Austin, TX — Texas State Senator Angela Paxton spoke at a rally on April 24 at the State Capitol commemorating the 26th anniversary of the April 25 peaceful appeal by Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing. Organized by local Falun Dafa adherents, the event spotlighted ongoing human rights abuses in China and celebrated Texas’s legislative efforts to confront them.
Paxton, a leading voice in the fight against forced organ harvesting, recalled meeting constituents who shared harrowing stories of persecution in China, including arrest, torture, and organ removal. “It’s unthinkable that such brutality exists,” she told the crowd. “But it does — and that’s why we must speak out.”
Those conversations led Paxton to champion key legislation, including Senate Concurrent Resolution 3, condemning involuntary organ harvesting, and Senate Bill 1040, which made Texas the first U.S. state to outlaw the trade of organs obtained through coercion.
“This legislation is a model for the nation,” she said, crediting the Falun Gong community for their courage and persistence. Her remarks drew applause from attendees, including Chinese and Western practitioners who had faced persecution themselves.
Following the event, Paxton reaffirmed her stance on social media: “I am honored to stand with Falun Gong practitioners. Texas will not be silent.”
Remembering April 25
The peaceful 1999 gathering of 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners in Beijing — later mischaracterized by the Chinese Communist Party as a threat — marked a turning point that led to decades of repression. Practitioners in Texas and around the world continue to commemorate the date and call for an end to the persecution.
The Austin rally included meditation demonstrations and personal testimony. Speakers like Yao Yanhui, who survived imprisonment and torture, and Keith Ware, who once protested in Tiananmen Square, shared their stories and thanked Paxton for her support.
“We’re not asking for money or power,” said Ware. “We’re asking the world to see this injustice. And Senator Paxton has done just that.”
