Shen Yun Performing Arts
News and Events Around the World
Accounts of Persecution
Open Forum
Articles from Experience Sharing Conferences
Practitioners Exchange Insights and Experiences
People Awaken to the Truth
People's Hearts Determine Their Futures
(Clearwisdom.net) On the night of June 21, 2009, upon invitation from the organizers of the the Third Annual International Chinese Dance Competition, Shen Yun Performing Arts again performed at the State Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The event attracted a full house in the State Theater, as audience members were impressed by the wonderful presentation of the show.
On June 21, the Shen Yun Performing Arts performed to a full house in New Jersey.
Audience members at the Shen Yun Performing Arts show immersed in the experience of artistic excellence
Former singer says "Shen Yun is like an unblemished artistic treasure"
Former singer from the The Song & Dance Ensemble of Gansu Province, Ms Guo.
Ms. Guo, who has just arrived in New York, was a former member of The Song & Dance Ensemble of Gansu Province. She was very moved after watching Shen Yun, "The dancing is first class, the music is first class, the costumes and props are first class. Shen Yun is like an unblemished artistic treasure, which reaches people's soul."
She also said, "(During the performance), the dance created a beautiful artistic atmosphere, while the songs and music were like the eyes in a painting of a dragon. The entire performance group formed one body, and no flaws could be seen. Artistically, the show was very precise and detailed, and they sought to perfect something that is already outstanding. The arrangement of the entire performance was very well considered, each program was great."
Everybody should come and watch Shen Yun
Retail manager Michael Misko said, "Watching this show, you can feel your body become so peaceful. All the pressures and worries disappear, and are released from the body."
Michael Misko from New Jersey, a retail manager, was highly interested in Chinese culture. During the show, he applauded from beginning to end. "It's so beautiful. Every program was so perfect. I like Chinese culture. I think everyone should understand a bit about other cultures and learn from each other. Although Eastern and Western culture are different, some of the ideologies are aligned. The respect for gods, and belief that good is rewarded with good and evil is returned with evil. (In the program), the story about the father who went to heaven after he died was very touching."
Michael specifically mentioned that the performance was very lively, accompanied with elegant music. He felt that every person should see Shen Yun to learn new things, and understand the world's reality. He felt the "Lady of the Moon" was an experience of beauty, while the story about the Monkey King was entertaining. The final piece which portrayed the descent of divine beings, among ribbon sleeves was extremely beautiful. Michael said, "Watching this show, you can feel your body become so peaceful. All the pressures and worries disappear, and are released from the body. You feel that you become one with the music and the dancers. It's a great feeling," he continued, "I want to watch the show again."
Fan of the arts: I felt that the Buddha and Bodhisattva were with us during the show
Wang Ping, who travels frequently between China and the US, had worked in the arts at a younger age. Overcome with excitement, she said, "During the day I watched the International Chinese Classical Dance Competition, and saw many young performers with great talent have emerged and matured. I feel that the future is full of brightness."
Ms. Wang was enthusiastic to speak about the show: "Dance of the Snow-capped Mountain" was very rhythmic, and I felt the story of the Monkey King was very familiar. When the curtains were pulled, wow! Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were all on the stage, it was particularly touching. Over the past few decades, there seems to be no other show where so many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas would appear. This is the first time I have seen it, in the Shen Yun Performing Arts show, and it's very moving. I felt that actual Buddhas and Bodhisattvas were with us during the show."
Ms. Wang also felt the programs had great educational value, and emphasized respect for the divine and the importance of virtue. She said, "One should respect the divine and place importance on virtue. The current trend of decline in morals is very bad. Shen Yun can awaken these people, so they no longer continue on the wrong paths. Every person should value moral character. We should believe in divine beings, and follow the divine. Shen Yun should be watched by more people in today's age, it is very beneficial. I think Shen Yun can guide this society."
(Clearwisdom.net) The Third Annual International Classical Chinese Dance Competition hosted by NTDTV held its final round of the competition and on June 21, 2009 at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center in Manhattan, New York. The three-day competition witnessed outstanding performances and the talented contestants' perfect understanding of the bearing and expression of Classical Chinese Dance. They have pushed the art of the Classical Chinese Dance to a new zenith on the world's stage.
Awards ceremony for the third annual NTDTV "International Classical Chinese Dance Competition" on the evening of June 21, 2009.
On the stage at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center on June 21, contestants performed with wholehearted dedication, executed highly difficult movements fully and precisely, and skillfully used the art form and vocabulary of classical Chinese dance to convey deep inner meanings. Throughout the course of the 2-3 minute piece, contestants vividly portrayed figures in ancient Chinese history. They demonstrated the extraordinary creation, vitality, expressiveness and inspiration of classical Chinese dance. The audience was fascinated and applauded enthusiastically.
The First Place of Junior Female Division: Contestant No.11 Angelia Wang at the Third Annual International Classical Chinese Dance Competition
The Second Place of Junior Female Division: Contestant No. 10 Miranda Zhou-Galati at the Third Annual International Classical Chinese Dance Competition
The Second Place of Junior Female Division: Contestant No. 13 Alison Chen at the third annual International Classical Chinese Dance Competition
The First Place of Junior Male Division: Contestant No. 22 Tony Xue at the Third Annual International Classical Chinese Dance Competition
The First Place of Junior Male Division: Contestant No. 25 Rocky Liao at the Third Annual International Classical Chinese Dance Competition
The Second Place of Junior Male Division: Contestant No. 24 William Li at the Third Annual International Classical Chinese Dance Competition
The First Place of Adult Female Division: Contestant No. 32 Cindy Liu at the Third Annual International Classical Chinese Dance Competition
The First Place of Adult Female Division: Contestant No. 37 Jennifer Su at the Third Annual International Classical Chinese Dance Competition Fairy of the Phoenix
The First Place of Adult Male Division: Contestant No. 60 Golden Li at the Third Annual International Classical Chinese Dance Competition
The Second Place of Adult Male Division: Contestant No. 59 Seongho Cha at the Third Annual International Classical Chinese Dance Competition
The Second Place of Adult Male Division: Contestant No. 58 Steve Wang at the Third Annual International Classical Chinese Dance Competition
Judges: Contestants Display Authentic Art of Pure Righteousness and Compassion
The judges were impressed by contestants' extraordinary performance: Judge Cao Yi said, "Contestants have comprehensive capacity and advanced skills. They put on extraordinary performance on the stage. 90% of contestants have a very good understanding and mastery of pure truthfulness, pure compassion and pure beauty of classical Chinese dance. They play a positive role in promoting classical Chinese dance and restoring authentic culture of humanity for professional dance artists and ordinary audience members. "
Another Judge Michelle Ren said that she could see from the competition that the contestants have put a lot of effort in terms of their techniques and skills, stage performance and presentation, and she is pleased with their performance and moved by their dedication. She said, "The contestants are remarkable, they use their hearts to understand and learn what the pure compassion and pure beauty of classical Chinese dance are, how to express authentic culture of humanity, and fulfill their mission of restoring and promoting traditional culture."
Displaying the Expressiveness of Classical Chinese Dance
Judge Cao Yi said that contestants have not only mastered the advanced degree of difficult movements, but the quality and steadiness of dance movements are also excellent. Their dance postures are graceful and elegant, and tempo is appropriate. They execute highly difficult movements smoothly and gracefully. Artistically, the bearing of classical Chinese dance is fully expressed. They can portray the characteristics of a figure within two to three minutes. While displaying skills and forms, rhythm is also incorporated. They put much effort into presenting the "spirit" and "bearing" of classical Chinese dance.
Contestants are Humble and Polite, Presenting Extraordinary Dance Caliber
Alison Chen, winner of the Second Place of Junior Female Division shared her understanding of taking part in the competition. She said that psychological qualities are very important. The competition differs each day, and is a learning process and also an opportunity to be aware of one's shortcomings.
Tony Xue, winner of the First Place of Junior Make Division said that his biggest achievement is performing experience on stage, not only skills, but also getting into the roles. He added that Classical Chinese Dance has rich and diversified expressions, two persons perform the same role, and they will perform differently. The expression of thought and emotions is different.
Chelsea Cai, winner of the Second Place of Adult Female Division said the techniques are not enough, performers have to incorporate the techniques into dance performance, and dance with graceful bearing. Performers should also improve their comprehension through learning Chinese history and culture. Participating in the competition aims to improve and gain more stage experience. The biggest achievement is also stage experience.
The contestants agreed that through careful studying and portraying different roles, they have gained a deeper understanding of Chinese culture.
"It's a miracle that God creates"
Another Judge of the dance competition Ms. Guo Xiu used to work in The Song & Dance Ensemble of Gansu Province, China. She said after the final round of the competition that male contestants achieved female's suppleness, and female contestants achieved male's quickness, not only one or two of them, almost every one of them. Without seven to eight years of stringent training, performers are unable to achieve such a level, and moreover, they have to start training from childhood. Some highly difficult movements, not only one or two, but a series of the movements, the contestants were able to perform them smoothly. It's very difficult to do so. It's "a miracle of God, I believe that these contestants have made enormous efforts."
After the final round of the competition that evening, the host of the competition especially invited Shen Yun Performing Arts to perform at the New Jersey State Theater in New Brunswick. The awards ceremony of the competition was held after the show.
List of Winners of the 3rd Annual NTDTV International Classical Chinese Dance Competition:Junior Female
1st Place: Angelia Wang (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
2nd Place: Miranda Zhou-Galati (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Alison Chen (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
3rd Place: Alina Wang (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Chialing Chen (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Honorable Mention:
Yong Cheng (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Faustina Quach (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Junior Male
1st Place: Rocky Liao (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Tony Xue (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
2nd Place: William Li (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
3rd Place: Rick Li (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Chad Chen ((Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Honorable Mention:
Alvin Song (New Jersey, USA)
Fengnian Liang (Edmonton, Canada)
Ben Chen (London, UK)
1st Place: Jennifer Su (Shen Yun Performing Arts)
Cindy Liu (Shen Yun Performing Arts)
2nd Place: Madeleine Lobjois (Shen Yun Performing Arts)
Chelsea Cai (Shen Yun Performing Arts)
3rd Place: Anna Li (Shen Yun Performing Arts)
Ting-Jie Huang (Taipei, Taiwan)
Rachael Bastick (Shen Yun Performing Arts)
1st Place: Golden Li (Shen Yun Performing Arts)
2nd Place: Steve Wang (Shen Yun Performing Arts)
Seongho Cha (Shen Yun Performing Arts)
Leon Chao (Shen Yun Performing Arts)
3rd Place: Brian Nieh (Washington DC, USA)
Ming Liu (Los Angeles, USA)
Honorable Mention:
Kokuei Chen (Maryland, USA)
Alex Chun (Shen Yun Performing Arts)
Jerry Zhang (Shen Yun Performing Arts)
(Clearwisdom.net) On June 18, 2009, initiated by New York State Assemblyman Phil Boyle, more than 50 members of the Assembly co-signed a letter within 24-hours of signature collection at the New York State Capitol in Albany. The letter calls upon President Obama to urge the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to stop the persecution of Falun Gong. On the tenth anniversary of the beginning of the brutal persecution of Falun Gong launched by the CCP, the joint letter calls upon President Obama to condemn the CCP's suppressive policy, demand the CCP end this lengthy, horrible persecution, and let Falun Gong practitioners restore their peaceful and calm cultivation practice and lives. The signature collection will continue until Monday.
New York State Assemblyman Phil Boyle
Phil Boyle, a member of the New York State Assembly representing the 8th Assembly district, believes that "July 20" is an important date, for it marks the beginning of the persecution imposed upon Falun Gong practitioners by the CCP. On the tenth anniversary of "July 20," he initiated a letter to President Obama. The assistant in Assemblyman Phil Boyle's office said that within 24 hours, more than 50 members of the Assembly had signed the letter to show their support. In the past, similar letters had only received about a dozen signatures. Assemblyman Boyle said, "We have over 40 Assemblymen writing a letter to President Obama to make sure that he marks July 20th , the ten-year anniversary of the persecution of Falun Gong by the Chinese Communist Party, and we hope that President Obama takes seriously this issue and makes sure that when he is dealing with the administration in Beijing that they focus on human rights in general and the persecution of Falun Gong specifically." [quote from listening to NTDTV program.http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/b5/2009/06/21/a307490.html#video]
Last year, after accomplices of the CCP assaulted Falun Gong practitioners in Flushing, New York, it became apparent that the CCP had extended its persecution of Falun Gong to US soil. As an elected Assemblyman, Phil Boyle said, "Many people are unaware that it [persecution]is not just going on in China with Falun Gong, but the persecution has also taken place in New York City. There were assaults and violence against Falun Gong practitioners by anti-Falun Gong mobs. We need to make sure that the president is aware of that, and he knows that in New York City, the law enforcement authorities, are acting on that and we need to crack down on any anti-Falun Gong activities." [quote from listening to NTDTV program.http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/b5/2009/06/21/a307490.html#video]
The Following is the letter to President Obama co-signed by members of New York State Assembly [the letter is the original version]
June 18, 2009
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama,
As you are aware, July 20, 2009 marks a sad anniversary - the beginning of ten years of continuous persecution of Falun Dafa (Falun Gong) by the government of the People's Republic of China. Before this decade of persecution began, it is estimated that between 70 and one hundred million people practiced the tranquil Falun Gong exercises daily in parks, work places, and houses across China, while peacefully adhering to Falun Dafa's guiding principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.
To date, there have been over 3,000 confirmed deaths as a result of this violent crackdown by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is feared that the actual number of Falun Gong deaths by torture, malnutrition, exhaustion, neglect in detention, and even organ harvesting in hospitals, may actually have reached into the tens of thousands.
The persecution of Falun Dafa followers by the Chinese Communist regime is not limited to the People's Republic of China. Pro-communist mobs have berated, threatened, and physically attacked Falun Gong adherents in New York City. New York City police officers have had to arrest several members of an anti-Falun Gong mob for attacks against practitioners, with charges ranging from assault to resisting arrest.
Mr. President, we commend you for your leadership in protecting human rights throughout the world. In furtherance of your efforts to foster human rights, we urge you to mark the July 20th anniversary by denouncing the policy of repression by the CCP against Falun Dafa and demanding that Communist Chinese leaders end this long campaign of terror, allowing Falun Dafa adherents to once again practice in peace and tranquility.
Sincerely,
Assemblyman Phil Boyle
Members of New York State Assembly signed the appeal letter to President Obama
(Clearwisdom.net) On June 20, 2009, the Sixth Annual Garland Asian American Festival was held in front of the Saigon Mall in Garland, Texas. The Festival host again invited Falun Gong practitioners from Dallas to demonstrate the beauty of Falun Dafa to the Asian population.
Falun Gong practitioners demonstrate the exercises at the Sixth Annual Garland Asian American Festival in Garland, Texas.
It was really hot, but the crowd at the Festival did not seem to mind. The parking lot next to the Saigon Mall was packed. Visitors gathered under a large tent and enjoyed the participants' performances. According to the host, the activity attracted 15,000 people. The participating organizations were mostly local and non-profit organizations. The hosts at the Festival spoke both Vietnamese and English.
Falun Gong practitioners have been actively participating in the Festival in the past few years. They set up booths, distributed Falun Dafa fliers, and demonstrated the exercises. Many people came and took the fliers. Some of them asked for more information and were interested in the practice.
A practitioner sang "The Fa Rectifies the Universe." The practitioner's pure and powerful voice impressed the audience and won warm applause. A Vietnamese practitioner greeted the audience and introduced to them Falun Dafa in Vietnamese. Later, several practitioners in traditional meditation practice suits demonstrated the movements to the relaxing exercise music.
(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Su Zhifeng, 49, lived in Qingchun, Chengxiang Township in Suining County, Jiangsu Province. Because she clarified the truth to people in the early years of the persecution, the Domestic Security Division Leader Xu Jun targeted her for arrest, vowing to arrest her "at any cost." Thus, to avoid arrest, she had to leave town and survive on the wages of temporary labor. Xu then arrested and detained her mother, who was over 60 years old.
On August 16, 2004, Domestic Security agents arrested Ms. Su while she was working in Qingdao City, Shandong Province. They sentenced her and her mother each to three years in prison in the Nanjing City Women's Prison. Ms. Su was severely tortured there. The second time her family visited her, she could not walk or talk, even though she had been very healthy before the arrest.
After being released in 2007, she was very ill and weak. Officers from the Suining County Domestic Security Division, police department, and 610 Office constantly harassed and threatened her at home, causing her condition to worsen. She became bedridden, and her whole body was swollen. She died on May 7, 2009.
In 2008, Ms. Wu Di was tortured to death. She had previously suffered a mental collapse as a result of being brutally tortured in the Nanjing City Women's Prison. Currently, Ms. Yao Fengjuan is detained there with a four-year term. Please help rescue her!
Wang Tianqi, Suining County CCP Secretary, 86-516-88388900 (Office),
86-13815345678 (Cell)
Yang Xiaoming, CCP Suining County Political & Judiciary Committee Secretary,
86-516-88389956 (Office), 86-13905221381 (Cell)
Lan Yue, Suining County Police Department CCP Vice Secretary,
86-516-88331804-6002 (Office), 86-13905221878 (Cell)
Zhang Shujun, Suining County Police Department Deputy Director and 610 Office
Chair, 86-516-88331804-6003 (Office), 86-13905221938 (Cell)
Fu Shichun, CCP Suining County Discipline Committee Secretary,
86-516-88331804-6008 (Office), 86-13905221695 (Cell)
Chen Yingbo, Suining County Court Director, 86-516-88307001 (Office),
86-13952181966 (Cell)
Wei Qun, CCP Suining County Legal Justice Bureau Director, 86-516-88340676
(Office), 86-13905221018 (Cell)
(Clearwisdom.net) After being persecuted for close to nine months, Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Zhang Chunhe was secretly tried and "illegally sentenced" to three years in prison on April 8, 2009. When she appeared in court, she was in critical condition and in a lot of pain. Her Ms. Zhang appealed the unlawful verdict and a new trial date was scheduled for May 15, 2009.
Ms. Zhang used to work as an accountant as well as the head of Zengcheng Wuxie County's Financial Department. After she started practicing Falun Gong in 1994, her body, mind, and character underwent huge changes. People that know her consider her a very good person.
On July 23, 2008, while Ms. Zhang was on her way to work, she was illegally arrested by 610 Office agents. Without telling her the reason for her arrest, the agents took her to the Guangzhou City Brainwashing Center. After Ms. Zhang arrived, she was given a thorough physical exam. When a doctor discovered that she had numerous tumors in her body, the biggest being the size of an infant's head, the brainwashing center refused to accept her.
Ms. Zhang's family was pressured into signing a form giving the brainwashing center permission to take her to a hospital and have her tumors removed. Knowing that Falun Gong practitioners are often subjected to live organ harvesting, Ms. Zhang's family proposed that the Guangzhou City Brainwashing Center release her on bail for medical treatment so that her family members could secure a surgeon themselves.
After the family's proposal was rejected, Ms. Zhang was handcuffed behind her back by officers from the Xiyuan Police Station and 610 Office agents. In addition, her feet were shackled, causing her to suffer severe edema.
She was later taken to the Guangzhou City Police Hospital where she was strictly monitored for close to half a year. A few months ago, the hospital's head doctor repeatedly called the Zengcheng City Police Department, telling them that Ms. Zhang was in critical condition and that they should come pick her up.
In early April 2009, when Ms. Zhang was just about to leave the hospital, the doctor who had been assigned to her said, "You won't be dying today, right? I am in the middle of preparing the paperwork for your release."
Within a few months, three of her tumors had grown dangerously large. There was an obvious lump in her abdominal area and she was also passing blood. In addition, her heart beat was abnormally fast and she experienced profuse sweating as well as dizzy spells with pain in her abdomen.
After the trial, Ms. Zhang was transferred from the Guangzhou City Police Hospital to the Zengcheng City Detention Center. During this time, she was in critical condition with severe abdominal pain. It was obvious that neither the 610 Office, Police Department, Judiciary Department, or the Procurator Department cared whether Ms. Zhang lived or died.
Related article:
http://nondeterministically/emh/articles/2009/3/21/105782.html
(Clearwisdom.net) My name is Liang Yan. I was born on October 5, 1986. My father is Liang Lijin and my mother is Yang Xiuqin. When I was a little girl, I witnessed the persecution that our whole family suffered for practicing Falun Gong. This experience caused me a lot of mental anguish and scarred my heart.
Liang Yan
In 1998, my mother began practicing Falun Gong. My mother, who was weak and had many illnesses, benefited from practicing Falun Gong. Later, she introduced it to me, and I began my cultivation of Dafa, too. At that time, I was only 12 years old. I accompanied my mother doing the exercises every day, and we had group Fa study at our home. I studied Fa and memorized Master's articles with other practitioners. On Sundays, I often went to promote Dafa with my mother. I enjoyed it immensely.
At the end of April 1999, many police officers suddenly came to our home, including the chief of Yanwu Police Station and Wang Hui, the Party Secretary of the Commune. They asked me how many people came to study the Fa and then they waited for them to arrive. A short while later, some fellow practitioners came. The police began to register their names. The police also went to our practice site to register practitioners' names. In June, the police started to not allow us to go to the practice site. A few days later, many police came to our home to harass us. Because my mother took the tape recorder to the practice site every morning, the police accused her of being the practice site coordinator and began to monitor my mother. My mother then showed them Master's lectures and told them Dafa is good.
On July 20, 1999, the CCP began to crack down on Falun Gong from all sides. They arrested practitioners on a large scale. My mother went to appeal for Falun Gong at the Fushun City Government and wanted to clarify the truth about the practice because it benefits the country and its people. She wanted to persuade them to release our fellow practitioners that were being detained there. The police arrested my mother and released her after midnight. The next day, the police chief, the political instructor, and Wang Hui, the Secretary of the Commune, brought many people to ransack our home. They took away all Dafa books, videotapes, cassettes, Master's portrait, a video camera, tape recorder, etc. I did not know what was happening and was so frightened that I hid in my mother's arms. A few days later, my mother was taken away by the police and detained for one whole day. My mother told me after she came back, "On July 22, 1999, CCTV news reported that a miner from Fushun City, Liaoning Province, refused to take medicine because of practicing Falun Gong and then passed away." My mother said both she and another fellow practitioner thought that the report was fake, that it was slandering Falun Gong. They decided to verify the facts of that case and discovered that it was not true. The wife of the dead person showed my mother the receipt from the hospital, which said the dead person's younger brother fabricated the case to slander Falun Gong since he wanted to cater to the Communist Party leaders. Because of my mother's discovery, Meng Wei and Zang, the Political and Security Section Chief of Fushun City Criminal Investigation Squad, and officers from Yanwu Police Station arrested my mother and detained and interrogated her for one day. When they released her, they told her that she was forbidden to contact or meet with other practitioners. Otherwise, they would arrest her again. After that, they often came to our home and harassed us. Every day, they would send someone to monitor us. My mother told me, "We are good people and we should not be afraid of them."
In September 1999, my mother went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong and clarify the truth. She bought two cases of ramen noodles for me, left me 300 yuan, and told me that she was not sure when she would be able to come back. I cried for a whole day and night and did not want her to leave. But I knew what she was doing was a righteous thing. Dafa was being libeled. Our Master was illegally listed as "wanted." We had to safeguard Dafa and clarify the truth. I had to support my mother, so I took her to the train station. I cried as we walked, since I did not know when she would come back. In my young heart, I felt very hurt and confused. I did not understand why being good would get you arrested and monitored. Since the day the persecution of Falun Gong began, there has been no peace in our home. The police station or the district often sent someone to harass us, which caused the neighbors to gossip behind our backs and look down on us. My school leaders and teachers often asked to talk with me. I spent every class break session in the teacher's office. My classmates, who had good friends of mine before, began to avoid me. I, who was once out-going and optimistic, became depressed and did not want to talk to anyone. Only tears and loneliness accompanied me.
After my mother went to Beijing, my father had to go out to find a job to support the family. I often cried till late at night before falling to sleep. Over a month later, I finally received news about my mother. She had been arrested and sent to a prison. My grandmother, my uncle, my aunt, some other relatives, and I went to visit her. We saw that she had become very skinny and I could hardly recognize her. I could not stop the tears from running down my cheeks. I held my mother tightly in my arms, afraid that she might leave me again. The police dragged me from her and pushed me and my grandmother away. Then they put handcuffs on my mother and pushed her into a police car. I was separated from my mother again, and I did not know how to deal with life in the future.
I did not want to see my classmates' cold and strange looks. I did not want to hear my school leaders repetitively asking me to break ties with my mother. I hated going to school. I hated seeing those cold faces of my classmates and teachers. I could not bear such mental pressure and almost collapsed. My only option was to stop going to school. Therefore, in December 1999, I left school and locked myself at home. During those days, except for going to Masanjia Forced Labor Camp to visit my mother, I seldom said anything. When I saw my mother, the only thing I did was cry. When I saw her, she was smiling and very calm. I felt so sad. I knew that she did not want me to worry about her. She did not say what she suffered in the forced labor camp.
On September 19, 2000, my mother finally came home, and I thought we could live a peaceful life. However, every ten to fifteen days, someone would come to our home to "visit" us. When my mother and I went out, someone would follow us. We felt that we were being monitored every minute of our lives.
In March 2002, my mother was arrested again. Later, she escaped and we totally lost contact with each other. On May 2, 2002, local police and the national security team arrested my father and detained him for one day and two nights. He was beaten and interrogated. The police confiscated our truth clarification materials, DVDs, Dafa cassettes, etc. from our home. I was not at home at the time. When I returned home I learned about it and went to the police station to look for my father. The police said bad words to me, chased me out, and warned me not to say anything to other people, otherwise they would arrest me. They took my father to the homes of my grandmother, uncle, and other relatives to search for my mother, but they did not find her. The police constantly came to our home to harass us and said they would arrest me. I dared not go back home. I could not go anywhere and had to wander around on the streets. I was not able to see my relatives or return home. I had to find a job to support myself. I had to live a homeless life at such a young age.
Due to the CCP's lies and instigation, many Chinese did not know the truth. At some places, the business owners were very bad. When they saw me looking for a job at such a young age, and then found out out that I was a Falun Gong practitioner, they would not give me money for the work I had done, and they would chase me away. I had to ask acquaintances to get money from my father. Since my father was not always at home, sometimes I could not get any money and I had to borrow money from my relatives or friends.
In 2004, my mother finally found me. I went to see her and helped her prepare some truth-clarification materials and accompanied her to distribute those materials and post some fliers. I was very happy. One day we noticed that there was a car monitoring us near the building where we lived. My mother was afraid of causing trouble for me and told me to go to my aunt's home. Later, my mother left that city. Once again I lost contact with her. I missed her very much. When I saw a nearby fellow practitioner, Ms. Liu Yumei, was arrested, I felt very sad and frightened. I was afraid that my mother might be arrested, too. When I was reading the truth-clarification materials, I read those cases about some fellow practitioners who were suffering persecution, and their organs were being harvested while they were still alive. I was so scared that I dared not cry out loud at night. I was afraid that the police might find me and arrest me and I would have the same fate as other practitioners who had their organs harvested.
Once I had a high fever. I stayed in a room by myself. Because I did not have money to pay for electricity, the room was very cold. At night, it was very dark in the room. I did not eat anything for three days. I was afraid that nobody would notice if I died there. I was afraid that my mother might one day leave me and I would never know it. I lay on the bed and looked out the window. I missed my mother. "Mother, where are you?" I fell asleep with tears running down my face. The next day, when I opened my eyes, I realized that I was still alive. Each day I lived in such extreme fear and helpless pain. Each day to me was extremely hard to get through. I did not know how long I could survive this kind of life. I did not know how much more I could endure. That kind of loneliness and desperation nearly drove me to death.....
On New Year's Day 2007, through the Internet, I found out that my mother was looking for me. I was very happy and immediately left a message for her and set up a meeting time. I found out that she had escaped and gone abroad with friends' help. My mother told me that everyone was equal abroad, and people had freedom of belief. At that time, it was nearing the Beijing Olympics and the police were arresting Falun Gong practitioners on a large scale. The police knew that my mother was appealing abroad and was looking for me. They went to my grandmother and relatives' homes to look for me. My grandmother told acquaintances to send me a message, telling me to be cautious, as the police were looking for me. I found my father, and he asked someone to help me get my ID and passport. I said I wanted to see my mother and that I missed her.
On June 26, 2008, my father and I finally left China and went abroad to meet my mother. Ever since that moment when I first saw my mother, I did not want to be separated from her again. Falun Gong has been persecuted for ten years now. I had grown up fromeing b the little girl who desperately needed her mother's love at a young age. These years of persecution and living without my mother caused heart-breaking pain, which can never be made up. I do not want to live a life without my mother or my relatives anymore. Due to the pain I experienced, I can understand what those young children in China are enduring. Many children have lost their parents and have nobody to rely on. In order to help them and stop this persecution, other fellow practitioners abroad and I clarify the truth to people and hope to gain justice and support from the international community to help us stop this persecution.
(Clearwisdom.net) My name is Ma Jinxiu. I am a Dafa practitioner from Guantao County, Hebei Province. In the beginning of 2005, my husband, our twelve-year-old son, and I were arrested by officers from the Chengguan Police Station in Guantao County. My husband and I were subjected to torture and our property was ransacked by the officers. I was sentenced to forced labor. After that, my son dropped out of school, and we suffered discord in the family. Our losses caused by Chen Peiyi (director of Chengguan Police Station) and other officers are not recoverable. I am seeking justice against Chen Peiyi.
Chen Peiyi Commits Child Abuse
At around 10:30 a.m. on January 15, 2005, police from the Guangtao Police Station, the Chengguan Police Station, and Chaibao Police Station broke into my home, arrested me, my husband Xu Yanli (a non-practitioner), and our twelve-year-old son.
The police dragged my son out of bed, denied his request to put on some warmer clothes, grabbed him by the hair, and pulled him to the car. They handcuffed him for two days and nights in the Chengguan Police Station. It was in the middle of winter, and the boy was wearing only his fall clothes. He suffered from cold and hunger. It hurt him psychologically and physically. He dropped out of school after that. Two of our younger children were left behind without adult supervision when the police arrested the three of us.
Chen Peiyi Commits Torture
While I was detained at the Chengguan Police Station, Chen Peiyi tortured me. He had a tiger bench moved to his office, tied me on the top of it, then used a metal rod to restrict me from moving. After that, he added bricks one by one under my legs until I lost consciousness from the pain.
The officers subjected me to another torture: they handcuffed me with my arms behind my back, then lifted the handcuffs up. While he was torturing me, Chen Peiyi yelled, "If she does not say anything, strip her clothes off and beat her."
I was imprisoned at the Shijiazhuang Forced Labor Camp for three years after being detained at the Chengguan Police Station.
Chen Peiyi Beats and Insults My Husband
We had an animal feed retail business. My husband Xu Yanli does not practice Falun Dafa. He travels a lot for business. When they arrested and detained me, the police arrested and detained him as well. Chen Peiyi verbally abused him, ordered others to beat him, and subjected him to the tiger bench torture.
Chen Peiyi intentionally insulted me and attempted to break up our marriage. He fabricated lies to my husband, saying, "Your wife has cheated you. You did not know, did you?" Even after I was released from prison three years later, my husband questioned me about it many times. He repeatedly beats me and scolds me for this reason. Our family life has not gone back to normal, even to this day.
Chen Peiyi detained, beat, and tortured my husband for many days. Chen threatened my husband before his release, "Do not say anything about being beaten here, or you'll be asking for it."
A Group of Officers Illegally Live in My Home for a Week
While we were detained at the Chengguan Police Station, Chen Peiyi ordered half a dozen officers to illegally live in my home. They ate all our food that we had saved for the Lantern Festival and left our home in disarray.
While they were there, we lost two or three bags of feed and two sheets of metal. It was the best season for the feed business. For every customer who came to buy feed, the police told them, "They do not sell feed any more," and we lost our customers. We suffered a huge financial loss.
I strongly request the judicial department to investigate the crimes committed by Chen Peiyi. Chen should be punished by the law and compensate us for our mental, physical and financial suffering.
Ma Jinxiu
May 1, 2009
(Clearwisdom.net) Professor Ms. Liang Bo of Minzu University in China has not received her salary since August 2004. In addition, her apartment at the University was confiscated without any reason. Tan Jiajian, the vice director of the Service Administration Office at the University said that the university made the decision to fire her. At around 9 a.m. on May 18, 2009, Liang Bo went to the University to ask for the formal document explaining why the University fired her. However, when she arrived, Party Secretary Liu Chunyu reported her to the security bureau and Ms. Liang was illegally arrested and detained in the Haidan District Detention Center.
Liang Bo was determined to resist the persecution and went on a hunger strike for 14 days. During that time, she was brutally force fed twice every day through a tube and was sent to the emergency room three times. Her body was extremely weak and she was on the verge of death. Currently, she has been released and has returned home.
Ms. Liang Bo, 41 years old, started to practice Falun Gong in 1995. At the time, she was a teacher at the Chinese Department (currently the Literature and News Media Institute) at Minzu University. She had a good reputation and was liked by students because of her outstanding professional skills.
However, since July of 1999 when the political gang of Jiang and Luo launched the persecution against Falun Gong, Minzu University has been closely following the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) to persecute Falun Gong practitioners. Liang Bo is one of the professors at this university who has been severely persecuted for her belief in Falun Gong. In the September of 1999, Ms. Liang was demoted from the position of Chief Professor because she continued to practice Falun Dafa. After that, she was not allowed to give lectures or to be promoted. The university often harassed her, saying they were "communicating with her" or "working on her way of thinking." They sent security guards to follow her and monitor her 24 hours a day. One time, a security guard was even caught peeking through her window during the day.
In 2003, the Beijing Security Bureau and Hainan Provincial Security Department arrested Liang Bo. Her family members asked the university where she had been taken many times, but the university would not tell them even though they knew what had happened to Ms. Liang. For more than half a year, nobody knew where Liang Bo was or even if she was still alive.
In 2004, Liang Bo was arrested and detained again. This time, during a medical exam, they found that Ms. Liang was pregnant. In order to follow the security bureau and continue with the persecution, the staff of the university hospital followed the university's CCP secretary, Liu Chunxu, and took turns trying to pressure Ms. Liang into having an abortion, even though she was already four months along. They did not stop until Ms. Liang and her whole family firmly rejected their demands.
Since August 2004, Minzu University has not paid Ms. Liang her salary and has terminated all her benefits. The Service Administration Office also confiscated her apartment at the university by force. The vice director, Tan Jiajian, sent people to reclaim the apartment at midnight, and they wounded the people living in the apartment during the process. Tan said that the university had made the decision to fire her. However, Liang Bo has not yet received any formal paperwork from the university. Furthermore, the reason they gave for firing her was self-contradictory.
Currently, the Minzu University is cooperating with the detention center to persecute Ms. Liang out of fear of her request for formal paperwork. On the morning of May 18, 2009, Liang Bo went to Mingzu University to ask for the formal document. The Human Resource Department and the Literature and News Media Department avoided the issue and said that they could not find the document. When Ms. Liang was waiting for the result in the department office, Liu Chunxu called the police. Then policemen Fan Zegong, Zhang Zheng and some others came from Wanshousi Police Station and arrested her. They took her to the Haidian District Detention Center in Beijing at No. 25 Qinghegang Road in Haidian and attempted to sentence her.
The CCP secretary of the Literature and News Media department, Liu Chunxu, female in her 50s, has been following the CCP to persecute Falun Gong from the start. Last year, she received karmic retribution in the form of liver cancer. However, she still did not wake up and continued to commit new crimes right after she got out of the hospital.
Minzu University:
CCP Secretary: E Yitai 86-10-68938890 (Office)
President and Vice CCP Secretary: Chen Li 86-10-68932280 (Office)
Tan Jijian 86-10-68932459(Office) 86-10-68934942(Home) 86-13681250846(Cell)
Wanshouxi Police Station:
Fan Zegong 86-13801266982(Cell)
Wang Chunxiang 86-13801139309(Cell)
Zhang Zheng 86-13910555807(Cell)
(Clearwisdom.net) A "Solemn Declaration" is a person's public statement to the world that whatever he or she has done or said under duress or deception that was against Falun Dafa is null and void. These statements have come from Falun Dafa practitioners in China who wish to express regret that, in the face of physical torture and brainwashing, they signed documents renouncing Dafa and guaranteeing not to practice again. Now, they hereby declare their intention to resume practicing Falun Dafa.
Here are some examples of the Solemn Declarations:
Please click here for more Solemn Declarations
(Clearwisdom.net) More and more people in China are awakening to the truth and realizing that they were deceived by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) into participating in the persecution of Falun Gong, either directly as government officials, police, labor camp guards, etc., or indirectly as practitioners' family members, who in many cases may have cursed Dafa, burned Dafa books, or interfered in various other ways to prevent practitioners from following their beliefs. As a result of this awakening, the Minghui/ Clearwisdom website is receiving increasing numbers of heartfelt messages from non-practitioners who wish to publicly express remorse for their wrongdoing and announce their intention to rectify their words and deeds in the future. The editors will periodically choose representative messages of this type and publish them as articles entitled, "Solemn Statements from Non-Practitioners."
Here are some examples of the Solemn Declarations:
Please click here for more Solemn Declarations.
(Clearwisdom.net) On June 19, 2009, a CCP delegation arrived at Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. The CCP mobilized about 200 local Chinese residents and CCP agents from surrounding areas to harass and even assault demonstrators. Some of the hired thugs wore identical black suits and used walkie-talkies to communicate with each other, complete with identification cards hanging from their necks. Two women Falun Gong practitioners, after having their "Falun Dafa is Good" banners snatched away, opened up two more banners and shouted "Falun Dafa is good." When they refused to back down after harassment by three CCP agents, they were violently shoved down a flight of stairs. One of the practitioners was bleeding profusely from a cut on her head and suffered a severe injury to her arm.
Less than two hours after this happened, more than ten local media outlets reported the event, sparking outrage and disbelief at the explanation of these people being unrelated to the Chinese delegation. Member of Parliament Vladimir Palko asked if all Chinese tourists in Europe wore black suits and talked to each other on walkie-talkies. Slovakian NGO's have condemned the incident and declared that they would investigate further.
When the persecution first started in 1999, the CCP was full of bluster inside China and did their best to hide it to other countries. At the time, they refrained from violence outside the borders. As time passed and their lies were exposed, the CCP's propaganda has become increasingly ineffective. Faced with this reality, it has resorted to the violence that is so core to its nature.
During this event, when these three thugs couldn't intimidate the two women practitioners, they resorted to a despicable sneak attack from behind and shoved them down the stairs. These three grown men certainly didn't lack the physical strength to overpower the practitioners, yet they still resorted to a cowardly attack that gave a glimpse into the nature of their masters.
The practitioners were doing nothing to harm anyone, only putting up a banner that said, "Falun Dafa is good." Why should the CCP be afraid of that? It is not simply a few words, but represents the strength and resolve of those practitioners who braved near-certain imprisonment and torture to go to Tiananmen Square to let the people know about Falun Gong and the persecution. When people know the truth and see the CCP's nature, they will inevitably leave and go against the CCP, and that is the CCP's greatest fear. Indeed, when the CCP again showed the world its true nature by attacking these practitioners, it gave the people of Slovakia a chance to clearly distinguish between right and wrong. Many people who would have never otherwise heard of Falun Gong or the persecution got the chance to learn all about it. Indeed, the CCP is only hastening its own demise through its own actions.
(Clearwisdom.net)
(Part 1: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2009/6/4/108003.html)
(Part 2: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2009/6/17/108360.html)
5. Even Within the Framework of the Chinese Communist Party's Legal System, the Persecution is Illegal (Continued)
The methods by which the Chinese Communist Party imposes forced labor upon Dafa disciples are illegal, even according to Chinese law. Article 37 of the Chinese Constitution states, "Citizens' personal freedom shall not be infringed upon. They may not be placed under arrest without approval from the Procuratorate or court and executed by public security organs. Illegal detention and other acts to deprive citizens' personal freedoms are prohibited." Administrative forced labor does not follow legitimate legal processes, does not require a trial, and does not provide an avenue of appeal for those punished by forced labor. The sole decision-making body is the Education Through Forced Labor Committee, which is in turn controlled by the public security bureau or the local Party apparatus. This mechanism of administrative forced labor can strip a citizen of his or her freedom for up to three years initially with a provision for a one-year extension. This is clearly a violation of the Constitution.
In addition, the institution of forced labor is in direct conflict with statutes on legislation and administrative punishment. Article 8 of the Chinese Legislation Law states, "Punishments stripping citizens' political rights and/or restricting their personal freedom can only be enacted by legislation." Article 9 of the Chinese Administrative Punishment Code states, "Administrative punishments restricting citizens' personal freedom can only be enacted by legislation." Article 10 of the same code states, "The Administrative Punishment Code may enact administrative punishments that do not restrict a citizen's personal freedom." The longest period of detention allowed under existing administrative law is 15 days. Forced labor, which in effect restricts a person's freedom and amounts to detention, can last up to four years.
The institution of forced labor has also violated international conventions to which China is a signatory, including the International Convention on Citizens' Rights and Political Rights. The UN convention states that all decisions stripping a person of freedom for a sustained period of time must go through a legitimate legal process, concluding with a court decision.
Finally, the forced labor system is a violation of the foundation of the rule of law. A forced labor sentence is mainly decided upon and carried out by the public security apparatus, without oversight from other branches of government. This amounts to circumventing the checks and balances between the legislative, public security, and judicial arms of the government, allowing the public security apparatus to decide upon and immediately carry out punishments on its own. The process is even less transparent than a normal court trial, where formal defense, audits by external parties, and appeals are all bypassed. It's a huge loophole in the system that is exploited to punish dissidents and other "enemies" of the CCP without due process of law.
(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings, Master! Greetings, all fellow practitioners across the world!
In the blink of an eye, I have been with Shen Yun for 10 months. In this short period of time, I have grown and improved as a trombone player after not playing the instrument for more than a decade. I am part of the Shen Yun Orchestra playing brass trombone and have toured North America, Canada and Europe. I am proud to be a member of Shen Yun, reaching out to all of the predestined people around the world. This is inseparable from great revered Master's strengthening and Falun Dafa's Divine Power. Here I would like to share with you my cultivation and my trombone playing experience during these last ten months with Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Joining Shen Yun Performing Arts
As a result of fortunate opportunities, for three years I played trombone in a marching band during middle school. Although I studied under a very famous trombone teacher in Beijing, since it was just a hobby, I let it go completely with much regret. A decade went by and I graduated from college and started working. I never had any thoughts of playing trombone as my profession, let alone saving sentient beings by playing it. Soon, the Divine Land Marching Bands were established in different regions, and I quickly picked the trombone back up. However, we only practiced on weekends and holidays and not as a profession.
Some local practitioners joined Shen Yun Performing Arts Tian Yin Orchestra and mentioned to me that the Shen Yun Orchestra was looking for professional trombone players. They hoped that I would practice hard and audition. I wanted to support Dafa projects, however, I was not confident in my trombone skills or my music background. So I practiced very hard for several days. Then I asked a local practitioner to record an audition tape and send it to Shen Yun. Soon the office contacted me for a face-to-face interview. However, because my cultivation state was lacking and my xinxing was not so positive, I wasn't clear about Shen Yun Performing Arts' mission of helping Master to rectify the Cosmos and save sentient beings. Therefore, I didn't participate in that year's tour. Afterwards, I paid a lot of attention to the Shen Yun shows. I not only watched many shows, but I also felt very excited and inspired after each show. A sense of sacredness rose up from the bottom of my heart. I thought to myself that if there was another chance for me to join, I should seize it and never let go.
In 2008, the office called again, asking me to join. I knew that this would be the greatest opportunity to fulfill my vow from ancient times, so I quit my previous job and right after Independence Day, I became a full-time trombone player for Shen Yun TianYin II Orchestra. Looking back, I realize that this was possible because I had studied the Fa more thoroughly and developed the correct attitude about Shen Yun and its significant impact. When a person's righteous thought is very strong, the old forces cannot take advantage of my attachments and stop me from completing my path and fulfilling my vow.
Changes Come from Studying the Fa Diligently. My Cultivation and Professional Playing Techniques Soar Thousands of Li Each Day
Although I have clarified the truth about Falun Dafa often, since I did not study the Fa in depth for a long time, I had drifted away like an ordinary person. Sometimes I felt I ashamed to consider myself a "Fa-Rectification Period Dafa Disciple." Upon joining Tian Yin II Orchestra, daily Fa study and exercises are guaranteed. Dafa's mighty power emerged before me. I remembered that Master asked us to "practice very hard," so I tried to use my time well to play the long notes and musical pieces from the show. At the beginning, you couldn't even hear the trombone part when the entire orchestra was playing. Later, I improved and you could actually hear me playing. There were all kinds of problems, such as being out of tune all the time, I could not keep up with the beat, and my sound quality was not pleasant to the ears, either. I could not read sheet music and I could not sustain my breath long enough to play coherent melodies. Even the young players in my orchestra knew my trombone skills were quite poor.
However, I believe that Dafa's mighty power is omnipotent. What manifests on the surface is just a process. As long as I listen to Master closely, I can achieve and meet the standards that Master requires. Only if I make myself meet the standards of studying the Fa well and practicing my technical skills first, then the miracle will happen. Only then would Master's magnificent energy be able to channel through my body. Then, for those beings who have come for the Fa, upon hearing Shen Yun's music, they would be inspired and their Buddha Nature would emerge.
In this way, my trombone skills got better day-by-day. I learned how to use a tuner and could play the pitches and arpeggios much better. When I first came to Shen Yun, I could not even play the scales in tune. Now I am able to play very lengthy segments during Dafa songs that express Dafa's magnificence and the grandness of heavenly worlds. Sometimes, I am so grateful that our compassionate Master has entrusted me with such an honor. He saved me from falling into this human world and bore so much karma and pain for my wrongdoings. My music skills and cultivation improved so much with each passing day!
One day, when I saw one of the audience members give me the thumbs-up after the curtain call, I suddenly realized that I, who trained myself with long notes using the tuner every day, had performed nearly 100 shows in first-class theaters all around the globe. All of this transpired in such a short 10-month period! This is truly unbelievable. Thank you, Master! Thank you, Falun Dafa! A few days back some practitioners asked me why I could play trombone well. I replied, "Only by trusting Master and practicing diligently can you play well. One should trust in Master wholeheartedly, without any conditions."
Hard Earned Achievement
Of course, nothing comes easy, because this is also part of cultivation. There were times when I lacked confidence and my righteous thoughts were not as strong. There were many xinxing and physical tests. The most important part is how much one truly believes in Master. Not only does one have to read more Fa to move past the low point, but also look inward constantly. I will recall a few examples.
When I first started breathing technique training, every day, I would be so tired that I was always out of breath. At night when we returned to the dorm, I was so exhausted that I would lay on top of the sleeping bag and couldn't move anymore. I could only get up again the next morning. This happened many times. Afterwards, the young players in my dorm asked me whether I had taken a shower or brushed my teeth. Whenever this happened, my heart was filled with sour feelings and sadness.
My lips would crack every day. Every so often, the flesh on my lips would break open during both morning and afternoon sessions. Then, the next day, the same thing would happen again. Whenever we had two shows in one day, there would be a sound check with the dancers, which made it like performing three shows! Oftentimes after the show at night when we were about to breakdown the stage, I didn't even have the strength left to talk. In New York City we were performing two shows a day at Radio City Music Hall. During the last several shows, my mouthpiece had literally cut into my lips. But as a Shen Yun member, I had to perform well and save sentient beings. Every note I played felt like a knife cutting into my lips. The pain was excruciating. Also during that time, the nerves in one of my teeth was exposed. The vibration from playing the trombone made the entire nerve system in my head feel like it was exploding and burning. Only I was aware of what I was going through. Towards the end, the brass section made some mistakes during the show. With a practitioner's help, I realized that I complained too much. This was very hard for me to acknowledge. However, I looked inward later and changed my actions accordingly. Afterwards, no matter how tired I felt, I would not complain. This way, the built up blockages were eliminated tremendously in other dimensions.
At one point I pulled my back and injured it. Because playing trombone requires big movement and the extension of both arms and the neck, my back was in great pain. Much karma was being eliminated. At night, I didn't dare to move or roll over, so I lay on my back the entire time. Gradually, I got used to the movement, and my arms grew stronger. Slowly the pain became less agonizing and more bearable.
There were many instances that I almost fainted because of lack of oxygen. At that moment I would lose my vision. I could not see anything except blackness in front of my eyes. This kind of situation occurred mostly while I was playing Dafa songs with long melodies or legato. When I first started playing the trombone, I did not know how to control my breath. Whenever I played melodies, I would use all my power and strength to blow the notes. When I would black out, I could not think or listen to the others playing. Then some practitioners helped me to understand that I sounded very "immature and loud." I could only play loudly rather than softly. Afterwards, I realized my attachment of emphasizing myself over the orchestra--the mentality of showing off. In fact, the sound of Tian Yin Orchestra strengthens with coordination among the instruments. As long as each musical instrument displays its own timbre characteristic and sound quality well during the show, Dafa's miraculous power of saving sentient beings will emerge. No other professional orchestra can compare to its purity at all.
I remember one time, when we first started playing "The Five Millennia Begin," in order to check the tempo of the song, we needed to do rehearsals with all three dance groups. This was my first time playing a Dafa song with more than 100 measures of full-blast melodies. Moreover, we had no trumpet player. To even perform this piece full time was exhausting. I would lose my eyesight. I perspired profusely and trembled uncontrollably. However, to better cooperate with the three dance groups' needs, we played nonstop six times. Every time we played, orchestra members around me checked on me to see if I was okay. To be honest, I wasn't sure about myself, either. I thought: "It's okay, even I feel suffocated. I'd rather be suffocated and make the sacrifice. The dancers' tempo test is quite important." Suddenly, a strong flow of heat has came up from my "dantian." Right away, I no longer felt like fainting. I was very excited. Afterwards, whenever I played "The Five Millennia Begin" it was not so painful. Although still tiring, I could sustain the necessary breath. I believe Master has given me this ability because I was being unselfish. Such instances also occurred during practice while trying to get my pitch right. I would practice all afternoon, but I wasn't able to achieve the correct pitch. Then, during the performance, I was unexpectedly able to play the music on pitch and with correct rhythm. My skills and physical endurance were enhanced like this day-by-day. During the entire course of playing the trombone, I have witnessed many miracles. I truly felt that how much I believed in Master and the Fa was how much improvement I could make in my trombone playing.
Life or Death, Walk the Path Master Has Arranged for Me
I had a technical job before I joined Tian Yin II Orchestra playing trombone. I had a very stable white-collar income and was also very confident in my abilities. I quit my job to become a full-time trombone player. For me, this was a test of life and death. I have always wanted to save money for my parents and become reliable and filial. If I didn't have a job, I would have no source of income. At that time, it was very difficult for me to make the decision to come to Shen Yun. Because my dad continued to practice Falun Gong when the persecution began in China, he was arrested and sentenced to jail for 16 years by the Chinese Communist Party. He's suffered all kinds of severe torture at the hands of the evil Party. My parents got divorced during my childhood. My mom was not with me while I was young. I have always wanted to treat her well and am very attached to this, also. After I graduated from the university, I bought her a luxury car. If I came to Tian Yin, that meant that I could not save money for both of my parents. The car loans and my student loans were huge amounts that would remain unresolved. Most importantly, there aren't any other family members practicing Falun Dafa except my dad and me, and nobody would appeal for my dad. For the 11 years I stayed in the US, I was using all my energy and resources to try to rescue my dad, telling his story to people I met and reaching out to all strata in society. I knew if I came to Tian Yin II Orchestra, I would put all my heart and soul into professional trombone training. I wouldn't have many chances to call for help for him.
It seemed I needed to let go of the attachments to my job, monetary gain, my parents, my family, and my boyfriend at the time by joining Tian Yin II Orchestra. However, I knew as a Falun Dafa practitioner, my mission is to follow Master, saving beings, ever since very ancient times. What Master has arranged for us is the most correct path. I considered it over and over, in the end, I had decided that, even though I couldn't comprehend fully based on my initial xinxing level, I had to harmonize what Master wanted unconditionally. Because what Master has asked of us would be the choice of the future universe. Once I reassured myself of the decision, coming to Tian Yin II felt like a dream. Quitting my job and moving only took a few days. In all circumstances, we should believe in Master with all our heart. Do not think that one can arrange one's own cultivation way and pick his or her cultivation preferences. "Everybody has his own fate."(The Fifth Talk, "Zhuan Falun," Translation Version 2003) It's a test in critical circumstances to find out whether you want to become an enlightened being or an ordinary person. Now that I look back, the leaps and bounds in my trombone playing skills have strengthened my righteous thoughts. I also believe that I vowed to become part of Shen Yun countless eons ago.
Giving Up Human Sentimentalities, Walking the Fa-Rectification Path with Correct Understandings
When I first joined Tian Yin II Orchestra, I didn't let my mom know. Fearing that, because she was not a practitioner she would not understand the situation and circumstances, I hid things from her and didn't tell her anything. After a while, I told her and she was very upset and angry. In order to persuade me to return to ordinary society and resume my previous job, she threatened to disown me and cut off any mother-daughter relationship by publicizing this through the newspaper. She pressured me with the carrot and stick approach. Listening to her crying and losing her temper, my heart was greatly troubled and I became very passive. I think this test was targeted toward my attachment to her and my regrets over our relationship. Therefore, I clenched my teeth. Every day I would make a phone call to her and try to comfort her. Many times the calls ended up with her scolding me and hanging up. Because my mom had misunderstandings, for a period of time, I endured great pain in my heart. Sometimes when I saw other orchestra members calling their parents, exchanging their understandings both like family members and fellow practitioners, I felt so alone in my heart. I couldn't contact or share my life with either of my parents. I couldn't make them understand what I do. These tormenting feelings preying on my mind were harder to endure than the physical pains.
I had loopholes and I was wrong. Doing Dafa projects is the most significant and wonderful, upright thing one can promise to do. I should have been open with my mom and let her know about Dafa. For a period of time, I hadn't communicated well with her. I hadn't told her the truth and saved her. Therefore, the old forces had been using this as an excuse to test my will to join Shen Yun Performing Arts. I needed to persevere. I thought that, even though I had shortcomings and attachments, my wish could not be changed at all. Moreover, I didn't pass the test of human sentimentality and was stuck for a period of time. It's really not befitting a cultivator's mindset. At that time, I felt like: "Persevering, lifting the feet, the ten-thousand-pound legs, Forbearing hardships, advancing whole-heartedly, discarding attachments;" ("Climbing the Tai Mountains," Hong Yin, Translation Version B) I clenched my teeth and eliminated a lot of fundamental sentimentalities. As a result, my mom became much more understanding towards me. Now most of my family members in China know I am playing trombone with Shen Yun Performing Arts. Some of them still don't understand. But my heart is not worried anymore. I am filled with happiness and a calm state of mind, walking the path that Master has arranged for me.
Certainly, I also have many shortcomings and attachments. I depend too much on the external environment for studying the Fa and doing the exercises. I need to improve my relationships with my fellow practitioners. I have a strong attachment to hoping that others will understand me more and so on. During the ten months that I have been with Shen Yun Performing Arts, there have been hardships and delightful rewards. However, every single step of the way was guided and protected by our compassionate and merciful Master. I truly understand that if we fully believe in Master and Dafa and express each and every note with a pure heart, miracles would be presented to us. There are many examples like myself in Shen Yun Performing Arts. It's not just me. This is truly is:
"Disciples' righteous thoughts are strong
Master has the power to turn the tide"
( "Master-Disciple Grace," Hong Yin II, Translation Version B)
These have been some of my experiences over the past ten months. Because the time is limited, I can't share all my stories and understandings and will stop here.
Thank you, Master! Thank you, everyone!
(Clearwisdom.net) In my neighborhood twice a month, a florist comes here to sell flowers. As I passed by, I asked him, "Have you heard about Falun Gong?" When he said he didn't know about it, I asked, "You don't know or you don't want to know?" He replied, "I don't want to know." I said, "This is such a big issue that I think you should know the facts about Falun Gong." So I talked to him about how Falun Gong practitioners aspire to the principle of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and this helps people to be good by paying attention to virtue and that Falun Gong has nothing to do with politics.
I told him the 2001 Tiananmen Square Self-immolation was staged and that it was orchestrated by Jiang Zemin to deceive the common people and slander Falun Gong's good reputation. The florist was very surprised to hear this and said, "If I did not listen to you, I wouldn't have known this and would have continued to believe what the state TV said." I asked him to quit the CCP and all its affiliated organizations and he agreed. I asked him to keep in mind that "Falun Dafa is good." In addition I gave him the DVDs of 2008 and 2009 Shen Yun performances. He took them with pleasure and said, "These are precious." He also pointed to his own face and said, "You see my complexion looks so healthy." He understood that it was Falun Gong that brought him these blessings.
I spoke with a person who collects trash. After "clarifying the facts" of Falun Gong to him, I helped him quit the Youth League and the Young Pioneers. I saw that he had several cuts and scratches on his face, which he said were a result of sleeping at a warehouse where his face, hands and legs were bitten by mice. I asked him to keep in mind that "Falun Dafa is good." He was very happy, and said, "The mice won't dare to bite me anymore." Several years passed, and over this time his face turned from sallow to rosy and healthy. He is blessed for believing that Falun Gong is good.
(Clearwisdom.net) I am 50 years old and have been practicing Falun Gong since March of 1997. Teacher has purified my body and given me a second life.
Teacher said, "Dafa disciples' cultivation is not merely for the sake of individual Consummation. Doing well at the three tasks of Dafa disciples and saving sentient beings are things Dafa disciples must do." ("To the Midwest Fa Conference in Minnesota") I have been doing the three things a Dafa disciple should do - the morning exercises, sending forth righteous thoughts four times a day, participating in group Fa-study, clarifying the truth, and asking people to withdraw from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, the old forces tried to test me and interfere with my doing the three things by having me suffer physical discomfort. Once, I vomited a large amount of black liquid. When I tried to eat, I felt nauseous and vomited it up a short while later. I would also throw up even after drinking water. This lasted for about a week.
At that time, I had only one firm thought, "Believe in Teacher and Dafa and completely reject the old forces' arrangement. I only accept the path Teacher arranges for me and will not accept any other path." I still went out to distribute truth-clarification materials and the Shen Yun DVDs, clarify the truth face to face, and ask people to withdraw from the CCP. I used "truth-clarification" bills to buy things. At night, I couldn't sleep because of the unbearable stomach pain I had. Still, I got up to send forth righteous thought at 12 midnight and did the morning exercises as usual. However, I felt energetic during the day. Dafa is truly miraculous.
A month later, I had lost a lot of weight. My son grew worried and asked me to go see a doctor. I told him, "Teacher says, 'In practicing cultivation of our school, you will not have any problems as long as you can conduct your xinxing well, since one righteous mind can subdue one hundred evils. If you cannot maintain your xinxing well and go after this or that, you are bound to get yourself into trouble. " (Zhuan Falun) Since I am cultivating in Dafa, I firmly believe in Teacher and Dafa."
Teacher also says, "It is known that what actually causes people to become ill is seventy percent psychological and thirty percent physiological. Typically, one experiences a mental breakdown, the mind cannot handle it, and one suffers a heavy mental burden before the illness' condition drastically worsens. It is usually like this." (Zhuan Falun) My son was convinced and never mentioned about seeing a doctor again. It is truly like Teacher says, "...just by having your heart unaffected you will be able to handle all situations." ("Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)" from Essentials For Further Advancement II)
Facing the interference, I looked within and diligently studied the Fa to avoid further loopholes for the evil to take advantage of. I found many hidden attachments. I eliminated the resentment I still harbored, the attachment of fighting and jealousy. Teacher said, "What is cultivation? What is the ultimate goal of cultivation? It's to emerge from among ordinary people. When you're no longer one of them, can ordinary people's various conflicts, attachments, and different factors still have an effect on you? Absolutely not." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference") Teacher's words dissipated my confusion. The conflicts between my mother-in-law and me were resolved. I began to have the compassion of a cultivator.
During the two months that I was interfered with, I didn't passively endure and lay in bed. Instead, I was in charge of distributing truth-clarification materials to several practitioners. I also persisted in studying the Fa and continued to do my chores at home, including taking care of my mother-in-law. I firmly walked the path that Teacher arranged for me and completely rejected the old forces' arrangement. It is truly as Teacher said, "If you weren't attached to anything the old forces would have no excuse and could do nothing to you." ("Teaching the Fa at the Meeting with Asia-Pacific Students") Now I can eat and drink normally. I have witnessed the power of Dafa.
Our path of cultivation is very narrow. If we are not careful, we can easily deviate from it. Only by walking the path that Teacher has arranged for us can we completely reject the interference and arrangement of the old forces.
June 10 2009
(Clearwisdom.net) I am a young Falun Gong practitioner. I would like to share my humble insights on my truth-clarification work and my cultivation practice.
1. Eliminating My Attachment to Selfishness
I am very good at my job but I tend to complain a lot in private. Because I am very good at computer word processing, my boss tends to send a lot of work to me when he is busy. Although I am capable of handling the workload, I often feel bitter and complain about it. It was not until a colleague of mine was annoyed about my complaints that I was astonished by my state of mind as a cultivator. I felt so ashamed. Since then, if I find myself being treated unfairly, I recite an article from Essentials for Further Advancement.
Teacher said,
"A wicked person is born of jealousy.
Out of selfishness and anger he complains about unfairness towards himself.
A benevolent person always has a heart of compassion.
With no discontentment or hatred, he takes hardship as joy.
An enlightened person has no attachments at all.
He quietly observes the people of the world deluded by illusions."("Realms" in Essentials for Further Advancement)
As soon as I feel I am being treated unfairly, I try to follow the Fa. Gradually my attachment to selfishness grows less and less. These days even when I am required to contribute more than others, I am less likely to feel anger or unfairness. Instead, I feel a lot of joy during the process. In the past when I was constantly complaining, I thought only negatively about my boss. Now that I am giving up more and more my attachment to selfishness, my boss appears to be a kind and agreeable person from all aspects. As I continue to improve my xinxing, my work performance keeps improving as well. As a result, it becomes easier to clarify the truth at work.
2. Doing What I Am Supposed to Do
Two years ago when I graduated from school, I kept wondering which type of job I should get that would allow me time for my Fa-study and truth-clarification work. Due to a variety of reasons, I decided to take my current job. For a while I wanted to quit my job because I didn't like the work environment or the benefits. Then I decided that a cultivator should not be picky about the environment in which she is placed; a cultivator should create an environment. My wish for a better work environment reflected my attachment to comfort and my intention to avoid more work. Why don't I try to transform my environment? With this in mind, I realized that the environment truly changes as my mentality changes.
I used to feel embarrassed about taking time off to travel to Hong Kong to clarify the truth to mainland Chinese tourists. Nowadays my boss and my colleagues even make suggestions as to when would be a good time for me to take time off for my cause. Many people find the support from my colleagues to be incredible. Actually I don't make plans for truth-clarification work. If I can afford the time, I do it as much as I can. It is just like what Teacher has said,
"Also, a lot of our students are concerned about many things, all kinds of stuff. In fact, once you think about those things your realm has dropped. Don't think about anything, and don't worry about anything. Master is compassionate, and he'll definitely arrange for you what's the best." ("Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Vancouver, Canada, in 2003")
3. Cultivate Myself During Truth-Clarification Work
In addition to traveling to Hong Kong to clarify the truth, I also clarify the truth over the Internet at home. Once when I had just returned from Hong Kong, I found myself having difficulty clarifying the truth over the Internet. I felt I was very eloquent when I clarified the truth to people face-to-face and was quite good at persuading people to quit the CCP and/or its two affiliated student leagues. Feeling rather pleased with myself, I went on the Internet to clarify the truth via chatting, but it didn't go well. I became anxious and it went even worse. For several days I was not successful in getting anyone to quit the CCP. People even said nasty things to me, which made me feel terrible. I discussed the problem with a fellow practitioner who suggested that I try to eliminate all attachments and persevere in clarifying the truth. I reinforced my righteous thoughts. The next day I made a breakthrough. People I chatted with became more receptive and started to quit the CCP.
I have experienced many miracles. The most memorable experience was when a man who was unresponsive at first kept looking for me after two days. Back then I was impatient towards those who didn't want to quit the CCP right away because they tended to be interested in chatting about everyday things. At first I ignored him I decided to give him my attention after I had finished chatting with other people. He said in an anxious yet serious tone, "I have been waiting for you for a long time." He said that his work organization asked to him join the CCP the day after we last chatted. He immediately remembered what I had told him and thought for a long time before he decided to chat with me. I clarified the truth about the CCP to him one more time and he decided to quit the CCP's two student leagues right away. This experience made me reflect upon my lack of righteous thoughts. I felt I was still full of human thoughts. When I met a receptive person, I took delight in clarifying the truth to him. When I met a a less receptive person, I lost interest and moved on. How could I clarify the truth well when I harbor such a filthy attachment at heart? Regardless of their responses, I must not underestimate the effect of our truth-clarification work. In addition, people's attitudes reflect problems with my own cultivation and require me to rectify myself.
4. Pay Attention to Studying the Fa
For a while I felt as though I had been doing the three things as though I was just trying to get it over with. I felt I wasn't really trying to be diligent in my cultivation practice. This lasted for a while. I found it difficult to break through it. At times I felt I was worse than an average person. The only thing that differentiated me from an ordinary person was that I had not given up the three things. However, I often found excuses not to study the Fa during that period of time. I was very nonchalant about it. At the beginning of this year when I was clarifying the truth at a tourist spot, I felt I was stagnant in many aspects of my cultivation practice. If this went on I would deviate further away from the standard for a Falun Gong practitioner. Teacher said,
"There are a lot of things you still aren't able to do well as Dafa disciples, though, and I can tell you that this is in fact because you've neglected Fa-study. The reason is, your surface, which is still assimilating to the Fa, needs to be constantly improved, and as you constantly improve, the things that you need to cultivate away have to be arranged for. Every realm has its own state of being. If you remain stagnant, you definitely won't be able to keep up with the Fa-rectification. When you do well in the Fa-rectification, I can see that it's always because you are able to understand the Fa from the Fa; and when you do somewhat poorly, I can see that it's because you aren't making a priority of Fa-study and you aren't able to understand the Fa from the Fa." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston")
Once I realized that my Fa-study was lacking, I made plans to study the Fa systematically and made sure I studied a certain amount of Fa. Gradually I became diligent in my Fa-study and stopped feeling numb at heart. Once I paid attention to my Fa-study, I was able to remove attachments again and improve my xinxing in many ways. I made several breakthroughs. Next I identified when I started to neglect my Fa-study. When my work organization was busy with employee performance evaluations last year, I was anxious to get the job done. I kept working overtime and neglected my Fa-study. This is what led to my lack of diligence and nonchalant attitude. I also neglected my Fa-study when I was worried about my performance at work or at school. There is no skipping in cultivation. If I fail to pass one test, it will come back again until I pass it. Now that I understand the problem, I pay special attention to arranging my schedule, eliminating my attachments to anxiety and fear of bad job performance and make sure I study the Fa well.
5. Conclusion
Living amongst non-cultivators, I face all kinds of temptations. In order to do the three things well and keep cultivating myself, I must balance work and personal life. This is a long-term test for cultivators. I hope that we will cherish this time and do better so as to fulfill our historical mission.
(Clearwisdom.net) I copied and gave out the Shen Yun DVDs all by myself. I used to put them in the supermarkets or on the seats of public transport. In the afternoon several days ago, my aunt brought a friend to my home to visit my father. I thought, "This time I should give them the Shen Yun DVDs in person and let them know the truth."
At around 5:00 p.m. that day, my aunt and her friend came to my home to talk to my father. I took the DVDs and my child downstairs, where I waited for them and sent forth righteous thoughts. Outside the wind was blowing and it seemed like it was about to rain.
We waited for about half an hour and they still did not come downstairs (as is the usual custom, my father won't keep visitors chatting for more than half an hour). I was kind of impatient, and my human notions emerged: "Don't give them the DVD, since there seems to be something wrong." But there was another thought, "No, you have to give it to them. If you miss this chance, there will be no more."
So I went upstairs to see why they had not come down yet, and I saw they were still excitedly talking. Shortly, the visitor said he was leaving. I walked them downstairs and gave them the Shen Yun DVD. I explained briefly and they thanked me sincerely before leaving.
At that moment, the rain stopped and there appeared a beautiful rainbow. I had not seen a rainbow for many years. From the time I walked the visitors downstairs, to the rain starting and stopping, to the appearing of the rainbow, was less than five minutes. I know it was our compassionate Master who was encouraging me. I thought to myself that I should definitely give the Shen Yun DVD with righteous thoughts, that I should not slacken my efforts just because it was only one person. Later on when I gave out the Shen Yun DVDs face to face to other people, only once did someone refuse to take it. All of the others said, "Thank you" and accepted it with smiles.
Thinking about enlightening to Master's Fa time after time for the past dozen years, thinking of the flowers blossoming on the theft-proof window, thinking of the beautiful rainbow, I truly believe that I feel so happy and fortunate to be a Dafa disciple in the Fa-rectification period.
(Clearwisdom.net) A kind, elderly man lives in a small village near Qingdao City, Shandong Province. He helps his son take care his store every day, and he enjoys talking to practitioners about Falun Gong.
Prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, police officers were stationed in front of the elderly man's store to monitor the practitioners in the village. The man was opposed what the police were doing, so he told them, "Don't station yourselves here anymore. I feel afraid when I see anyone wearing your uniform." The policemen asked him why. He said, "When I was young, I was beaten up by 'bad people.' Now your uniform reminds me of those bad people." The police felt awkward and left.
The next day, the police returned wearing plainclothes. The elderly man pretended not to recognize them as police officers. He said to them, "I heard that nowadays the police do not arrest bad people, but good people. Those Falun Gong practitioners don't do things such as steal, rob, kill, or commit arson; they always do good things and are considerate of others, and yet the police arrest them. But as for murderers, arsonists, thieves, corrupt officials and criminals, the police ignore them after being bribed. What kind of the society is this when even the authorities cannot tell right from wrong?" Hearing this, the officers did not know what to say and quickly left.
After that, whenever the plainclothes police showed up, the old man would manage to inform the practitioners and remind them to be careful. He also told his children, "Falun Gong is good; don't do anything to harm Dafa or practitioners. You must do good things and accumulate your virtue!"
(Clearwisdom.net)
Party secretary Ji Hengzhi Loses the Ability to Speak
Ji Hengzhi, former CCP secretary of the Education Bureau of Zaoqiang County, Hebei Province, followed the Jiang Zemin clique in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. Since July 20, 1999 he slandered Dafa on TV and persecuted the Falun Dafa practitioners in his work unit.
Ji Hengzhi developed cancer. He recently developed another strange illness, and he can no longer speak after throat surgery.
A Person Denounces Falun Dafa practitioners and Dies Tragically
On June 19 2008, Falun Dafa practitioners Song Yuzhu and Zhang Dong of Dalihe Village, Yantongshan Town, Panshi City, Jilin Province, went to distribute truth-clarification flyers in Yima Town, Panshi City. They were arrested by Song Yubao and taken to Panshi Detention Center. The police coerced Song Yuzhu's family, saying that they would release Song Yuzhu immediately if they denounced other practitioners. Song's family did not resist the coercion and reported Dafa practitioner Zhou Fengyan in Yantongshan Town and the local site where informational materials were prepared. Zhou Fengyan was caught on June 21. On June 22, police went to search Zhang Dong's house, the materials production site. The police found Zhang Dong and other practitioners' cell phone numbers and arrested 21 practitioners by investigating the phone numbers.
Two days later, Song Yubao, who had reported the Dafa practitioner, was drunk and drove a motorcycle into the back of a big truck stopped on the side of the road (the truck had its taillights on). Song Yubao died immediately.
Song Yuzhu and the other practitioners are still detained.
Party Secretary Zhang Yuanhai persecutes Dafa practitioners and meets with retribution
Zhang Yuanhai is the CCP secretary of Dalihe Village, Yantongshan Town, Panshi City, Jilin Province. He enthusiastically persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners since July 20, 1999. He often went with policemen to harass practitioners. The villagers all hated him very much.
Zhang Yuanhai went to jail twice in 2001 and was detained in a detention center for over three months each time. The villagers all said it was karmic retribution. After he would get out of jail, he would continue to persecute Dafa practitioners. In 2006 he was diagnosed with late stage sinus cancer.
Villager Denounces Practitioners, Dies Soon After
Chen Xiusan was a villager from Xiaochenji Village, Wangji Town, Fucheng County, Hebei Province. One time, Falun Dafa practitioner Liu Shuxiang went to clarify the truth to him. Chen Xiusan not only refused to listen, but also called the police to report it, and Liu Shuxiang was arrested.
Not long after that, Chen Xiusan fought with and killed someone, and was then held at a detention center. During his detention, Chen developed bone cancer, lung cancer, and could no longer take care of himself. He died during this year's Qingming festival.
Sheriff Zhou Limin Persecutes Falun Gong and meets with retribution
The former associate sheriff of Xiangtan County, Hunan Province Zhou Limin closely followed the CCP, schemed, organized and took part in arresting, harassing, monitoring, and ransacking Dafa practitioners Luo Xiangjiang, Liu Fangping and Zhou Tianqi. He also published an article entitled, "Thoughts about pushing religion work" on the "Xiangtan Today" website in November 2006 and on the "China Xiangtan Net"website in January 2007. This article contained words defaming Falun Dafa, and is still on the Internet. He committed a crime against Dafa and Falun Dafa practitioners.
In December 2008, Zhou Limin was arrested due to financial problems, sentenced to 10 years, and fined 60,000 yuan. Asking for a bribe of even 215,000 yuan is pocket change to today's officials, however, Zhou ws arrested and jailed.