四·二五：被中央信访办定性为“聚集”的合法上访

在西方社会中，“上访”是一个不容易见到的词汇。公民有着自由表达民意的通道，甚至10万人、50万人在总统府聚会游行也是正常的现象，二零二零年美国各地民众到DC为川普站台人数接近100万人，与军警两相无事，场面轻松、和谐，丝毫没有剑拔弩张的紧张气氛。
在太平洋彼岸的中国，近百年来的历史中，这样的场面仅出现过一次。一九九九年四月二十五日，一万余名法轮功学员赴中南海西门的“国务院信访办”上访，整个过程中，他们安静、平和地守候在道路的路基之上，不妨碍行人车辆，没有标语、口号，没有大声喧哗，警察在旁边轻松地交谈着，最后通过沟通事情得到解决。这被称作“中国上访史上规模最大、最理性平和、最圆满的上访”，国际社会评价说，在“四·二五”法轮功学员万人上访中南海事件中，双方所表现出的和平理性是中国历史上从来没有的。

然而，至今在中国大多数民众的印象中，“四·二五”上访是冲击中南海，而这是引起中共打击法轮功的直接原因，甚至一些与中共很近的西方人士，也接盘了中共的“围攻”之说，即所谓的“围攻政府，在哪一个国家都是不允许的”。

今天我们来澄清几个基本概念。

一、是国务院信访办和北京市公安局说的对？还是江泽民说的对？

首先中国是允许上访的，而国务院信访办就在中南海西门。中南海的正门是朝向长安街的新华门，但是上访的法轮功学员并没有一个人走向新华门。所以并不存在冲击中南海的基本事实。

其次，从“四·二五”之后的两个多月中，当时中办、国办信访局和北京市公安局对于此次上访的事件发表了“公告”，在“公告”中称此次上访者在中南海周围“聚集”，并未以“围攻中南海”定性。

在“四·二五”过后的第二天，一九九九年四月二十七日，国务院信访局的负责人接受新华社记者采访，并发表谈话，称法轮功学员“聚集”北京，并指出“对各种炼功健身活动，各级政府从未禁止过。有不同看法和意见是允许的”。这也表明“四·二五”是合法的上访。

两个月后的六月十四日，中央信访办和国务院信访办公告在中国大陆的报纸、电台和电视台同时播出，表示从来都没有禁止任何功派。

这表明在当时对于法轮功是否采取高压及迫害，尚无最后的定论，从若干年后披露的信息中，中共七常委会商，有六名常委不同意打压法轮功。对于法轮功的定性，是江泽民以中共党报《人民日报》八月十三日发表的文章，将“四·二五”上访改为法轮功修炼者“围攻中南海”。

二、是法轮功挑战中共？还是江泽民妒火弄权？

法轮功学员为什么要聚集在中共的政治心脏附近？这是挑战中共吗？“四·二五事件”是促使中共下决心铲除法轮功的根本原因吗？

一九九八年十二月，上海电视台播出的一段新闻。“今天一大早，上海体育中心人头攒动，本市近万名爱好法轮大法的炼功者会聚一处进行推广表演。法轮大法创始人李洪志师父于一九九二年向社会公开传功讲法，受到广大群众的欢迎。六年来，功法以炼功时不受场地时间的限制以及无需意念引导等不同于其他气功的全新内容令人耳目一新，独树一帜，到目前为止，包括港、澳、台在内的全国各地都有自发性的群众炼功组织，并传遍欧、美、澳、亚四大洲，全世界约有一亿人在学法轮大法。这是本台记者报道的。”

法轮功是一九九二年向社会公开传出的。一九九二年五月十三日，李洪志先生在长春开办第一期法轮功学习班，以“真善忍”为原则，提升修炼者的心性，有五套舒缓柔和的动作。国家体育总局于一九九八年五月对法轮功进行了全面调查了解。九月由医学专家组成的小组为配合此次调查，对广东一万二千五百五十三名法轮功学员进行表格抽样调查，结果表明祛病健身总有效率为百分之九十七点九。

从退休老红军、中央高官、军人、普通劳动者、大学老师等等，法轮功在短短时间深入人心，受到广泛的好评。

法轮功在中国并未以宗教名义出现，而是以气功公开面向大众的。因此，在当时中共高层有不少人认为，气功是一种强身健体的运动方式，不应该上升到意识形态的层面小题大作。如果这样的看法形成共识，那么或许对于中共来说，将是一次摆脱历史所犯过的诸多罪恶的一次契机。

在“四·二五”之后的两个多月，发生过多少次内部不同意见的争论不得而知。但是，中共领导人江泽民认为法轮功在与他争抢民众，上亿民众的喜爱与赞扬，使得认为自己是“皇帝”的江妒火中烧。早在一九九六年，江即授意中共公安部关注法轮功，一九九七年、一九九八年，全国各地都有法轮功学员受到不公正对待，直到一九九九年天津数十位法轮功学员被抓捕，当时法轮功图书已禁止出版，部分地区不允许公开练功，这样下去在全国范围内法轮功将面临着被取缔的风险。一部分因修炼法轮功而受益的学员，自发前往北京上访，期望恢复正常的修炼环境。

尽管在“四·二五”上访中，时任国务院总理朱镕基与法轮功学员沟通良好，解决所有问题，上访学员平静地离开，但是，江泽民很快否认了这个成果，并在两个月之后的一九九九年七月二十日，发动了对法轮功的大抓捕，并由此开始至今长达二十六年的残酷迫害。

三、江泽民对“四·二五”的诬陷开启了中国沦丧道德底线之旅

在一九九九年之后，中共信访制度、信访条例，在无视一九九九年“四·二五”法轮功学员和平大上访之后，彻头彻尾的完全沦为恶法，连“为民陈情”、“替民做主”的表面文章都不做了。

中共利用信访制度，让冤民心存最后的一丝希望，然而，等待他们的却是中共布下的网格式的、被称为“枫桥经验”的人盯人密网。

在过去的二十六年中，大陆的百姓们试图在中共设计的信访这条路上维护自己的权益，原因多种多样，强拆、假疫苗、告贪官、举恶霸、老兵上访、寻亲上访、冤假错案上访。

结果如何呢？众所周知，中共组织大量专职人员、拨付大量财政资金截访，之后将上访人员关进黑监狱，甚至劳教、判刑。而中国信访体系的彻底崩塌与黑化的起始点，正是江泽民对法轮功学员“四二五”和平上访的诬陷，对中央信访办和北京市公安局的“聚集”证言的抹杀，以及以此为借口，在三个月之后发动的诋毁真善忍、铲除法轮功的全国政治运动。

April 25: A Legal Appeal Which the Central Appeals Office Originally Referred to as a “Gathering”

(Minghui.org) In Western society “appeal” is a term that’s seldom used. Citizens have ways to express their opinions, and it’s not unusual for thousands of people to gather outside the president’s residence or a country’s capital building to protest.

On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, in China on April 25, 1999, over 10,000 practitioners went to the Central Appeals Office at the west entrance of Zhongnanhai to appeal for Falun Gong. They stood quietly on the footpath for hours but did not block pedestrians or vehicles. There were no signs, no one shouted slogans or made a scene. The police chatted among themselves and the matter was eventually resolved. This has been called “the largest, most rational and perfect appeal in Chinese history,” and some international media said, “The rationality displayed by both parties in the April 25 appeal at Zhongnanhai is unprecedented in Chinese history.”

Yet, today, many Chinese people’s impression of the incident is that Falun Gong practitioners attempted to attack Zhongnanhai and the event caused the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) subsequent decision to suppress the group. Some Westerners close to the CCP repeated the regime’s narrative: Falun Gong practitioners besieged the government.

Let’s clear up some misconceptions.

Who Is Correct: The State Affairs Petitions Office and Beijing Public Security Bureau? Or Jiang Zemin?
First, appeals are allowed in China and the Central Petitions Office is located at the west entrance of Zhongnanhai. The entrance to Zhongnanhai faces Xinhuamen on Changan street but not a single Falun Gong practitioner walked to Xinhuamen during the appeal. Thus, practitioners did not besiege Zhongnanhai.

Secondly, two months after the April 25 incident, the Central Petitions Office, State Appeals Office and Beijing Public Security Bureau published notices and said the appellants “gathered around Zhongnanhai.” They did not say they, “surrounded Zhongnanhai.”

The next day, on April 27, 1999, the director of the State Affairs Petitions Office said Falun Gong practitioners “gathered” in Beijing during an interview with a journalist from Xinhua News and pointed out, “The government never stopped any activities that improve health. People are allowed to have different opinions.” This shows that the appeal on April 25 was legal.

Two months later, on June 14, a public notice by both the Central and the State Affairs Petitions Office that no practice was ever banned by the government was simultaneously published in newspapers, TV and radio stations in China.

This indicates that it was undecided whether to pressure or persecute Falun Gong at that time. From information exposed years later, 6 out of 7 members of the Politburo Standing Committee opposed suppressing Falun Gong. It was then CCP leader Jiang Zemin who claimed the April 25 appeal by Falun Gong practitioners was “besieging Zhongnanhai” in an article published in People’s Daily on August 13, 1999.

Did Falun Gong Challenge the CCP or Did Jiang Zemin Abuse His Power?
Why did Falun Gong practitioners gather near the political heart of the CCP? Were they challenging the regime’s power? Was this the fundamental reason that led to the regime to make up its mind to eradicate the group?

In December 1998, Shanghai TV station broadcast the following: “Early this morning, nearly 10,000 Falun Gong enthusiasts in the city gathered at the Shanghai sports center to promote the exercises. The founder, Mr. Li Hongzhi first taught Falun Gong publicly in 1992 and since then the practice has become popular among people in the country. The unique teachings of Falun Gong has been a breath of fresh air and to date, people in all parts of the country as well as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan have spontaneously formed groups to practice the exercises together. Falun Gong has also spread to Europe, America, Australia and Asia. Approximately 100 million all over the world are practicing Falun Dafa. This is a report by our station’s journalist.”

Falun Gong was first taught publicly in 1992. Mr. Li Hongzhi held the first introductory class in Changchun on May 13, 1992. The practice is based on the principles, Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance, and include five sets of gentle exercises. In May 1998, the country’s top sports bureau conducted a thorough investigation of Falun Gong. In September, a small team of medical experts examined 2,553 practitioners in Guangdong. The results show the practice is 97.9 percent effective in improving health.

Among the practitioners were retired military officers, high-ranking CCP officers, military officers, ordinary workers, university lecturers and so on. Falun Gong spread widely by word of mouth and received good reviews within a short period of time.

Falun Gong did not begin in China as a religion but as a form of qigong. Therefore, among high-ranking CCP officers, many thought qigong was a form of exercise that improved physical health and made a big deal by raising it to the level of ideology.

Jiang Zemin the then Chinese president thought Falun Gong was competing with him for attention as a result of its growing popularity. He felt he was an emperor, so he was jealous. As early as 1996, Jiang authorized China’s public security to pay attention to the activities of Falun Gong practitioners. In 1997, 1998, there were incidents of Falun Gong practitioners being unjustly treated in all parts of the country. In 1999, several practitioners in Tianjin were arrested and Falun Gong books were banned from being published. In certain areas, people were not allowed to practice openly. If things continued like this, the practice faced the risk of being outlawed. A group of practitioners who benefited from practicing Falun Gong decided to go to Beijing to appeal, hoping to guarantee a peaceful, safe cultivation environment.

Although then premier Zhu Rongji had an amicable meeting with practitioners during the April 25 appeal and practitioners departed quietly afterwards, Jiang Zemin soon overturned the results and on July 20, 1999, two months later, launched a major arrest of Falun Gong practitioners and a brutal persecution that has continued till today, 26 years later.

Jiang Zemin’s False Accusations Led to a Breakdown of China’s Declining Moral Values
After 1999, China’s appeals system and regulations became twisted.

The CCP uses its petition system to give people who have been unjustly treated a last shred of hope. However, what awaits them is a huge policing network called the “Fengqiao experience” (mobilizing the masses in order to “strengthen dictatorship over class enemies.” The CCP routinely targets certain groups or individuals.)

In the past 26 years, Chinese citizens try to safeguard their rights through the appeals path designed by the CCP. There are all sorts of reasons they appeal, such as forced evacuation, fake vaccines, suing corrupt officials, reporting on bullies and so on.

But what are the consequences? It is well known that the CCP deploys a large number of people and money to intercept appeals, and then throw the appellants into jail, labor camps, or other types of imprisonment. The starting point for the complete collapse and darkening of China’s appeals system can be traced back to Jiang Zemin’s false accusations of Falun Gong practitioners’ peaceful appeal on April 25, 1999.