(Clearwisdom.net) The news of Ding Lihong's death came leaving me in shock and disbelief. His continuously smiling, peaceful and kind face still remain with us. He always carried himself with a serene calmness, and his peaceful demeanor still lingers in our memories. His righteous thoughts and belief in Dafa and Teacher were always strong and steadfast. He once said to me: "I would never ever betray Dafa or Teacher." He said this with the great determination of a Buddha. He also said: "Oneself does not exist, everything is given to us by Dafa, the existence of oneself can only be found during the process of safeguarding Dafa." The following are some of his stories during his journey to assist Teacher in the Fa Rectification.

Ding Lihong went to Beijing to appeal four times and was illegally imprisoned numerous times.

On December 8, 1999, Ding Lihong went to Beijing to appeal for the second time. Many policemen staged layers of blockades outside the appeal office, and many practitioners were detained before they even got into the appeal office. However, he was able to go inside the appeal office, filled out the form and lodged his appeal. After his return, he was detained in the Beijiao Detention Center in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province. At that time, the police confiscated a copy of Zhuan Falun. As a result, all the detained Dafa practitioners went on a hunger strike. Shocked and dismayed, the authorities hurriedly transferred all the detained practitioners to different detention centers in other counties. Ding Lihong was sent to the Shenze County Detention Center for the remainder of his term. Later he told others that holding a hunger strike was very painful, and it was the righteous belief in Dafa that had sustained him.

On February 4, 2000, his physical condition had not recovered from the hunger strike, and he and his wife (also Dafa practitioner) wanted to join the group exercise practice. His parents knew of their plans and tried to prevent them from going. They were able to get out of the building and into a taxi, heading towards the practice site. Later, he was illegally arrested by the police for "planning a group practice", and was detained 15 days in Gaocheng County. At that time his steadfast righteous thoughts stopped the evil from bothering him, and the persecutors did not even interrogate him.

In March 2000 during the "two conferences" [the National People's Delegation Conference and the Political Consultant Conference] period, he was illegally detained by his work unit (Shiziazhuang Railroad Engineering Section) for 15 days and had his job taken away. He was a train operator, but they then assigned him to be a janitor. They also withheld six months salary from him. Once, they only paid him three Yuan and thirty-five cents [Chinese currency, the monthly salary for an average Chinese urban worker is about 500 Yuan] as his salary, yet he still worked diligently and made no complaints.

On May 13, 2000, he went to Tiananmen Square and did the sitting meditation. There was a vicious person nearby who reported him and shouted out "Falun Gong!" Unexpectedly, several plainclothes and uniformed policemen rushed over and started to beat up the person who was trying to report Ding Lihong. Only after some time passed did they realize their mistake. Later, Lihong's work unit took him back, and he was illegally detained in Yudong Detention Center in Shijiazhuang City for 13 days. The police ransacked his house and extorted 1500 Yuan from him. His work unit then detained him for another 10 days.

On July 20, 2000, he went to Tiananmen Square again and shouted "Falun Dafa is good" under the national flag. This time he was detained for 15 days in Yudong Detention Center.

From September of 2000 to the date that he was persecuted to death, he had done a great deal of truth clarifying work.

At the end of August 2000, Lihong was kidnapped while walking on the street by the police, and he refused to tell them his name. In order to resist the persecution, he was on a hunger strike all the time. The police tried to persuade him to take some food, but he said: "The life of a practitioner is very precious, and we cherish it very much. However, I definitely would not eat here. I am totally resisting this illegal arrest." He clarified the truth to the police all the way until the day before his release. He had not taken any food or water for over 28 days. At the end the prisoners respected him very much. There was a policeman who had never given any of his food to a prisoner, but he wanted to give Lihong the best food that he had. Later, when Ding Lihong shared his experience with practitioners, he calmly said: "When you only think about yourself, it is a kind of hardship; however, when you think of Dafa, this is magnificent."

During the Chinese New Year of 2002, the leader of his unit said: "His work is impeccable, and his attitude is excellent." However, they still forcibly kidnapped such a good person to the brainwashing center. The minute he was in the brainwashing center, he said: "I will cultivate to the end and there is no way you can change me." The two months of cruel and unbearable torture could not change him. His righteous thoughts and belief in Dafa was so strong and steadfast. He said, "I have never thought that I could not bear the hardship, and I would never betray Teacher and Dafa." The following article has more details on the events surrounding Ding Lihongs death: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2003/1/12/30798.html.

He seldom shed tears, but he cried when he saw those practitioners who had betrayed Dafa. He talked to them with tears in his eyes. Later, he said: "I have done my best to help them to awaken."

In the brainwashing class, he firmly believed that he could escape, and the 12-foot wall and iron gate meant nothing to him. Although there were 2 people following him closely 24 hours a day, he was able to break away from them and several times left the building. When things didn't have a good outcome, he would come back and look inside to find his shortcomings. During his final attempt to leave the camp, his heart was very pure. When he came to the side of the wall, he thought, "I am steadfast in my belief of Dafa and I should have this ability. Teacher, please help me." When he calmed his heart and stepped up to the three-foot tall platform, he was able to jump over the 12 foot wall, without even getting dirt on his clothes. He then got into a taxi and rejoined the Fa rectification efforts. Later, he told a practitioner that if he had not been able to escape, he would have continued on his hunger strike no matter what.

After he got out from brainwashing class on April 27, 2002, he continued to clarify the truth and do Dafa work. During that period of time, some practitioners who had left their homes to avoid persecution were caught by police one by one. He suggested to some practitioners that they should move their material sites. He said: "This is being responsible to the Fa, and it is not a matter of trust between practitioners." There was a material site that most likely had been closely watched. So, using their wisdom and righteous thoughts, he and the other practitioners were able to move out all the equipment and materials. This avoided a potentially huge loss.

Due to cruel torture and intense brainwashing, some practitioners could not endure and finally betrayed other practitioners. So practitioners became very cautious toward those who had gone astray and were released from the brainwashing class. Some practitioners even avoided any contact with them. However, whenever possible Lihong would go to help them. Whenever they needed him, he would use his wisdom to help them, even when it was quite dangerous. He said: "I cannot abandon my fellow practitioners just to protect myself." He would lend his help to non-practitioners and practitioners alike whenever possible. His colleagues were all happy to work with him, as he always thought of others first. Based on the Fa, he also did his best to help fellow practitioners without lecturing them. When practitioners fell he would help them to stand up; when practitioners could not pass their tribulation, he would help them to become steadfast. Many practitioners trusted him and liked to discuss their problems with him.

In late October of 2002, some practitioners in Shanxi Province were being kidnapped. Ding Lihong heard that some practitioners had not moved their material site. He was very concerned and went to Shanxi. He never returned.

Later we heard the news that he died while illegally held in detention. He did not leave anything behind except a wish that had not been fulfilled. His family and colleagues, especially his parents, are still misled by the vicious lies. His parents were deceived and driven by the vicious "610 office" [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems] in Shijiazhuang, cooperating with his work unit to kidnap him and send him to the brainwashing class. All along he hoped that they could understand the truth. However, the wicked persecution created obstacles for him to return home. One time he had lingered around his house but eventually decided not to go inside. He also talked about his wish to clarify the truth to his classmates, but since he had to leave his home to avoid persecution, he never had an opportunity. These were his deepest regrets.

We hope that Dafa practitioners all over the world would call or write letters to clarify the truth to his family and work unit.

Ding Lihong's parents Ding Tonzhou, Zhang Shulou. Home address: Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang City, Jianming Xiaoqu 12#-1-303, (Postal Code: 050031)

Or mail letters to: Hebei Province Textile Engineering Design College, Cheng Yaping forward to Ding Tongzhou and Zhang Shulou. (Postal Code: 050000)

Home phone number: 86-311-5063140
Ding Lihong work unit: Shijiazhuang Railroad Engineering Section
Section Chief: Wang Xiaoping Telephone: 86-311-7922213
Secretary: Zheng Ming Telephone: 86-311-7922293
Assistant Secretary: Li Gexin Telephone: 86-311-7922693
Union Chairman: Geng Baoyang Telephone: 86-311-7924363
Security Section Chief: An Quanjun Telephone: 86-311-7922783
Plant Operation Director: Zhang Jiankao Telephone: 86-311-7924243
Plant Operation Chief Branch Secretary: Quo Ruijiang Telephone: 86-311-7922043

2003-1-13