin. The attendees also asked to be allowed to peacefully practice their faith without government interference.

The Chinese spiritual practice Falun Gong, also called Falun Dafa, was at the time widely known in China for its health benefits and had become popular there after being introduced to the public by Mr. Li Hongzhi in 1992.

However, the CCP had begun harassing Falun Gong practitioners in various cities. The 45 practitioners were arrested in Tianjin for protesting against a magazine article that defamed Falun Gong.

“The April 25 [appeal] spearheaded a new paradigm of how people could express themselves facing unfairness or injustice, with dignity through peaceful means,” said Kerry Huang, organizer of the San Francisco rally. “It established a moral monument for such a massive group of people to step forward and speak out in a peaceful and rational manner.”

She said the behavior of the appeal attendees showed that Falun Gong practitioners had improved their character by following the practice’s principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance.

Practitioner Heather Wang, who was at the 1999 event, talked about how Falun Gong had improved her health. It was 1997, and Wang had been diagnosed with terminal gynecological cancer. She was pregnant at the time. She went through two major surgeries, yet the hope for recovery was in limbo, and the cancer was spreading.

She began practicing Falun Gong, and in 16 days all her medical tests became normal.

Falun Gong practitioners hold a banner in front of the San Francisco Chinese Consulate on April 24, 2026, to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the April 25, 1999, peaceful appeal in Beijing. (Gary Wang/The Epoch Times)

“With a heart of utmost sincerity, I simply wish the Chinese communist regime to know what Falun Dafa is and how normal citizens benefit from practicing,” Wang said.

She said she would never forget the scene she saw when she arrived at 8 a.m. the day of the appeal.

“A lot of practitioners [were already] there. They were from every region, with various clothes, various ethnic styles. ... Everyone was quietly standing there, waiting for almost the whole day,” she said.

Representatives from the group of practitioners met with then Premier Zhu Rongji. After the meeting, the over 10,000 practitioners were told that their requests had been granted, and they quickly dispersed.

In about half an hour, Wang realized she was among the last to leave as she saw the other practitioners spreading in various directions and leaving on buses.

She said she has never seen a single parade or rally in mainland China, since a large number of people gathering together would be viewed by the CCP as resistance.

Falun Gong practitioners rally in front of the San Francisco Chinese Consulate on April 24, 2026, to commemorate the 27th anniversary of the April 25, 1999, peaceful appeal in Beijing. (Gary Wang/The Epoch Times)

“In the entire process of the April 25 appeal, all I saw was peacefulness,” Wang said. “It was such a great honor to be ... one of the 10,000 practitioners.”

Daisy Hua was a young mother with a two-year-old son when she took a bus on April 25, 1999 to attend the appeal.

“What was most striking to me was how quiet these practitioners were,” Hua said.

She didn’t expect to see so many fellow practitioners that day.

Hua saw a policeman with an odd look in his eyes, as if he were touched by the sight of the practitioners cleaning up garbage in the area before they left.

Linda Campbell, a Falun Gong practitioner from the Bay Area, commented on how the practitioners gathered in Beijing without much fanfare and left the area cleaner than when they arrived.

“The spirit and the heart of this practice is just demonstrated through that to me,” she said.

Falun Gong practitioners hold a candlelight vigil in front of the San Francisco Chinese Consulate on April 24, 2026, in remembrance of victims of the persecution in China. (Gary Wang/The Epoch Times)

Less than three months after the appeal, then-CCP leader Jiang Zemin launched a violent nationwide persecution against Falun Gong. The persecution is still ongoing today.

Wang Chundan, a lead vocalist and bass player, said he learned about the April 25 event after he decided to practice Falun Gong in 2009. He and his wife came to the United States in 2021 to avoid harassment from the CCP after he was found to be a practitioner.

“Falun Gong practitioners’ spirit in the April 25 appeals, and the courage of anti-persecution in all these years, the resilience and dedication, and the rationality and adherence to the truth—these are all precious values to me,” Wang said.

Crystal Lu contributed to this report.