On the morning of April 23, Li Hongzhi summoned core figures of the Falun Dafa Research Society, including Li Chang and Ji Liewu, to his residence at No.16, Fahuasi Residential Community, Chongwen District, Beijing, where they secretly plotted to escalate the Tianjin incident and bring the fire to Beijing.
Falun Gong core members Li Chang and Ji Liewu stated, "The Tianjin matter cannot be resolved by seeking out any municipal department in Beijing; we must go to the Central Committee and the State Council." Li Hongzhi immediately ordered, "Go to Beijing!" "Go to the Central Committee, go to the State Council!"
At this secret meeting, Li Hongzhi also formulated a strategy for the siege of Zhongnanhai: they must not act in the name of the Falun Dafa Research Society or the general instruction stations. Instead, ordinary practitioners were to be pushed to the front lines of the disturbance. He tasked Li Chang, Wang Zhiwen, Ji Liewu, and others with the specific organization and execution of this plan.
Thus, the plan to unlawfully assemble at Zhongnanhai on April 25 was finalized following Li Hongzhi's personal orchestration.
Li Hongzhi's residence at No. 16, Fahuasi Residential Community, Chongwen District, Beijing
On April 23, Li Chang chaired a meeting to brief on the Tianjin incident, stating that "the Tianjin matter has directly affected Beijing, and Beijing must react as quickly as possible by organizing a petition to the State Council," and that this was "not just about resolving the Tianjin issue, but about propagating and defending the Fa." The meeting also conveyed Li Hongzhi's directives and established the overall arrangement for the assembly: First, the date for the Zhongnanhai siege was set for April 25, along with three objectives for the action; Second, the assembly point would be the northwest gate of Zhongnanhai on Fuyou Street; Third, thorough preparations were needed to ensure a massive turnout; Fourth, the action was not to be conducted in the name of the Research Society or instruction stations—practitioners should be informed of the Tianjin situation so they would volunteer to go, with individuals taking responsibility for their personal actions; Fifth, designated personnel would be responsible for on-site safety, order, and traffic; Sixth, these arrangements were to be assigned at the routine Fa-study meeting at the Beijing general station in Lama Temple (Yonghegong) on the 24th. Concurrently, it was decided that the Beijing general station would send personnel to Tianjin to assess the situation. Upon hearing the briefing, Li Hongzhi expressed his approval of the meeting's proceedings and contents.
After meticulously planning and deploying the operation, they agreed that once Beijing was in motion, it would be unwise for Li Hongzhi to remain in the city; he needed to leave swiftly to avoid exposing himself. To cover up his culpability, Li Hongzhi hurriedly packed his luggage early on the morning of April 24 and, escorted by Ji Liewu, rushed to the Capital Airport, purchasing a ticket for flight CA111 departing for Hong Kong at 10:20 a.m. Due to a mechanical failure, the flight was delayed, so Li switched to flight CA109, flying to Hong Kong at 1:30 p.m.
Li Hongzhi's Exit Registration Card
Consequently, Li Hongzhi stayed in Beijing for 44 hours from the evening of the 22nd to the morning of the 24th. During this time, he devoted all his energy to planning and organizing the "April 25" unlawful assembly. His earnest declarations to reporters in Sydney—claiming he "only stayed in Beijing for one day" and "had no contact with anyone"—were utter nonsense.
After Li Hongzhi slipped away, the siege of Zhongnanhai that he single-handedly planned was put into intense implementation under the specific organization of Falun Gong's core members. Meanwhile, he sat in Hong Kong, exercising remote command over the operation.
On April 24, the Falun Dafa Research Society held a routine Fa-study meeting for the heads of the Beijing general and branch stations, mobilizing and deploying them for the April 25 assembly at Zhongnanhai. The specific time was set for the morning of April 25. Beijing's Falun Gong organizations were required to coordinate with the Tianjin action and organize practitioners to go to Zhongnanhai to demand a resolution from the State Council. The exact time for the assembly was announced, along with several precautions based on Li Hongzhi's directives: First, the gathering was not to be organized in the name of the Research Society or instruction stations; Second, practitioners' participation in the "April 25" action was entirely voluntary, an individual act for which they bore personal responsibility; Third, there were to be no slogans shouted, no banners displayed, no flyers distributed, and no extreme language used; Fourth, designated personnel were to oversee on-site safety, traffic, order, and sanitation; Fifth, prevention measures were needed against anyone causing trouble on site. A specific operational plan was drafted, including on-site communication methods and protocols for resolving potential issues.
According to the deployment of the Falun Dafa Research Society, Wang Zhiwen used his home and mobile phones to make over 20 calls to Falun Gong leaders in Hebei, Shandong, Liaoning, Tianjin, and other regions. Gao Qiuju, the head of the Dalian general station who was in Beijing at the time, also called to notify practitioners in the three northeastern provinces. Thus, the "April 25" action orchestrated by Li Hongzhi spread rapidly by word of mouth to every instruction station, practice site, and practitioner. Starting at 8:00 p.m. on April 24, Falun Gong practitioners from Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Jilin, Heilongjiang, and other regions began converging on Zhongnanhai in Beijing.
