Washington, April 25 -- Rep. Chris Smith issued the following press release:
A group of lawmakers expressed solidarity with Falun Gong practitioners on April 25, the 27th anniversary of a peaceful protest in China whose effects still reverberate today.
The peaceful gathering, now known as the April 25 appeal, took place in 1999. It was one of the largest protests in communist China's recent history, as about 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered in Beijing, seeking to secure the release of detained adherents and the right to practice their beliefs freely.
Despite assurances from officials at the time, the event did not lead to expanded freedoms. Less than three months later, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started a brutal persecuti...