今年4月25日，首都北京風(fēng)和日麗。然而，就在這天，突然發(fā)生了一起大規(guī)模的非法聚集事件。一萬多名來自北京、天津、河北、山東、遼寧、內(nèi)蒙古等地的“法輪功”練習(xí)者，有組織地集合起來圍住了中南海，矛頭直指黨中央、國務(wù)院，嚴(yán)重干擾了黨和國家最高領(lǐng)導(dǎo)機(jī)關(guān)的正常工作，擾亂了首都的社會秩序。這是1989年那場政治風(fēng)波以來最嚴(yán)重的政治事件，在國內(nèi)外造成了極其惡劣的政治影響。
這一事件的真相終于被揭露出來，直接策劃、指揮這起事件的中心人物，就是“法輪功”的總頭目李洪志。而事發(fā)后，李洪志卻在國外頻繁接受媒體采訪，編造謊言，百般抵賴，為自己的罪責(zé)開脫。他先是說，對“4·２5”非法聚集事件全然不知，當(dāng)時(shí)他正在從美國到澳大利亞的路途中。當(dāng)人們擺出他到過北京的證據(jù)時(shí)，他又不得不承認(rèn)他確實(shí)到過北京，但只是為了轉(zhuǎn)機(jī)，沒有離開機(jī)場。隨著事實(shí)的不斷披露，在這一謊言再度被戳穿后，他又改口說在北京只停留了一天，但“沒有與任何人接觸”。
李洪志的謊言一次次被事實(shí)戳穿。他隱藏在這些謊言背后的違法犯罪陰謀活動(dòng)，已經(jīng)清楚地浮現(xiàn)出來。
興風(fēng)作浪 山雨欲來
李洪志是在“4·２5”非法聚集事件發(fā)生前三天，即4月22日17時(shí)10分乘坐美國西北航空公司NW087次航班，從紐約飛到北京的。他在北京停留的時(shí)間不是一天，而是前后跨了三天，共44個(gè)小時(shí)。
22日入境時(shí)，李洪志在北京首都機(jī)場的一張入境登記卡上留下了自己潦草的字跡。
姓名：李洪志
護(hù)照證件號碼：001106787
中國簽證號：003821
在華地址：吉林省長春市解放大路103號
在“職業(yè)”一欄，李洪志在“商業(yè)人員”一項(xiàng)下打了一個(gè)勾。從他入境填表這一刻到他24日13時(shí)30分搭乘中國國際航空公司CA109次航班離境赴香港，他在北京根本沒有從事過任何商業(yè)活動(dòng)。
李洪志從大洋彼岸潛回北京，完全是“有備而來”。他事先通知了“法輪大法研究會”的核心骨干紀(jì)烈武。他一從機(jī)場回到崇文區(qū)法華寺小區(qū)16號樓他的一所相當(dāng)高級的住宅，就迫不及待地讓紀(jì)烈武匯報(bào)這幾天“法輪功”練習(xí)者圍攻天津師范大學(xué)教育學(xué)院的情況。這表明李洪志一開始就想抓住這件事策劃一場更大的陰謀活動(dòng)。
今年4月初，天津師范大學(xué)教育學(xué)院主辦的刊物《青少年科技博覽》，刊登了中國科學(xué)院院士何祚庥寫的文章《我不贊成青少年練氣功》，其中講到：“有一篇關(guān)于‘法輪功’的宣傳材料，就說有某工程師練了‘法輪功’后，元神出竅了，可以鉆到煉鋼爐里，親眼看到煉鋼爐的原子分子的種種化學(xué)變化?！焙戊疋泳痛嗽溨C地提出：“煉鋼爐里的溫度比太上老君炭爐里的溫度要高出幾百度，鉆進(jìn)去，可能嗎？”文章另一段提到，中科院理論物理研究所有一名學(xué)生因?yàn)樾逕挕胺ㄝ喒Α倍安怀?、不喝、不睡、不說話”，最后被送進(jìn)精神病院治療，病愈后仍修煉“法輪功”，導(dǎo)致病情復(fù)發(fā)。
就是這樣一篇文章，使李洪志和“法輪功”的頭頭們感到有了鬧事的機(jī)會。4月19日，眾多的“法輪功”練習(xí)者突然涌進(jìn)天津師大教育學(xué)院靜坐、示威，把學(xué)校正常的教學(xué)和生活秩序完全打亂。
去年5月，北京電視臺曾經(jīng)因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)節(jié)目里有不同意“法輪功”的內(nèi)容而遭到“法輪功”練習(xí)者1000多人數(shù)日的圍攻。但是李洪志認(rèn)為那次圍攻組織得不好，未能把事情鬧大，為此他還撤掉了“法輪功”北京總站的一個(gè)負(fù)責(zé)人。這一次李洪志決心利用天津師大教育學(xué)院這件事掀起一場更大的風(fēng)波。通過他操縱控制的“法輪大法研究會”的具體組織，事態(tài)果然一步步地?cái)U(kuò)大了：
———李洪志潛入北京的前一天，4月21日，“法輪大法研究會”副會長、李洪志跟前的另一個(gè)顯赫人物王治文，要求“法輪功”天津總站煽動(dòng)練習(xí)者去天津師大教育學(xué)院示威。
———李洪志潛入北京的當(dāng)天，4月22日，在天津師大教育學(xué)院聚集的“法輪功”練習(xí)者達(dá)到2000多人?！胺ㄝ喒Α碧旖蚩傉驹俅闻扇说奖本┫蛲踔挝膮R報(bào)。王治文對這么多人去鬧表示“滿意”，并指示他們：“可以白天去，晚上撤?！?/p>
———李洪志潛入北京的第二天，4月23日，圍攻天津師大教育學(xué)院的人數(shù)從2000多人激增到6000多人。當(dāng)“法輪功”天津總站向王治文報(bào)告有關(guān)部門要?jiǎng)耠x非法聚集的“法輪功”練習(xí)者時(shí)，王治文說：“怕什么，這不正是考驗(yàn)嗎？”隨后，兩三千名“法輪功”練習(xí)者又到天津市委、市政府門前非法聚集。
天津的事件正隨著李洪志來到北京而升溫。但是，李洪志的目標(biāo)并不只是在天津鬧事，而是處心積慮地要把事態(tài)擴(kuò)大到北京，造成更大規(guī)模的社會震蕩。
密室策劃 擴(kuò)大事態(tài)
4月23日上午，李洪志把“法輪大法研究會”的核心骨干李昌、紀(jì)烈武等人召到他的住處，密謀策劃把天津的事情鬧大，把火燒到北京中南海。
李昌和紀(jì)烈武在會上說：“天津的事情不能找北京哪個(gè)部門，要找中央和國務(wù)院?！崩詈橹井?dāng)即說：“到北京去！”“要去中央，去國務(wù)院！”
李洪志強(qiáng)調(diào)：“人少了不行，要多去點(diǎn)。去年北京電視臺的事就是人去少了，要是去的人多，問題早就解決了?！蓖瑫r(shí)，李洪志還讓王治文跟外地打招呼：“人來得越多越好”，強(qiáng)調(diào)“這是最后一次機(jī)會了。”
李洪志在這次秘密會議上還為圍攻中南海的活動(dòng)制定了一個(gè)策略：不能用“法輪大法研究會”和輔導(dǎo)總站的名義去做這些事情，要把普通練習(xí)者推到鬧事的第一線。他要李昌、王治文、紀(jì)烈武等人去具體組織、落實(shí)。
“4·２5”非法聚集中南海的計(jì)劃，就這樣在李洪志親自密謀策劃后定了下來。
23日下午1時(shí)30分左右，在首都體育館南路1號院30門15號，現(xiàn)已定居加拿大的“法輪功”核心骨干葉浩的家里，李昌、紀(jì)烈武秉承李洪志的旨意，召開了具體部署“4·２5”非法聚集活動(dòng)的第一次會議。
李昌傳達(dá)了李洪志的決定，要求他們通知所有“法輪功”練習(xí)者，4月25日清晨到中南海聚集。他特別強(qiáng)調(diào)，“不單是解決天津問題,而且是弘法和護(hù)法”。為了落實(shí)這一計(jì)劃，他們還決定利用24日的“學(xué)法例會”，向“法輪功”北京總站各輔導(dǎo)站的負(fù)責(zé)人進(jìn)行布置。
會議還沒有結(jié)束，紀(jì)烈武就匆匆跑到李洪志住處，匯報(bào)計(jì)劃落實(shí)的情況和具體措施。李洪志對這次會議表示滿意。
23日晚，為了維護(hù)正常的社會秩序，天津市公安局對連續(xù)幾天圍攻天津師大教育學(xué)院的“法輪功”練習(xí)者采取了勸離措施?！胺ㄝ喒Α本毩?xí)者陸續(xù)離去。整個(gè)行動(dòng)很平和，公安局沒有抓一個(gè)人，也沒有發(fā)生其他任何問題。
天津“法輪功”練習(xí)者被勸離的消息傳到北京，當(dāng)晚22時(shí)左右，“法輪大法研究會”的骨干們又聚集在葉浩家召開了部署“4·２5”非法聚集活動(dòng)的第二次會議。會上，李昌、王治文造謠說：天津警察抓人了，聽說還死了人，還有人失蹤了。他們要求把這些謠言傳出去，為煽動(dòng)“法輪功”練習(xí)者大規(guī)模非法聚集中南海作輿論準(zhǔn)備。
會議還研究確定了去中南海向黨和政府施加壓力的三條無理要求：第一，要求公安機(jī)關(guān)立即放人；第二，給“法輪功”提供寬松的環(huán)境；第三，允許出版有關(guān)“法輪功”的書籍。
李洪志反復(fù)標(biāo)榜他“對政治不感興趣”，多次聲稱“‘法輪功’不涉及政治”，可他一方面建立組織，秘密串聯(lián)，四處滲透；一方面搖旗吶喊，造謠惑眾，策動(dòng)非法聚眾示威。從他們提出的這三條要求看，目的就在于把他們的非法組織合法化，任由他們發(fā)展，以便糾集、形成一股邪惡的政治勢力，與黨和政府進(jìn)行長期的抗衡。這不是政治又是什么呢！
越是陰謀，就越是害怕陽光。按照李洪志“不要暴露這次活動(dòng)是‘研究會’組織發(fā)動(dòng)的”這一要求，“法輪大法研究會”核心骨干密謀商定，“4·２5”行動(dòng)時(shí)李昌、王治文、紀(jì)烈武3人和北京總站負(fù)責(zé)人都不到中南?，F(xiàn)場，以免有的“法輪功”練習(xí)者認(rèn)出他們，看出他們的組織者身份。
李洪志在作了精心策劃、部署之后核心骨干們商定，北京這邊一動(dòng)，他就不宜留在北京，要趕快走，免得把自己暴露出來。為了掩蓋罪責(zé)，4月24日一早，李洪志匆匆收拾行李，在紀(jì)烈武的護(hù)送下趕往首都機(jī)場，買了10時(shí)20分飛往香港的CA111次航班的機(jī)票。但班機(jī)因機(jī)械故障不能準(zhǔn)點(diǎn)起飛，李洪志又改乘CA109次航班，于13時(shí)30分飛往香港。
就這樣，李洪志從22日晚上到24日上午，在北京停留44個(gè)小時(shí)。在這段時(shí)間里，他的全部心思都用在了策劃、組織“4·２5”非法聚集活動(dòng)上。他在悉尼對記者一本正經(jīng)地說什么“只在北京停留一天”、“沒與任何人接觸”等等，完全是一派胡言。
嚴(yán)密組織 惡意圍攻
李洪志匆匆溜走后，由他一手策劃的圍攻中南海行動(dòng)，在李昌、王治文、紀(jì)烈武等人的具體組織下，緊鑼密鼓地付諸實(shí)施。同時(shí)，他坐鎮(zhèn)香港，遙控指揮。
4月24日上午8時(shí)30分，在北京東城區(qū)藏經(jīng)館胡同7號，召開了“法輪功”北京總站及區(qū)縣輔導(dǎo)站骨干的“學(xué)法例會”。“學(xué)法例會”，顧名思義是為學(xué)習(xí)“法輪功”而定期舉行的會議，實(shí)際上是“法輪大法研究會”操縱“法輪功”練習(xí)者的一個(gè)重要組織形式。這次“學(xué)法例會”，就成了他們?yōu)椴渴稹?·２5”非法聚集活動(dòng)而舉行的第三次會議。
李昌、王治文在會上按照李洪志的要求，對“4·２5”行動(dòng)作了具體布置，確定去中南海聚集行動(dòng)的具體時(shí)間為4月25日清晨。為了掩蓋他們的政治陰謀，會上決定：在中南海聚集現(xiàn)場，各分站長要特別安排一些人負(fù)責(zé)安全、交通、秩序和衛(wèi)生，包括現(xiàn)場聯(lián)系，出現(xiàn)情況和問題要及時(shí)處理；并確定了聚集的策略，參加的練習(xí)者不喊口號、不帶標(biāo)語、不撒傳單、不要有過激言辭，對外不用“研究會”和輔導(dǎo)站的名義。會上還決定，“法輪功”北京總站副站長劉志春負(fù)責(zé)通知北京各區(qū)縣，王治文負(fù)責(zé)通知外地。
會上傳達(dá)了李洪志為了把練習(xí)者們哄騙到這次行動(dòng)中來編出的一套說詞：為了“護(hù)法”，要站出來求得一個(gè)“圓滿”。同時(shí)要求通過各區(qū)縣分站把這個(gè)意思告訴練習(xí)者：為大法修煉爭取寬松環(huán)境，這本身也是“弘法”和“護(hù)法”，大家要自覺參與到“弘法”和“護(hù)法”中來；參加聚集行動(dòng)是個(gè)人自愿、個(gè)人行為、個(gè)人負(fù)責(zé)。
就這樣，李洪志一方面利用“師父”、“老師”的身份讓“法輪功”練習(xí)者按照他的圖謀行動(dòng)；一方面又竭力避免把他自己和他的一套組織暴露出來。
4月24日下午，李昌、紀(jì)烈武等“法輪大法研究會”的核心骨干及北京“法輪功”總站負(fù)責(zé)人，在葉浩家召開了部署“4·２5”非法聚集活動(dòng)的第四次會議。
李昌繼續(xù)抬出李洪志為大家打氣。他說：“師傅說這種事情是最后一次了，再也不會有什么機(jī)會了。”
這次會議進(jìn)一步明確了“4·２5”行動(dòng)現(xiàn)場指揮的組織分工：李昌、紀(jì)烈武負(fù)責(zé)全面指揮，王治文負(fù)責(zé)與外地聯(lián)絡(luò)，劉志春負(fù)責(zé)與北京各區(qū)縣聯(lián)絡(luò)，姚潔負(fù)責(zé)與現(xiàn)場聯(lián)絡(luò)，劉樹人負(fù)責(zé)通過互聯(lián)網(wǎng)對外發(fā)表宣傳稿件。會議還決定，在二七劇場附近的姚潔家設(shè)立“指揮部”，在民族宮附近柯明家設(shè)立現(xiàn)場聯(lián)絡(luò)點(diǎn)，派陳東月、李月秋等在中南海現(xiàn)場了解情況，及時(shí)向“指揮部”報(bào)告。最后，李昌反復(fù)強(qiáng)調(diào)總站以上負(fù)責(zé)人均不到中南海聚集現(xiàn)場。
根據(jù)會議的分工，王治文以“法輪大法研究會”的名義，向河北、山東、遼寧、天津、內(nèi)蒙古等地的“法輪功”負(fù)責(zé)人打出一系列電話，要求他們組織“法輪功”練習(xí)者于4月25日晨到北京中南海府右街“護(hù)法”。
李洪志的意圖，很快傳達(dá)給“法輪功”各總站站長，各總站站長又逐級傳達(dá)給各分站、輔導(dǎo)站以及練功者。至此，“4·２5”行動(dòng)的準(zhǔn)備工作全部就緒。李洪志及其“法輪功”組織開始向黨和政府發(fā)難了。
4月24日21時(shí)40分，中南海北門出現(xiàn)了第一批約40名“法輪功”練習(xí)者。
25日凌晨3時(shí)07分，北海附近出現(xiàn)來自河北的十幾輛大客車，客車上的人陸續(xù)在附近地下通道內(nèi)集中。
3時(shí)30分，另一部分人在護(hù)城河邊匯集。
5時(shí)13分，大批“法輪功”練習(xí)者開始從北海公園正門向西行進(jìn)；另一批人從胡同中走向府右街。
6時(shí)55分，府右街出現(xiàn)大批行進(jìn)人群。
7時(shí)，中南海西門府右街一帶已形成靜坐場面。
這以后，聚集的人繼續(xù)增多。至25日上午，人數(shù)已達(dá)1萬余人。眾多善良的“法輪功”練習(xí)者，在李洪志的蒙騙和煽動(dòng)下，為了“長功”，為了“消業(yè)”，為了“圓滿”，為了尋找一個(gè)好“氣場”，來到中南海非法聚集。
4月25日上午8時(shí)，記者在事發(fā)現(xiàn)場看到，中南海北門路對面，自東向西一直到府右街北口，便道上站滿“法輪功”練習(xí)者。記者詢問其中一些人：“你們這是在做什么？”來自北京遠(yuǎn)郊縣的一名婦女說，要在這里練功。記者問道：“這哪里是練功的地方？為什么要到這里來練功？”這名婦女無言以對。下午，非法聚集人數(shù)逐漸增多。18時(shí)左右，人群已排列到北海公園前門團(tuán)城下。此時(shí)，府右街的交通中斷，非法聚集嚴(yán)重影響了周圍地區(qū)的社會秩序。
根據(jù)事先的安排，25日清晨，李昌、王治文、紀(jì)烈武、劉志春等20多人陸續(xù)來到在姚潔家設(shè)立的“指揮部”，頻繁地與中南海聚集現(xiàn)場聯(lián)系，不斷發(fā)布命令，進(jìn)行指揮。
當(dāng)日早上，中辦、國辦信訪局的工作人員約見了現(xiàn)場“法輪功”練習(xí)者的代表，明確指出“法輪功”練習(xí)者圍聚中南海是錯(cuò)誤的、非法的，應(yīng)立即撤離，并作了大量教育工作。9時(shí)許，“法輪功”現(xiàn)場人員向“指揮部”報(bào)告說，4名代表進(jìn)了中南?！皩υ挕?，但進(jìn)去的人對為什么要搞這次活動(dòng)說不清楚，又換了4個(gè)人進(jìn)去，兩撥人都說不清楚，要求“法輪大法研究會”和北京總站派能說清楚的人去談。經(jīng)李昌、王治文、紀(jì)烈武等人商量，并請示了在香港的李洪志同意后，決定由原來不準(zhǔn)備露面的李昌、王治文等5人作為代表進(jìn)中南海“對話”。
遙控指揮 圖謀難逞
4月25日，躲在香港的李洪志又在做什么呢？
事實(shí)上，李洪志在香港的住所內(nèi)，一刻也沒有閑著。25日一大早，他就打來電話向“法輪大法研究會”核心骨干了解聚集中南海的情況。在整個(gè)事件過程中，他始終緊張地與北京的“指揮部”保持著“熱線”聯(lián)系，不斷下達(dá)指示，遙控指揮現(xiàn)場活動(dòng)。北京“指揮部”也不斷給李洪志打電話匯報(bào)、請示。25日當(dāng)天，他們頻繁來往電話20多次。在通話中，他多次要求“讓外地人多來些，再多來些?！?/p>
紀(jì)烈武將現(xiàn)場情況和有關(guān)問題及時(shí)報(bào)告李洪志。當(dāng)現(xiàn)場聚集一萬多人時(shí)，紀(jì)烈武打電話告訴了李洪志。李洪志說：“好，外地學(xué)員多不多？”在兩撥代表進(jìn)中南?！皩υ挕焙?，紀(jì)烈武也都及時(shí)向李洪志作了報(bào)告，李洪志說“行”。當(dāng)中辦、國辦信訪局提出讓“法輪大法研究會”和“法輪功”北京總站派人來談時(shí)，紀(jì)烈武立即請示李洪志，李洪志答復(fù)說:“找你談，你干嘛不去?！?/p>
李昌、王治文、郝嘉鳳、周德承、劉樹人等“法輪大法研究會”的5名代表，與有關(guān)方面負(fù)責(zé)人無理糾纏長達(dá)八九個(gè)小時(shí)。在此期間，遠(yuǎn)在香港的李洪志多次催問向中央施壓的結(jié)果。在沒有得到李洪志的指令之前，中南海周圍非法聚集的人群仍沒有散去的跡象。
當(dāng)北京市政府發(fā)布通告要求聚集者離開時(shí)，紀(jì)烈武立即報(bào)告李洪志，并請示聚集在中南海附近的人撤不撤。李洪志問：代表出來沒有？紀(jì)烈武回答說，還沒有。李洪志明確表示不能撤。
21時(shí)左右，李昌、王治文等人出來后，紀(jì)烈武再次報(bào)告李洪志。李洪志問：談得怎么樣？紀(jì)烈武說：“明天還要接著談?！庇捎谥修k、國辦信訪局負(fù)責(zé)人嚴(yán)厲要求“法輪功”練習(xí)者立即停止非法聚集，他們請示李洪志當(dāng)晚是否撤離，李洪志說：“老李(李昌)讓走就走吧。”紀(jì)烈武接到這一指令，通知“指揮部”，“讓大家都撤”。
李洪志一手策劃、指揮的“4·２5”非法聚集圍攻中南海事件就這樣宣告收場。
4月26日清晨6時(shí)左右，當(dāng)李洪志了解到李昌等人并沒有見到中央領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，就給紀(jì)烈武打來電話質(zhì)問道：“昨天沒有見到中央領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，李昌怎么就讓大家撤了？”為此，他大為惱火，責(zé)怪為什么沒有談出個(gè)結(jié)果來。
8時(shí)左右，李昌、紀(jì)烈武等人陸續(xù)來到姚潔家。紀(jì)烈武說：昨天不該撤，師父還以為見到中央領(lǐng)導(dǎo)了，情況沒有搞清楚。李洪志還要他以“師父”的名義通知外地“法輪功”練習(xí)者繼續(xù)來京，要大家再去中南海，人越多越好。紀(jì)烈武還叫囂：“修煉的人什么也不怕，不怕死；必要時(shí)還是要流點(diǎn)血，流血才好呢！”
紀(jì)烈武的話，清楚地表明了李洪志的險(xiǎn)惡用心，他就是要把萬余名“法輪功”練習(xí)者作為棋子，妄圖把中國安定團(tuán)結(jié)的局面搞亂，以達(dá)到他不可告人的政治目的。
隨著事件真相的不斷披露，人們越來越清醒地認(rèn)識到，“4·２5”大規(guī)模非法聚集事件完全是一起有目的、有預(yù)謀、有組織、有策略地向黨和政府示威施壓、企圖搞亂全國的重大政治事件。
盡管4月25日當(dāng)天李洪志不在北京，但他卻在中國的土地上操縱、指揮著“法輪功”練習(xí)者圍攻中南海的非法聚集事件。直至26日下午，紀(jì)烈武趕到香港，當(dāng)面向李洪志詳細(xì)匯報(bào)了圍攻中南海的全部經(jīng)過后，李洪志才搭乘國泰航空公司CX103次航班飛往澳大利亞布里斯班。
從指責(zé)圍攻北京電視臺的人太少，到?jīng)Q定把天津的事情鬧大，并把火燒到北京來；從確定4月25日在北京發(fā)難，到?jīng)Q定圍攻中南海，直接向黨中央、國務(wù)院示威施壓；從決定不以“法輪大法研究會”的名義出面，而把不明真相的“法輪功”練習(xí)者推向前臺，到?jīng)Q定派出代表到中南海向黨中央、國務(wù)院提出三條無理要求；從對事件現(xiàn)場的遙控指揮，到?jīng)Q定事件的最終收場等大量事實(shí)充分證明，這一切都是李洪志親自策劃、指揮的。
李洪志的險(xiǎn)惡陰謀徹底破滅了。但他苦心策劃、指揮的“4·２5”非法聚集事件選在春夏之交，大有深意；地點(diǎn)定在中南海，居心險(xiǎn)惡。這一切與國外敵對勢力掀起的反華濁流遙相呼應(yīng)，干了他們想干而干不了的事。
“蚍蜉撼大樹，可笑不自量”。這個(gè)自稱能洞悉宇宙奧秘的李洪志，錯(cuò)誤地判斷了形勢，高估了自己的力量，到頭來只能是搬起石頭砸自己的腳，被押上歷史的審判臺。
2001年3月8日 08:57
Li's key role in meet unmasked
A LENGTHY report by the People's Daily and Xinhua News Agency on Thursday reviewed the entire story of the illegal gathering at Zhongnanhai by practitioners on April 25, and unveiled Li Hongzhi's behind-the-scenes scheme.
On April 25, more than 10,000 people systematically gathered around Zhongnanhai, headquarters of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council.
This large-scale illegal gathering seriously disturbed the normal work of the top organizations of the Party and the State, disrupted social order in the capital Beijing, and was the most serious political incident since the 1989 political turmoil, and had an extremely bad impact at home and abroad.
The whole truth now has come out: the chief figure who directly plotted and controlled the incident was Li Hongzhi, the ringleader of the cult.
Li, who frequently gave media interviews abroad, however, lied at the beginning when he said he knew nothing about the April 25 illegal gathering, since he was en route from the United States to Australia at that time.
Faced with evidence of his stay in Beijing, Li had to correct himself, saying that he was in Beijing changing flights and did not leave the airport. When more evidence came out, Li again corrected himself and said he had been in Beijing for one day, but had "contacted nobody."
Li Hongzhi's lies have been laid bare by the facts, one after another. His crimes and schemes hidden behind these lies are now exposed to the public.
Li arrived in Beijing on April 22 from New York aboard US Northwest Airlines Flight NW087, and identified himself as a business person on his entry registration card. As a matter of fact, Li engaged in no commercial activities in Beijing up to the time he left for Hong Kong on Air China Flight CA109 on April 24. He actually stayed in Beijing for 44 hours, not one day as he claimed.
Li's return to Beijing was well planned. He notified Ji Liewu, a key member of the Research Society of Falun Dafa, in advance. As soon as Li returned to his Beijing residence in Chongwen District, Ji came to report the circumstances about practitioners besieging Tianjin Normal University.
Li's eagerness to learn about the siege shows, that from the very beginning, he wanted to plot an even larger incident out of the Tianjin gathering.
A magazine sponsored by Tianjin Normal University published an article on Qigong written by He Zuoxiu, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in early April.
He expounded his ideas on Qigong, questioning a piece of Falun Gong propaganda which claimed that after practising Falun Gong, an engineer was able to go into a working steel-smelting furnace and see with his own eyes the chemical changes occurring at the atomic and molecular level.
He also told what happened to a student with whom he was working at the CAS Institute of Theoretical Physics, to expose Falun Gong's evils.
The student had to be sent to a mental facility twice after refusing to eat, drink, or sleep, or speak to anyone after practising Falun Gong.
Leaders of Falun Gong including Li Hongzhi saw the limited circulation of the magazine in which He's article was published as an opportunity to make trouble.
On April 19, a massive number of Falun Gong practitioners burst into Tianjin Normal University, staging a sit-in demonstration, and completely disrupting the normal teaching and living activities at the university.
In May 1998, Beijing Television Station was besieged for several days by more than 1,000 Falun Gong practitioners because the station broadcast a programme unfavourable to Falun Gong.
Li Hongzhi, however, was not content with the turmoil he stirred up, and considered his actions up to then to be not influential enough. He even dismissed a leader of the Beijing branch, a branch of the Research Society of Falun Dafa, for not obeying his orders.
Li Hongzhi decided to make use of the event at Tianjin Normal University to cause a big storm. The Research Society of Falun Dafa, manipulated by Li Hongzhi, then enlarged the entire scenario, as Li expected.
On April 21, one day before Li Hongzhi sneaked into Beijing from the United States, Wang Zhiwen, deputy head of the society, incited the Tianjin branch to lodge a protest at Tianjin Normal University.
On April 22, when Li Hongzhi arrived in Beijing, over 2,000 practitioners took part in the gathering. Wang Zhiwen was satisfied with the situation and notified leaders of the Tianjin branch that practitioners could gather during the day and disperse at night.
On April 23, the second day Li spent in Beijing, practitioners at Tianjin Normal University proliferated to more than 6,000 from the original 2,000.
When the Tianjin branch prepared to ask the practitioners to leave on learning that the gathering would be stopped by the authorities, Wang Zhiwen, however, said the practitioners should not be afraid and should take it as a test. Another 2,000 to 3,000 people then gathered in front of the Tianjin Municipal People's Government.
The situation in Tianjin was getting worse as Li arrived in Beijing. But what Li deliberately planned was to cause social unrest on a larger scale, and Beijing became his next target.
On the morning of April 23, at his Beijing residence, Li Hongzhi called together several core members, including Li Chang and Ji Liewu, and agreed with them that the followers should "go to the central government, go to the State Council." He also asked to have more people drawn to Beijing. "The more, the better," he said, stressing that "this will be the last chance."
At this secret meeting, Li worked out a strategy for the massing around Zhongnanhai. The gathering could not be accomplished in the name of the Research Society of Falun Dafa and its branches, and ordinary practitioners should be pushed to the front line.
The April 25 illegal gathering was thus designed by Li Hongzhi and arranged and carried out by his key followers step by step.
On the afternoon of the same day, Li Chang, Ji Liewu and Ye Hao, another key member of Falun Gong organizations who now lives in Canada, held the first meeting to plot the April 25 illegal gathering in detail.
Li Chang related Li Hongzhi's decision on the Zhongnanhai massing. He asked Ji and Ye to inform all practitioners to get together outside Zhongnanhai early on the morning of April 25, to "not only solve the Tianjin problem, but also safeguard Falun Gong."
They also decided to tell leaders of the Beijing branch what to do at a routine meeting on April 24.
Before the meeting was over, Ji Liewu rushed to report the implementation plan to Li Hongzhi, who expressed his satisfaction with this preparatory meeting.
On the evening of April 23, practitioners in Tianjin abandoned their illegal besieging of Tianjin Normal University at the persuasion of local police. No one was detained and the retreat was peaceful.
When the news reached Beijing, Li Chang, Wang Zhiwen and some key members of the society held a meeting in Beijing at 10: 00 pm, in which they spread rumours that police in Tianjin had arrested some local Falun Gong leaders and practitioners, and that some were killed and others missing. Those rumours were intended to mobilize a large-scale illegal gathering near the Zhongnanhai compound.
At the meeting, they also decided to put forward three demands to the central government during the planned besieging of Zhongnanhai: first, those detained in Tianjin by the police be freed immediately; a more favourable and friendly environment be provided for the practice of Falun Gong; and Falun Gong publications be allowed.
Li Hongzhi repeatedly said he is "uninterested in political activities" and that "Falun Gong is not engaged in any form of politics." In fact, he had been actively and secretly planning to expand the illegal organization and penetrate its influence into every corner of society.
Their three demands to the central government were signs they were trying to legalize their illegal organization and activities, so as to challenge and rival the Party and the government.
In order to conceal the Falun Dafa Research Society as the organizer of the illegal gathering, (as Li Hongzhi had ordered), the key figures of the Society decided they would stay away from the gathering site for fear of being recognized by practitioners.
After these careful plots and arrangements, the key figures of the society said Li Hongzhi should not stay in Beijing during this time of action, but "must get out of here right away."
On the morning of April 24, Li purchased a ticket for Air China Flight CA111 at the airport to fly to Hong Kong. But because of the flight's delay, he changed to Flight CA109 for Hong Kong, and departed at 1:30 pm.
Li Hongzhi came to China in the capacity of a businessman, but devoted his 44-hour stay here totally to the planning and conspiring of the illegal gathering near Zhongnanhai. His claim to journalists in Sydney that he stayed in Beijing just for one day and never contacted anybody was a lie.
After Li Hongzhi fled out of Beijing, his key followers, including Li Chang and Wang Zhiwen, were left with the responsibility of implementing all his plans.
At 8:30 am on April 24, a "regular meeting for studying Falun Dafa" was held by the leaders of the Beijing general branch of the society and sub-branches in counties and districts in Beijing at the address 7 Cangjingguan Lane, in eastern Beijing.
Li and Wang said at the meeting that the date for the illegal gathering near Zhongnanhai compound would be April 25. The leaders of sub-branches were assigned the tasks of security, transportation, order and sanitary matters at the gathering site.
They set the strategy for the illegal gathering as "no slogans, no banners, no flyers, no fierce verbal attacks and no revelation of the organizer _ the Falun Dafa Research Society."
Deputy-director of the general branch in Beijing Liu Zhichun was told to inform all the sub-branches in Beijing, while Wang Zhiwen was responsible for the areas outside Beijing.
An announcement created by Li Hongzhi himself was also made during the meeting to coax practitioners out onto the streets. It was: everyone should stand up to fulfil their dues for the protection of Falun Dafa, and their actions should be individually voluntary.
It is evident Li was taking advantage of his capacity as "tutor" and "master" to realize his own political ambitions, and at the same time attempting to prevent his organization's illegal nature from being exposed.
On the afternoon of April 24, the Falun Dafa Research Society and its Beijing General Branch convened another meeting of key figures to further mobilize practitioners for the next day's move.
They set up "command headquarters" and a liaison centre, designated two persons responsible for communications between the gathering site and the headquarters, and another responsible for propaganda to be published on the Internet.
Li Chang further stressed that leaders above the level of general branches must refrain from appearing at the gathering site to avoid being recognized by practitioners.
Afterwards, Wang Zhiwen made numerous calls to local leaders in the provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Liaoning and the city of Tianjin, asking them to organize followers to go to the Zhongnanhai compound on the morning of April 25 to "protect Falun Dafa."
Now, "all the preparations for the April 25 action were ready," as Li Chang admitted later.
Later, everything went on just as planned by Li Hongzhi.
_ The first group of practitioners arrived at the northern gate of the Zhongnanhai compound as early as 9:40 pm on April 24;
_ In the small hours of April 25, at 3:07 am, passenger buses from nearby Hebei Province also arrived, and people began to disembark. At 3:30 am, another group of practitioners gathered at the moat near Zhongnanhai;
_ At 5:13 am, a large group of practitioners appeared at the gate of Beihai Park and walked westward; and at 5:34 am, many practitioners started to appear from lanes;
_ And by 7:00 am, a large-scale sit-in had been formed at the western gate of Zhongnanhai.
The size of the sit-in kept growing, and exceeded 10,000 by later that morning.
At 8:00 am, Xinhua reporters arrived at the site where the streets were full of practitioners, most being the elderly, women and farmers from the countryside.
When questioned, a woman farmer from Beijing's outskirts said they were practising Falun Gong, but refused to answer why they were doing it near Zhongnanhai.
The practitioners kept coming in the afternoon, and pedestrian traffic on the street in front of the western gate of Zhongnanhai was totally blocked, and transportation on Chang'an Avenue also was seriously affected.
According to previous arrangements, Li Chang, Wang Zhiwen, Ji Liewu and some 20 other key figures gathered at the "command headquarters" at Yao Jie's home. At 9:00 am, the "headquarters" received reports from the sit-in site that four representatives were sent to talk with the central government, but failed to give clear reasons for the gathering.
Members at the sit-in site requested capable people from the Falun Dafa research society or its Beijing general branch to come out for the "dialogue."
Finally, Li Chang and Wang Zhiwen decided to come out of the closet, and headed a five-member "delegation" to the Zhongnanhai compound for "dialogue."
Li Hongzhi, then in Hong Kong, was by no means inactive. He was in close touch with the Beijing "headquarters," hearing reports and issuing orders. Evidence shows that over 20 calls were made between Li and the "headquarters" on April 25, and that all the actions in Beijing were taken after being directed by Li Hongzhi.
When Ji Liewu informed Li Hong zhi that about 10,000 people had already gathered at the sit-in site, Li asked, "Are there many practitioners from outside Beijing?"
When he was told that the first two groups of "negotiators" were sent to Zhongnanhai, Li said, "All right."
Li also asked Ji, "Why don't you go to Zhongnanhai now that they (the government) want to talk with you?"
The Beijing Municipal Government issued a decree demanding that the demonstrators leave. Li Hongzhi told Ji that they should still wait until the "negotiators" came out. The five "negotiators" headed by Li Chang pestered the Letters and Calls Bureau of the State Council for nearly nine hours.
When the "negotiators" all came out, Li asked how it was going. Ji answered that the talks would continue the next day. Then, Li said the practitioners besieging Zhongnanhai may leave.
At around 6:00 am on April 26, when Li came to know his " negotiators" were not talking with leaders of the central government, he called Ji Liewu to furiously blame Li Chang for calling off the sit-in before talking to top officials.
With pieces of evidence coming together, it is now known that the April 25 illegal gathering at Zhongnanhai was a premeditated and well-organized political incident aimed at exerting pressure on the Party and the government and unsettling the country.
Evidence shows that Li Hongzhi was the behind-the-scenes chief organizer of all illegal activities, from the attacks on the Beijing TV Station, the escalation of the sit-in demonstration in Tianjin and to the April 25 illegal gathering in Beijing.
However, the man who claims to possess supernatural powers has overestimated his own power. He is no more than a flea trying vainly to topple an elephant, and he will be tried by history.
(Xinhua, August 14, 1999)