(May 19, 2001 in Ottawa)
Hello everyone! (Applause)
First, I'd like to wish this conference of ours complete success. (Applause) As Dafa disciples, you know that this is different from any cultivation of any time in history--it's unprecedented. Why? Because you are Dafa disciples. Every type of cultivation in history was purely for a person's own improvement and Consummation, but you are different. You know, in the future there will be a lot more people obtaining the Fa. In other words, two stages follow Dafa's introduction to the public. The first stage is the establishing of Dafa disciples amidst Fa-rectification. Cultivation for people after that has nothing to do with Fa-rectification, and is entirely a matter of just improving themselves for Consummation. So, as Dafa disciples, you have been bestowed with a great, historic mission. This is different, then, from strictly personal cultivation. You need to safeguard the Fa, you need to validate the Fa, and when the Fa is persecuted you expose the evil and do better embodying Dafa--this is what you should do. And you have in fact done this really well--Master sees this very clearly.
Since we cultivate a righteous Fa, no matter what we do, we should approach it with goodness (shan). So, with our good thoughts, everything we've done to validate the Fa and expose the evil has shown our disciples' magnificence and mercy. Meanwhile, we have to eliminate the evil things, period, because they damage the cosmos and damage sentient beings. In other words, without these evil things there would be no need for Fa-rectification. This hasn't occurred in any period of history--there's no precedent, there's no example to follow. Your ability to do all of this well truly reflects your magnificence as Dafa disciples. And this is your privilege, because no being in history has had an opportunity like this--this is a first. During these couple of years you've all done really well, and I've mentioned this on different occasions. What's more, in the Fa-rectification process the students have, on the whole, not only done well in an average sense, but incredibly well! Whether it's students in Mainland China or students outside the Mainland, you've all done really well, you've fully played the role of Dafa disciple, you've used the abilities you have and the means at your disposal, and you've done what everyday people aren't able to; this is especially so for those who've lost their human bodies for Dafa--all of you have shown your magnificence while validating the Fa.
In the Fa-rectification you've all done really well. As long as the evil isn't completely eliminated, though, we still need to keep doing even better. We must expose and eliminate the evil. Chinese people have been the biggest victims amidst the evil's damage. All the methods employed by the evil political gang of scoundrels in the Chinese government are the most despicable, the most evil, and unknown to history--they have reached the extreme, they couldn't possibly be worse. Never before has a government been used to do these scoundrel things. All the things our Dafa disciples have done with good thoughts have moved the world's people and have moved the beings at every level, while the evil that has reared its head in Mainland China has infuriated beings at every level. The contrast between these evil beings and our goodness (shan) is dramatic. You know, when this evil sees that it's going to be eliminated it runs totally rampant. It is bad, it is venomous, and it is evil. And just like poison, if you want it not to poison people it can't do that--that's just how it is. So in the process of eliminating it don't be lenient at all--just clean it out! Here I'm not referring to human beings, but to those evil beings that manipulate humans. Actually, my disciples all have abilities, and this includes students in China and other countries, as well as some new students. They all actually have abilities. Because in the Fa-rectification every stage is a trial, a test, being left for different situations in different future periods of history1, this is a magnificent Fa being left for the history of the cosmos. As far as your own cultivation goes, you've already gone through the course of cultivation. You are beings who are being established for Dafa. The last leg of your journey is your elevation to your own original and highest position. With their exceptional breadth of mind, Dafa disciples can endure anything, but different things will happen in different histories of the future. This Great Fa of the cosmos is to leave for sentient beings at different levels in different periods of history a reference for when problems occur in different periods at different levels, and is to leave for beings ways of handling all kinds of situations that occur at different times in history. That is, all the types of problems that manifest today are references being left to history. The manifestations are complicated and they seem random, but in fact they're very well ordered. They're being left for history [to demonstrate] how problems that will occur in different periods in the future should be handled. So if the evil has reached the point of being no longer savable, how to handle it isn't a question of one's personal cultivation--it is guarding the Fa of the cosmos. When necessary one can use different abilities of different levels to eliminate it.
As you know, my Fa isn't taught to you alone--different levels are all listening. So in other words, this Fa-rectification task exists at different levels. Under special circumstances one may eliminate evil--this can be done. This hasn't existed before in the cultivations in history. The various correct states that you are displaying at this time in each and every regard, and how you handle things in all kinds of situations, are all being left for history. So they're both serious and crucial. Of course, when we eliminate evil you should keep in mind that if you have the intention of showing off, have ordinary human fears, or have impure thoughts, you won't be able to achieve the goal. Why do you have an ability like this? It's only because you are a great cultivator. So when you send forth that thought it couldn't have been sent by anyone but a great cultivator. That is why when some students use this ability, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. That's where the problem lies. But with that said, when something really should be eliminated, it just has to be eliminated. It's not only you who does the eliminating; if a cultivator can't eliminate it, Gods--including higher Gods--also need to take part in eliminating it.
Another thing is that from now on at group practice or when there's another big conference like this one of ours, our students can quiet their minds for five minutes, sitting with their hands in Jieyin and thinking about eliminating the bad thoughts, karma, bad notions, and external interference in their minds. As you're like this, think that they die, and then they will be eliminated. Five minutes will do. (Applause) When we get together for group practice, think about eliminating the evil in the Three Realms, while holding one hand vertically (li-zhang) in front of the chest, and just think with True Thoughts for five minutes--this should do it. (Applause) It will work, because you are, after all, magnificent cultivators and are different from everyday people. But if you use this for something a cultivator shouldn't, it won't work; as soon as the thought arises, retribution will follow or your level will drop. Remember this!
So next I'll talk about another issue. What issue? You know, the theory of gravity science believes in nowadays is totally wrong. What's brought about this gravity phenomenon that people have described? It happens because all lives and all matter, including air and water, that are on Earth and within the Three Realms--all things that exist in the Three Realms--are composed of particles of all the different levels in the Three Realms, and different particles of different levels are interconnected. This interconnection can, when there's a pulling force, extend or move within the Three Realms. In other words, when you pull it, it can extend like a rubber band, and when you release it, it will go back. That is, there's a basic, stable form of existence among particles. This is why any object in this Earth's environment will come back to the ground after you move it. Of course, I'm not talking about moving a piece of rock to some different location, in which case it wouldn't return to where it was. That's not the idea. The surface of Earth is the boundary of one level. Within this level things can move horizontally since they are all at the same level. But when something moves towards a level beyond its level, it will be pulled back, because the things on Earth are in the realm where particles at this level exist.
Think about it, everyone: the greater cosmic body is extremely vast. Human beings and the Earth are tiny even when they're viewed from a high place within the Three Realms. A human seems to have traveled from New York City to Canada, when in fact, in their eyes it seems that you haven't moved, because the scope of your movement is really small. So when rockets and spaceships take off into the sky, they try to break away from this environment--which is composed of these different-level particles--that makes up the Earth. So human beings use rockets to increase the thrusting force and to move it with great power. As you know, in the Three Realms there exists an atmospheric layer. It looks like an atmosphere, when in fact inside it is an environment composed of countless microcosmic beings whose role is to provide stability so that human beings can exist here. Once something breaks out of this atmosphere, the interconnections among many molecules are broken by the pulling of the strong force. This causes a situation, then: only particles at the periphery are still connected to it, and the pulling force isn't so strong anymore. In other words, although it's no longer in Earth's environment, it is still connected to the realms of other particles in the Three Realms. Only this way can it be stable there. This is the reason why a satellite can stay there. Of course, the same interconnection exists in objects of the same weight but of different volumes. An object that has a small volume but a high density has the same amount of interconnection as an object that has a large volume, so it feels like they weigh the same. There are many other aspects of this if I'm to go into detail. What I was trying to tell you just now is that "gravity" doesn't exist. The real cause is that for the particles in this environment to exist here, they have to be interconnected.
So why, when it comes to cultivators, can a person leave his body? And why can he levitate? It's exactly because your body's matter, which is related to the Earth and is composed of surface-matter particles, has undergone changes. It has severed its connection to the particles in this environment, so you're no longer subject to its cohesive force, and are no longer subject to its restraining and drawing power. That's when you can levitate. So whichever realm you have cultivated to, the composition of your being at the microcosmic level is connected to that realm. When you cultivate to higher levels you will be connected to higher levels and will sever the connections to all levels below. That's the relationship. The connecting and opening of the Great Heavenly Circuit is a manifestation at this level. But students have long since passed this level, only they're locked. From now on, one after another our students will experience different states in cultivation. That's why I've told you about this. I'll just say this much today. I hope this Fa conference goes even better. (Applause)
I know that you've all worked so hard. You have to work and you have to study, you have your family life and social activities, and at the same time you have to take care of your family, do a good job at work, and you have to study the Fa well and do the exercises well, and what's more, you have to clarify the truth. It is hard! It's pretty hard both time-wise and financially. It's hard, so your mighty virtue is displayed; it's hard, and so it's a good opportunity to establish your mighty virtue. Remarkable! Since you are cultivators, even though it's hard you should do even better. That's all I'll say. (Applause)
1. In Chinese, "history" is used more broadly and can be used in reference to the past, present, or future.
Dafa disciples are magnificent, because what you are cultivating is the ultimate Great Fa of the cosmos, because you have validated Dafa with righteous thoughts, and because you have not fallen during the massive tribulation. Dafa disciples' doing Fa-rectification has no precedent in history. In the magnificent, grand feats of validating the Fa with rationality, clarifying the truth with wisdom, and spreading the Fa and saving people with mercy, each Dafa disciple's path of Consummation is being perfected. At this great moment in history, every steady step is a glorious historic testimony, and is incomparably-magnificent mighty virtue. All this is being recorded in the history of the cosmos. The magnificent Fa and the magnificent epoch are forging the most magnificent Enlightened Beings.
Li Hongzhi
May 13, 2001
Note: Master wrote this article on the day that commemorated the 9th anniversary of the Fa's introduction to the public. It is published today when Dafa disciples of Canada celebrate the first "Falun Dafa Festival" and hold the 2001 Cultivation Experience-Sharing Conference. -- ClearWisdom Editors, May 19, 2001
May 25, 2001
Falun Gong practitioners are again appealing to the Canadian government for help in securing the release of a Montrealer believed jailed during a visit to China this month.
Ying Zhu, a 35-year-old permanent resident of Canada described as being "very close" to obtaining her citizenship, disappeared on May 10 during a trip to visit her parents in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.
Prior to her trip to Guangdong, Ms. Zhu had joined a pro-Falun Gong demonstration in Hong Kong, where the Beijing crackdown against the meditation movement is less draconian than in mainland China.
Yesterday, the Hong Kong Human Rights Information Centre confirmed that Ms. Zhu had been arrested and is one of tens of thousands of Chinese citizens being held for practicing Falun Gong.
Earlier this year, pressure from the Canadian government prompted the release of former Montrealer Kunlun Zhang -- who holds both Chinese and Canadian citizenship -- from a Chinese labour camp.
Mr. Zhang, a renowned sculptor who had lived in Montreal for seven years, returned to China in 1996 to help care for his ailing mother. He was arrested last summer for practicing Falun Gong in a public park.
Initially, Chinese officials refused Canadian requests for his release because Mr. Zhang had returned to his homeland using his Chinese passport. But in January, apparently bowing to pressure from international media and Foreign Affairs Minister John Manley on the eve of a Team Canada trade mission to Beijing, China released Mr. Zhang.
Today, Falun Gong practitioners in Montreal will press Canada to urge China to release Ms. Zhu.
Spokesman Yumin Yang said last night that Ms. Zhu is a landed immigrant who has been in Canada for several years. He said her husband, Yan Sun, is a Canadian citizen and that the couple have a business that operates both in China and Canada.
Falun Gong, which [...] combines spiritual teachings and gentle stretching exercises, gained enormous popularity in China in the 1990s. But by 1999, when an estimated 100 million people had become part of the movement, Chinese President Jiang Zemin began to view Falun Gong as a threat to the [party's name omitted] party's authority, declared the movement an "[Chinese government's slanderous term omitted]" and launched a violent crackdown.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/national/010525/5050868.html
Friday, May 25th 2001
MONTREAL (CP) - A Canadian woman who was trying to visit the family she hadn't seen for three years has been arrested by Chinese authorities for practicing Falun Gong, her friends said Thursday. Ying Zhu, who lives in Montreal, vanished shortly after entering China from Hong Kong on May 10.
Worried friends in Montreal tried to locate her after learning that a woman travelling with her had been turned back at the Chinese border because she too practiced Falun Gong, a mix of [...] health exercises and the teachings of Li Hongzhi, who lives in exile in the United States.
"We called Ying's home in China, Ying's parents and her in-laws and we found they did not see her," said Yu Min Yang, a friend and Falun Gong practitioner in Montreal. "That's when we started to worry."
They learned early Thursday from a Hong Kong human rights center that she had been arrested by a Chinese government agency that investigates Falun Gong practitioners.
"She was arrested in Guang Zhou by the so-called 610 Office," Yang said. Guang Zhou is a city south of Hong Kong where Zhu's husband has been staying for the last three months on business.
"Guang Zhou is only three hours from Hong Kong by train," Yang said. "I think that made her make the decision to take a risk to go to China because I think she didn't realize that something so serous could happen. She only practiced Falun Gong here in Canada."
Falun Gong attracted millions of followers in the 1990s. It was outlawed in China in 1999 after more than 10,000 members surrounded the leadership's compound in Beijing in a demonstration to demand official recognition.
China says the movement is [Chinese government's slanderous terms omitted]. Hundreds of followers have been thrown in jail. Others have been tortured or sent to labour camps, say human rights activists.
Yang and a group of followers will hold a news conference Friday to push for help from the federal government and human rights groups.
"We don't even know where she is detained," Yang said of Zhu, who is on the verge of getting her Canadian citizenship.
Even communication with Zhu's husband by e-mail and phone was difficult because Yang thinks the discussions were monitored.
"We got the feeling there was something strange about the telephone," he said. "Her husband talked over the phone very cautiously."
Her husband does not practice Falun Gong.
The Canadian Press, 2001
http://www.ab.sympatico.ca/news/Fullstories/n052511.html
My name is Christine Lin. My family and I live in California. I am now eleven years old, but when these things happened, I was only ten. During my summer vacation, on June 6th, 2000, my mom (her name is Zheng, Li-Juan, an American citizen) and I took a plane to Beijing. With us came a lady from California (her name is Cheng, Ming Hua). Her family is in Beijing; so on the first day of our arrival, we slept at her house.
Our goal at China's capital was to present our grievances about the crackdown on Falun Dafa, a peaceful spiritual group, to the government, then to vacation and visit my grandparents. We never really expected what was about to happen, but we knew that we might get caught when we simply said that Falun Dafa was great. So we visited the famous places in the capital for the first few days.
On the evening of June 13th, after dinner, our friend, her sister, my mom and I took a stroll to visit other local practitioners. When we got to the practitioner's house, there were already 4 friends there. We said brief hellos and chatted, and my mom asked them how they could live here in such a violent crackdown and still be compassionate to the police.
In less than an hour, there suddenly was a violent pounding and shouting at the door. We asked them who they were and they replied, "Open the door! We are the police! Open up!" Our host finally opened the door. A handful of rough policemen trampled in. They shouted, "What are you doing? Go to the police station, now!"
We asked them why. We were just a bunch of friends meeting, unless we didn't have the right to do that. They asked us, "Are you Falun Gong practitioners?" We answered yes. They grabbed us and yelled "That's why. Let's go!"
They rounded us up into their van and drove us to a police station nearby. There, the nine of us were cramped into one of two small, dusty rooms. We cleaned up the room and by then, it was dark. They yelled at us and explained the unreasonable law that we supposedly broke. Then, near 11:00pm, they pulled us out one by one to bombard us with questions only people like them could ask. After they were done with each adult, at midnight, it was my turn. They threatened me with things like, how my school would expel me, and other things. I didn't tell them that I'm from the U.S.A. because they would send us back right away. We still wanted to visit my grandparents in a southern city, and mom already had the two plane tickets to go there. Even if we didn't get to do that, we had to tell people that we didn't do anything wrong, and that it was the government's fault, that they robbed us of our basic human rights: the right to practice what we want and to visit our own family.
That night we slept on the floor.
The next day, one of the hottest days of the year in Beijing, we managed to get to the bathroom to fill our water bottle, and the nine of us had to share this. When we went to the restroom, they didn't allow us to close the stall doors. If we didn't close the doors people could see. We had no privacy.
They separated my mom and me. Later, I saw mom with handcuffs on through the iron bar door. That wasn't fair; mom didn't do anything wrong. And neither did any of our Dafa practitioners that got treated so badly. I was about to cry.
To my relief, mom got them taken off soon enough. I was with mom. I looked at her and started to cry. There was a guard in the room that said the government always catches the good people of Falun Gong and lets the bad people out of jail early. He was right.
Later that afternoon, it was boiling hot. I felt horrible. I was dizzy and tired. It must have been the heat and the cigarette smoke (there were criminals in the room). Mom asked to send me to a hospital. After a while, they finally let us walk to a nearby clinic with a guard.
The police somehow found out that we were from the U.S. They said we had to go back to the United States. We had no choice. We told the police that we still had our airplane tickets to Canton to visit our family, but they said that we couldn't go. They violated our right to visit our family. They forced us to return immediately to the U.S. Because we couldn't change the destination of our plane ticket, the police made us buy another one. So we returned to the United States with a cancelled passport.
While we were in the police station, we were detained for two days with no food. Our friend Cheng Ming Hua has a Green card and she was detained for five days. As for the Beijing practitioners, they had even worse treatment.
Even though I was not born in China, it is my home country. Unfortunately, their government is so unreasonable and awful that I feel very disappointed.
April 28, 2001
[Minghui Net] "A teacher who teaches Tao (law, principle), shares the knowledge, and answers the questions." Teaching Tao is first the priority; so besides the necessary professional knowledge, a teacher must also possess virtue. The following is a story of a teacher who is knowledgeable and is loved by her students.
Chen Lei, female, 35 years old, graduated from a technical college. She taught Politics and Law at Xingji City Middle School, Hebei Province. She attained the Fa in 1997 and has been firmly practicing the Fa since July 20, 1999. Towards the end of October 2000, she was illegally placed into a "transformation class" sponsored by the citys Department of Education (located at Xinleitou Middle School). The department separated the practitioners into single rooms and demanded that they write guarantees (to quit the practice) and gave them materials that criticized other practitioners. Chen Lei took this opportunity to promote the Fa and clarify the truth to her supervisors and staff. She wrote in the guarantee letter, "I promise to practice Falun Gong well, otherwise, I would be sorry to Master." In the criticizing material she wrote, "Restore the reputation of Master. Release the illegally imprisoned practitioners unconditionally." She was released after being illegally detained for 7 days.
On New Year's Day of 2001, the city officials feared that Falun Gong practitioners would go to Beijing to legitimately appeal. They ordered each work unit to monitor the staff. On January 1, 2001, the school leader did not allow Chen Lei to go home and illegally put her under house arrest in the school until 2 AM the next day. Chen Lei refused to cooperate with their behavior and told them they were illegally restricting her personal freedom. Only after her family intervened was she allowed to go home. The next day, Chen Leis family of three went to Shijiazhuang City to visit their relatives, but unfortunately her work unit forced them to go back home.
Three days before the Chinese Spring Festival, the citys "610 Office" arrested Chen Lei and 35 other practitioners for no reason (without legal procedures or detention cards). The 5th day after the Spring Festival, she was released after her family paid a fine of 3000 yuan (translators note, the average monthly salary in China is 500 yuan). They refused to give them a receipt. They would not release practitioner without money. Some practitioners from poor families were illegally detained for a month.
School began after the Spring Festival, and indeed, some students knew that Ms. Chen Lei spent her holidays at the detention center. Rumors were spreading among the students because they did not know the reason for her detainment. As a good teacher of Politics and Law, Chen Lei felt that if she didnt clarify the matter to her students, they would think their teacher had done something illegal. This in turn would discredit the school and the teaching profession. More importantly, one thought of an ordinary person may determine their future; therefore, it is vital that the students understand the truth. Chen Lei then objectively described her experience from October 2000 to Spring Festival 2001 to her four classes. She said, "Our country is a country with a legal system, yet some bad people use their power to violate the law and do all kinds of evil things. I only practice Falun Gong to be a good person, yet I have received so much unfair treatment. From the perspective of the law, Chen Lei explained all the process objectively. Her righteous thoughts won the sympathy and support from her students.
Before practicing Falun Gong, Chen Leis health was not good. She was frequently sick, and she had trouble eating and sleeping well. After practicing Falun Gong, she became healthy and more energetic at work. Even though she could not continue with her regular teaching after she was placed in the "transformation class" in October 2000, her students in all 4 classes received competitive test scores compared to the other classes. Chen Leis personality and moral behavior were highly praised among the school teachers, students, and their parents. Chen Lei's husband, Li Zhiyao, is a basic unit cadre in the citys Agricultural Bank. The bank plans on promoting him to the Vice President position, but first it requires that he be a Communist Party member. However, Jiang Zemin made a rule that the direct relatives of Falun Gong practitioners are not permitted to join the Party; thus, the promising young Li is unable to better serve society.
After Chen Lei clarified the truth to the students, Luo, the Vice President of the school said that the Education Group in Xingji Town would investigate this matter. Chen Lei called Principal Zhao Jiong of Xingji Central School to explain the truth. Zhao would not accept her call. Afterwards, Vice Principal Fang answered the phone and handed the case over to her middle school. Later the school leaders requested to talk to her. Chen Lei told them, "I only persist in directing my heart towards compassion. You placed me in a transformation class, prevented me from going home on New Year's Day, and illegally threw me into the detention center. Because you pushed me like this, I had to tell the truth to everybody. This is all caused by you, and everything I said was a fact." The school leader had no comment. Then an ignorant parent reported this matter to the "610 Office" city government. On February 23, Chen Lei was illegally arrested. She is currently being tortured in the Xingji Detention Center. We do not know how they are going to persecute her. Her students and their parents felt that they have lost a good teacher. They argued, "The current officials are so bad that they only torture good people. What did that parent do? How could anyone turn in a good teacher like Chen Lei?"
A leader in Hebei Province said, "The teachers corps in a particular city is impure." Wang Xudong, the party committee secretary of Hebei Province personally added, "The Chen Lei event is shocking." Then Wang Xudong personally instructed a detailed investigation. At least half of Leis students were interrogated. Principal Mi Lijun of Xingji City Middle School (a Falun Gong practitioner who was also illegally detained in the detention center during Spring Festival) was later dismissed from the school. Pang Yusuo, the chief of the citys Department of Education was given a "big demerit" punishment (disciplinary action within the Party). Jiang Zemins criminal gang also requested the leaders of all levels to regard this as a significant "political event" and to deal with the problem from top to bottom. For a while, the atmosphere in Xungji became tense. Under great pressure, Pang Yusuo ordered the principals of every school to sign a "responsibility certificate." The principal will be dismissed if any similar event related to Falun Gong were to occur in the future. Then, Zhao Bo, the deputy mayor of the city personally monitored and launched a huge soap opera "exposing and criticizing Falun Gong big signature collection." The consequences for refusing to sign are: a student will be suspended from school; a teacher will be forcefully sent to a "transformation class" and dismissed if he or she refuses to be transformed.
According to incomplete statistics, the local teachers who were illegally arrested for practicing "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" included: Han Xingfen, Dai Shilong (sentenced to three years in prison). Teachers who were illegally sent to labor camps included: Li Yulan (three years), Wang Jianxiong (two years; he is an outstanding mathematics teacher in the First Middle School). So far the Xingji education system has announced the dismissal of 8 teachers.
Six teachers are currently illegally detained and persecuted in the "transformation class" of the Xingji Party School, which is run by the city Party Committee:
Guo Yuebin, male, 45 years old, Yuhong Middle School in Xingji.
Lu Jianhua, female, 45 years old, Xinghua Second Elementary School in Xingji.
Xie Xinran, female, 36 years old, Samacun Elementary School in Xingji, was administratively dismissed.
Feng Hao, female, 33 years old, Hezhuang Middle School in Tiangongying County, was administratively dismissed. (work unit telephone: 011-86-311-3183907)
Li Nuan, female, 44 years old, Dashizhuang Middle School in Humujing County, was given a "big demerit" punishment. (work unit telephone: 011-86-311-3371650)
Li Yulan, female, 47 years old, Gaozhuang Elementry School in Hemujing, was administratively dismissed. She wrote to the Secretary General of United Nations in December 1999 to expose the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. She was illegally sent to a labor camp (No.2 class, 2nd detachment of 4th Unit in Shijiazhuang detention center). Before Spring Festival 2001, she was released but was soon forced into the "transformation class" and has not been released yet .
A teacher is a knowledgeable person; a noble person is an example. These teachers who practice Falun Gong had been teaching students with personal examples and influencing them with pure morals. Isnt this a good thing that benefits the people and the country? However, the officials in the educational system in Xingji City and Hebei Province persecuted the teachers who had the courage to clarify the truth to the innocent students. This kind of behavior is already destroying the future of humanity.
For these teachers -- the "engineers of human soul," for the dignity of human moral virtues, kind people who know the truth, please stretch out your hands to rescue the teachers in danger!
Practitioners in China
[Minghui Net] Zhou Kaidong, head of the Labor Reeducation Bureau of Beijing is a known criminal
The local judicial department arrested Zhou Kaidong, head of the Labor Reeducation Bureau of Beijing, for embezzling 20 million RMB (2.5 million USD). Zhou is now incarcerated in the Detention Center of the Beijing Safety Bureau. His criminal activities, including corruption, acceptance of bribes and diverting public funds for personal use, are well known and widely discussed.
How did this criminal get to be head of the Labor Reeducation Bureau of Beijing?
After July 1999, Zhou won the favor of Jiang Zemin's corrupt circle because of his active involvement in the persecution of Falun Gong. He therefore temporarily evaded a judicial investigation. After New Year's Day of 1999, Zhou made a point of appearing in public often, inciting people "to fight Falun Gong to the death." In the Labor Reeducation Bureau, he forced every policeman to attack Falun Gong and to make a pledge "to keep pace with" Jiang Zemin. He even earned the title "the head of thugs" by the policemen. Any policemen who were Falun Gong practitioners and insisted on the pursuit of truth and continued practicing were punished by being "expelled from the party," "expelled from police force," and other administrative punishments. Under Zhou's instigation, the policemen who were most greedy were encouraged to persecute Falun Dafa practitioners without any restrictions. Zhou even offered a 2,000 RMB (about two months' salary for an average urban worker) reward for "transforming" a Dafa practitioner. Because they gained both honor and money for persecuting Falun Dafa practitioners, no evil act was ruled out in their "transformation" attempts.
Zhou Kaidong was corrupt. He embezzled huge sums of money. He encouraged the corruption of other policemen. Thus we see that the officials actively involved in the persecution of Falun Gong are themselves corrupt. Out of their hatred of truthfulness-benevolence-forbearance and their greed for money, they would do anything to ingratiate themselves to Jiang Zemin, who is himself the pinnacle of corruption. How can Jiang Zemin and his corrupt circle endure in the face of the public scrutiny and massive upheaval occurring at this stage in history?
(From someone who is in the know on May 20, 2001)
[Minghui Net]
Both Zhang Dong and his wife are Dafa practitioners. They got married because they share the same life goals.
Zhang Dongs left arm was amputated. He had to have emergency treatment in the Intensive Care Ward of Tiantan Hospital.
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Zhang Dong, a 32-year-old male practitioner, became a web editor in Beijing after his graduation from college. He married a Falun Dafa practitioner. Their marriage was based on cherishing the same life goals.
On July 21 1999, the political gang headed by Jiang Zemin launched the crackdown to slander Dafa and persecute Dafa practitioners. Zhang and his wife were driven out of their home at Songyuli in Beijing because they held firmly to their belief in Dafa.
They rented a room in Tong County. In October 1999, some policemen illegally entered their home and confiscated their property. Then the police arrested Zhang Dong, his wife and his mother-in-law. Zhang Dong was detained in the Dongcheng Detention Center for 4 months. His wife and his mother-in-law were sent back to their hometown of Shenyang City. His wife was detained for over 4 months there. His mother-in-law was sent to the Masanjia Labor Reeducation Camp in order to "reform" her forcibly.
On November 6 2000, Zhang Dong was arrested again from another rental room at Songyuli in Beijing because the police monitored his cell phone and tracked him to where he lived. His property was once again illegally confiscated. He was then detained in the Chongwen Detention Center for a month. At that time, his wife was 7 months pregnant. Officers from the Huashi Police Station in Chongwenmen continued to harass them in their daily lives even after Zhang Dong was released. Zhang and his wife now had no way to make a living.
Right before the Spring Festival in 2001, the Chongwenmen police again took some illegal actions towards Zhang Dong and his wife because they refused to sign the "guarantee to stop practicing." Zhang and his wife had to leave their home to avoid further persecution.
On April 30, 2001, several cops from the local police station fiercely knocked at the door of their rented room at Yizhuang in Daxing Developing Zone in Beijing when Zhang Dong, his wife, their babysitter and their 2-month-old baby were taking a nap. The police neither explained the reason they came nor identified themselves, so Zhang Dong didnt open the door. After about half an hours knocking, the police claimed that they were going to "take action" if Zhang still did not let them in. Then, due to the policemen's violence, Zhang Dong and Liu Xiaohong (she was their babysitter and also a Dafa practitioner) somehow fell from the fourth floor and were badly injured. The left side of Zhang Dong's body hit the ground first and his eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth bled. An examination at the Tiantan Hospital showed that Zhang suffered three fractures in his left arm, three fractures, with bones shattered, in his left leg, a fracture in his pelvis and a lot of blood in his abdominal cavity. A large part of his intestines were bruised and injured. The wounds oozed blood continuously. He also had lung failure. Zhang gradually regained consciousness after being treated for six days in the Intensive Care Ward. Zhang Dongs left arm was amputated because the left side of his body was so badly injured.
After this tragic event, You X, the Director of the Chongwenhua Municipal Police Station in Beijing, deceived Zhangs wife into going to the police station, separating her from her husband and trying to forcibly "reform" her even when his life was in great danger. She didnt even know her husbands left arm would be amputated! Later when she learned this from her relatives, Zhang Dongs arm had already been cut off. Officers from the Yizhuang Police Station illegally searched their home and once more their property was confiscated.
Liu Xiaohongs back hit the ground first and she lost consciousness at once. The Tiantan Hospital said she had fractures in her legs and she was sent back to Hebei Province. (Liu is from Sanlangnan Town at Sanlang Region of Gucheng County in Hebei Province.) We dont have any further information about her.
Now the police, the local community and the Security Department at the Tiantan Hospital illegally monitor Zhang Dongs ward.
For the past 2 years, the political gang headed by Jiang Zemin has persecuted Falun Gong practitioners maliciously. In order to remain steadfast in their belief, Zhang Dong, his wife and many other Falun Gong practitioners have endured many tribulations that ordinary people are unable to endure.
Currently, Zhang Dong is at the Orthopedics Department on the sixth floor in Tiantan Hospital. The phone number there is 010-67050188.
The phone number for Tiantan Hospital is 010-67016611.
Provided by Practitioners from Mainland China
We wrote a petition letter to our Wisconsin Congressmen, asking them to do everything they can to support Falun Gong practitioners; then we collected signatures on it. We then sent the letter together with those signatures to our Congressional representatives. The following letter is a response from a Wisconsin Congressman to a person (not a practitioner) who signed the petition. The person sent the letter to us to show his encouragement and support for our clarifying the truth to people.
We contacted our Congressional representatives because they have a natural ability to raise people's awareness of the persecution suffered by Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China. With regard to what they want to do to support Falun Gong practitioners, however, that is their own individual decision. Falun Gong and Falun Gong practitioners do not have any political agenda.
Dear Mr. xxx,
Thank you for your letter of 28 April to Foreign Office Minister, John Battle MP, about the treatment of supporters of the Falun Gong movement in China. I have been asked to reply on his behalf.
We have been deeply concerned at the treatment of Falun Gong leaders and adherents since the exercise based Qigong group was banned in July 1999. Believing the movement to be a threat to state security, the Chinese authorities have engaged in a repressive program of "re-educating" ordinary adherents and handing down excessive sentences against the Movement's leaders. There have been numerous reports of harsh treatment in custody or during interrogation.
Through our policy of critical dialogue with the Chinese, we have made it clear that such actions are unacceptable and in direct contravention of provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China signed in October 1998 but has yet to ratify. Falun Gong has been raised at the highest levels with the Chinese authorities. The Prime Minister did so with Chinese president Jiang Zemin on 19 October 1999. The Foreign Secretary pressed Chinese Foreign Minister, Tang Jiaxuan, in New York on 12 September for swift action to improve the respect for human rights in China.
We also raise the Chinese authorities' mistreatment of Falun Gong adherents during the regular UK/China human rights dialogues with China. During the last round held in Beijing between 12-14 February, in addition to rehearsing our general concerns, we also expressed concern at the manner in which Falun Gong demonstrators were manhandled in Tiananmen Square on 1 October 2000 and 1 January. We sought details on a number of individual Falun Gong leaders and practitioners, representative of many more, who received long sentences for apparently minor acts. The Chinese typically respond along the lines that the movement is an "evil XX [slanderous word respectfully omitted]" which seeks to brainwash its followers and is a danger to the state.
We have also been concerned at a number of cases of harassment of UK-based Falun Gong practitioners, including through intimidation of relatives based in China. We view such incidents seriously. Mr. Battle called in the Chinese Ambassador in London, Ma Zhengang, on 20 June 2000 and demanded that such activities cease.
The Chinese authorities can be in no doubt about the strength of our feelings on this important issue.
I hope this is helpful.
Yours sincerely
Michael Murtagh
China Hong Kong Department
á
á
The Rt Hon Michael Ancram QC
Chairman of the Conservative Party
John Dee Esq
Chairman, Friends of Falun Gong UK
17th May 2001
Dear Mr. Dee,
The Party Chairman has asked me to thank you for your letter of 28th April and to reply on his behalf.
The Chairman is grateful to you for bringing your organization to his attention and has noted the points you make. The next Conservative government will return to the practice of co-sponsoring an annual resolution at the UN Human Rights Commission criticizing China's Human rights' record unless and until that record improves.
Thank you once again for writing.
Yours sincerely,
Chairman's Office
Conservatives
Conservative Central Office
32 Smith Square, Westminster, London SW1P 3HH
Tel: 020 7222 9000 Fax: 020 7222 1135
www.conservatives.com
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| Experience Sharing Conference | Experience Sharing Conference | Group practice in front of the parliament |
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| Yacht parade | Yacht parade | Yacht parade |
This year, from May 4th to the 6th, German practitioners participated in a New Age Exploration Fair in Hanover, Germany. They made three speeches during the fair and introduced Falun Gong from a variety of angles, such as medicine, health, cultivation, etc. At the end of the fair, more than a dozen people had left their contact information and indicated that they would like to come to learn Falun Gong.
Many people who came to the fair had been practicing Qi Gong for a long time. One man said he had practiced yoga for 40 years. However, they all knew that none of the Qi Gong systems they had learned could answer the question they bore in mind: "Why am I here in this world?" When a young man heard that Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance are the primary principles of the universe, he said, "I was always searching for something like this. I always thought there must be something that could answer all of my questions, and explain the meaning of life." We told him, "A Falun Gong seminar has just begun in Hall No. 2 right now. Go quickly!" Besides this young man, there were a lot of other fortunate souls at the fair. One lady heard us say that the principle of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance, as the principal characteristic of the universe, is the foundation of all morality, and that anyone who deviates from it will go astray. She responded with emotion, "Nowadays those three words are extremely important for us. I'll learn this for sure. I'll wait until your seminar starts at 6 p.m. even if I have to sit here and drink coffee for the rest of the time. Nowadays, it's so rare to find anyone mentioning those three words."
Many people who watched our demonstration of the exercises felt a very strong energy field. An old woman exclaimed, "When you were doing the exercises, as soon as I stretched out my hands, I could feel energy coming into my body through my hands." Another person noted, "From the faces of the practitioners who were doing the exercises, I could see that this cultivation way (Falun Gong) has extraordinary energy. Such energy is not superficial, but comes from deep within."
After participating in the seminar, many people then came to our exhibition table. Some looked around, while others talked in depth with the practitioners. Some immediately started to learn the exercises. Many asked to buy Dafa books and instruction videotapes and some were interested in going to the practice sites. One man even visited our table seven times!
Many people were especially surprised when they learned that all teachings of Falun Gong are free, and all of our books and videotapes can be downloaded online for free. Other exhibition tables were charging as much as 100 Deutsche Marks for a single consultation. The host of the fair also told us, "People of all other exhibition tables came to make money; you were the only ones who genuinely came for the good of others. I hope you will come again next time. I'll leave you an extra space next to your table for you to demonstrate the exercises."
Many people, especially those who came just for the fair, had all felt that there was a "truth" in the universe that they had been looking for their entire lives. In order to untie the knots in their hearts, some had even gone to India and China many times in search of salvation. Just as one of the visitors told us, "I just believed that this 'real' thing would be found in China. For some reason, I have always had this intuition."
[Minghui Net]
[China] A Miracle Happens Around Me: "Truthfulness-Benevolence- Forbearance" Saves My Friend's Father
My friend's father is 90 years old this year. Having suffered from many diseases, he was very weak. Several of his children are Falun Dafa practitioners. Since July 20, 1999, his children were devastated physically, mentally, and financially due to the persecution by Jiang Zemin and his followers. He was also deceived by Jiang Zemin's propaganda and started to oppose his children's practicing Falun Gong. Several days ago, he suddenly became critically ill. His weight dropped to about 90 pounds. He asked his children to come to see him immediately. Upon seeing his condition, his children wrote down the words, "Falun Dafa is good; Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance is good," on a piece of paper and let him look at the words. He slowly came to understand his children's words, and he looked at the piece of paper every day and recited to himself, "Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance is good." Gradually a miracle happened: his condition got better day-by-day, and now he can even walk around by himself. He has firmly memorized the words "Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance is good" in his heart.
No matter what kind of person you are and what bad things you have done, if you can tell right from wrong on the issue of Falun Gong and realize that Falun Dafa is good and righteous, you can see and feel the power of the cosmic great law. You will benefit forever if you support Falun Dafa. On the other hand, for those who cannot tell good from evil and who are still persecuting Falun Dafa, you have to stop what you are doing; otherwise the heavenly law that evil will be rewarded with evil will be bestowed on you in the near future.
[Qingdao City, Shandong Province] Rainbow Appears Around the Sun in the Sky Above Qingdao Labor Camp
On May 16, there was a rainbow surrounding the sun in the sky above Qingdao Labor Camp. The rainbow looked exactly like the ones previously reported on Minghui Net.
[Mianyang City, Sichuan Province] Dafa Practitioner Zeng Xiaochun is Illegally Arrested Again
Dafa practitioner Zeng Xiaochun was a staff member of Peicheng District Court in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province. Last April, she went to Beijing to share experiences with fellow practitioners and was arrested and detained illegally for a month. At that time she was still breast-feeding her 6-month-old baby. Later she was fired from her job and expelled from her party membership. In July, she was sentenced to a labor camp for participating in a local experience sharing conference. Since she was still breast-feeding her baby, and with the help of some people, she was paroled. In December, she went to Beijing to appeal again. She was arrested and sent to the Beijing office of Jinyang City, Liaoning Province. Local policemen asked 3500 Yuan (Chinese dollar; the average monthly urban salary is about 500 Yuan) from her family for the fee to have her transferred back to Mianyang City. Her family members couldn't afford the fee, so the police did not go to Beijing. A few days later, Zeng escaped from the office and was forced to leave home and wander around. The police department offered a reward of 30,000 Yuan for catching her. The phones of her family members were tapped, and they were often harassed at home. On April 29, 2001, Zeng was arrested again unfortunately, and her whereabouts are unknown. Her baby is only 18 months old. Here we call out to all kind-hearted people for their concern and support to stop the persecution.
[China] The Witty Remarks of a Taxi Driver
While in a taxi, I told the driver about the crimes committed by Jiang Zemin and his followers in their persecution of Falun Gong. After hearing my words, the driver expressed his admiration of Dafa practitioners for their persistence in justice and their intrepidity in the face of violence. He also vividly depicted the situation with this analogy: "Falun Gong is like a huge pine tree. Jiang Zemin attempts to crush the pine tree by putting stones on it. However, the more he does that, the deeper and wider the pine tree extends its roots into the ground. Also, the trunk becomes straighter and firmer; therefore more people come to admire Falun Gong. So Jiang Zemin and his followers are doomed to lose the battle--anyone with a brain can see that!"
[China] The Illegal "Transformation Classes" Waste Manpower and Money and Create Social Problems
Because Jiang Zemin clings obstinately to his course of persecuting Falun Gong, a lot of public funds have been wasted. Some people who follow Jiang Zemin in Northeastern China are already in awkward situations. If they continue detaining the practitioners in the "transformation classes," they will face financial problems since there is no money for this; if they release the practitioners that are currently in the classes, they cannot report to their superiors. The persecution of Falun Gong by Jiang Zemin and his followers has already wasted a lot of money and manpower. It is harming more and more people and escalating various unstable factors in society.
[Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province] News from Wanjia Labor Camp: Squarely Facing the Vicious People with a Righteous Mind
Dafa practitioner Liu Dongyun (Dongli District of Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province) was illegally detained in Wanjia Labor Camp. In the Fa rectification process, she went on a hunger strike for 30 days to protest the persecution, and then was unconditionally released on May 10, 2001. Let us suffocate the evil firmly and rectify the environment around us together.
[Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province] Some Cases of the Brutal Torture of Dafa Practitioners by Prison Guards
Ms. Fan Dongyun lost consciousness when she was tied up with a rope in a special way that is extremely painful. She woke up after the rope was released.
Ms. Cao Yuehong was handcuffed for a long time and was not allowed to use the restroom. She had to urinate in her pants, which the guard did not allow her to change. Despite the cold weather in February, the guard made her wear the wet pants until they dried.
Ms. Li Yuxia refused to write a guarantee letter against Falun Gong. The prison guards tortured her with electric batons. Her face and head were damaged by electric shots. Finally, prison guards wrote the guarantee letter and forcefully took her hand for fingerprinting on the letter.
Prison guards in the south district of the labor camp took dozens of Dafa practitioners into a room without a window. They turned off the light in the room and more than 10 of them went inside and beat Dafa practitioners, then they used electric batons to torture practitioners. Practitioners' heads and faces were covered with bruises from the electric shocks.
[Taiyuan City, Shanxi Province] Persecution of Dafa Practitioners in the Illegal "Transformation Class" by Lawless Staff
Since this March, in the illegal "transformation classes" held in Taiyuan Labor camp, the vicious people beat and confined Dafa practitioners who refused to give up Falun Dafa, and who continued practicing and clarifying the truth. They illegally took away the personal freedom of practitioners and closely monitored practitioners 24 hours a day. They tried to "brainwash" practitioners by forcing them to watch some fabricated videotape programs every day. Currently there are over 40 female practitioners and over 20 male practitioners illegally detained in the class.
The perpetrators punished a 66-year-old lady by making her stand for one hour because she practiced the exercises. They also released a dog to bite a practitioner. The practitioner held a righteous thought, "I am a Dafa practitioner; if you bite me, you will be finished!" The dog immediately turned around. The persecutor ordered the dog to bite again, and the dog ran toward the practitioner for the second time. The practitioner solidified his righteous thought, and the dog turned around again. It seems that the consciences and perceptions of the persecutors are less refined than those of a dog.
Recently, more practitioners who had been detained in detention centers for several months were sent to the illegal "transformation class," where they were brutally tortured both physically and mentally.
We call for all the countries and people who love peace to stop the inhuman persecution by Jiang Zemin and his followers, and return the good reputation to Falun Dafa so the world can be filled with peace.
[Changchun City, Jilin Province] Neighborhood Committee of Luyuan District Illegally Harasses Dafa Practitioners
Staff members of the Neighborhood Committee of Luyuan District went to all Dafa practitioners' homes to harass them. The practitioners were lured and bullied into writing pledges against Falun Gong; otherwise they would be sent to transformation classes by force.
[Shenyang City, Liaoning Province] Eight Dafa Practitioners Are Illegally Arrested
In Yuhong District (Shenyang City, Liaoning Province), eight Dafa practitioners were illegally arrested on May 17 for having gone to Beijing to appeal. Since the end of April, some officials in Shenyang City launched another "3-month plan," attempting to persecute Dafa practitioners continuously for 100 days (although several previous 3-months plans of the vicious Jiang Zemin failed one after another).
[Chengde City, Hebei Province] Savage Deeds of the 610 Office
Around May 13, 2001, the 610 Office (created by the government to deal specifically with issues related to Falun Gong) in Chengde City ordered all the police stations to arrest more than 20 Dafa practitioners illegally by tricking and kidnapping them. The perpetrators then tried to forcibly transform the practitioners. Several practitioners escaped, and the rest protested against the savage deeds with hunger strikes. Those who went on hunger strikes were beaten by some armed policemen. According to the officials of the 610 Office, all this is part of the unified policy of Hebei Province.
[China] People Around Me Get to Know Dafa
I am a peasant woman. Before I practiced Falun Dafa, I suffered from several serious diseases: hepatitis, gastritis, and enteritis. I even had an operation on my appendix and took medicine everyday. After I attained Dafa, all of the symptoms disappeared. I act according to the principle of "Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance," and have become healthy again. All these validate that Dafa has great power.
Since Jiang Zemin and his followers started to persecute Dafa, people around me slowly came to sober understandings of Dafa. A local official said, "Jiang Zemin ordered his followers to beat Falun Gong practitioners violently. If they beat practitioners to death, they would report the cases as suicide, and they won't even let the family members know the truth. If we do not follow the order of persecuting practitioners, we will be fired. If you are a practitioner, no matter how high ranking an official you are, and even if you are a senior cadre or a senior party member, you will be dismissed from the party and fired from your position."
Although they suffered all kinds of brutal torture, Dafa practitioners still clarify the truth to the government and to the people, and more people benefit because of this. Their friends and neighbors all said, "Dafa is indeed good. Please practice at home and don't go to appeal again, since Jiang Zemin is too vicious right now. You have suffered too much both financially and mentally. If they didn't persecute Falun Gong like this, we would practice too!"
Records of Criminals:
(Fuyu Labor Camp in Qiqihaer City) Jia Weijun, Headman of the No. 4 Section.
Jia's criminal record: He stopped at no evil to attempt to transform practitioners, for example:
There are a total of 19 labor camps in Heilongjiang Province (those I know are: Jiamusi Labor Camp, Hegang Labor Camp, Harbin Wanjia Labor Camp, Shuanghe and Fuyu Labor Camp in Qiqihaer City, Daqing Labor Camp, Jixi Labor Camp, and Heilongjiang Drug Rehab Center). Below is a list of criminals in charge of the persecution.
Zhang Zhian, Director;
Zou Xianbao, Vice Director;
Liang, Manager of Education Division;
Fan Chunling, Vice Manager of Education Division
Officers Chen Chuncai & Sun Libin;
Longshan Police Division: Officer Wang Zhaoshan;
2nd Detention Center: Director Lin (Tel: 86-271-0041, 86-271-1511)
Vice Director Li Zheng (Tel: 86-241-1136 (O), 86-240-7252 (H), 86-139-0452-7329 (cell))
Wulong Police Station:
Director Wang Xishun (Tel: 86-242-5062, 86-281-1019 (H), Pager 86-127-103-3933)
Directors Bai and Hong; Officers Wang Mei and Wang Yan (These two people used electric batons to torture practitioners, did not allow family members to visit practitioners, and extended practitioners' terms indefinitely)
Political Director Li Hongjun, Disciplinary Guard Wang Xi, Education Division Director Li Wenchao, Head of No.4 Division Jia Weijun.
[Qingdao City, Shandong Province] New Phone Number of Qingdao Labor Camp
The telephone number of Qingdao Labor Camp has been changed to 86-532-7657501. The extension number of the division where practitioners are illegally detained was also changed to 8302. It is obvious that the evil force has a guilty conscience and is in great fear of being exposed.
[Shenzhou City, Hebei Province] Phone Numbers of Criminals Who Persecuted Dafa Practitioners
On May 5, 2001, there was a report on Minghui net about the persecution of Dafa practitioners in Shenzhou City, Hebei Province. Below is a list of related criminals with their phone numbers (Translator's note: All numbers have the prefix 86-318)
Yang Jinsuo (Party Secretary of the city) 3312865 (O), 3314767 (H);
Yin Yuzhen (Secretary of the Committee of Politics and Law) 3312725(O), 3310166(H);
Jia Wanshuang (Officer of Shenzhou Police Department) 3315111;
Wang Erxi (Disciplinary Guard of Shenzhou Detention Center) 3318508
Shang Yunhang (Director of Shenzhou Division of Administration and Security) 3315858
Shenzhou Detention Center: 3312136
Dafa Practitioner Liu Xiaoling from Wuzhan Town of Zhaodong City was about 37 years old. She died, as a result of complications from inept, cruel force-feeding at the Zhaodong City Detention Center. Additionally, now her home is under close surveillance.
The director of the detention center claimed, however, that they will not go after the murderer, saying "We will simply list her as 'having committed suicide'."
On the eve of the 2000 Spring Festival, the city police arrested several practitioners for practicing Falun Gong outdoors and illegally detained them in Zhaodong Detention Center for over 15 months. As a form of protest, on May 11, 2001, Dafa practitioners went on a hunger strike. Three days later, the shocking news of Liu Xiaoling's death was revealed. The licensed medical expert said, "She could not have survived a few days longer if she had not gone on a hunger strike, one of her lungs was already dying." However, the director of the detention center said, "Her death is not a big deal! We will simply list her as 'having committed suicide'." Afterward, the detention center officials blocked information about other practitioners who also went on a hunger strike.
[Southern China] Practitioners from Southern China Stepped Forward to Celebrate the 9th Anniversary of Our Teacher's Dafa-introduction to the Public
On the morning on May 13, practitioners from a city in Southern China stepped forward to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa to huge crowds of people. They handed out 30,000 to 40,000 flyers, posted and hung up some Dafa banners. Most of the practitioners returned safely. This activity effectively suffocated the vicious forces and encouraged fellow practitioners. With these activities, they celebrated the 9th Anniversary of the public introduction of Dafa by our Teacher and reached a new turning point in the Fa-rectification process.
[Southern China] Practitioners being Illegally Detained in a Detention Center Always Face the Vicious People with Righteous Thoughts
A detention center in a city of Southern China held a so-called "evening party" to celebrate the May 1st holiday. (Labor Day). When the officials of the detention center slandered Dafa during the party, Dafa practitioner Ru Gang (pseudonym) stepped onto the stage and spoke loudly to safeguard Dafa. This made the vicious people extremely scared. Since Ru Gang had been also practicing the Falun Gong exercises publicly in the detention center, he was handcuffed on an outdoor basketball rack for 9 days, in the same position that Jesus was nailed on the cross. While Ru Gang was handcuffed, he went on a 3-day hunger strike. Many days after the handcuffs were taken off, his mouth still festered, his body was covered with the scars left by mosquito bites and his face was burnt due to constant exposure to the sun. The guards sent a special agent to "reform" Ru Gang (to abandon Falun Dafa) but failed, since Ru Gang was too determined. He also refused to perform the assigned forced labor chores. The guards were scared by his determination. They enlisted his mother to help change him, but that attempt failed as well.
When he had just arrived at the detention center, Ru Gang was on a hunger strike for 9 days. He was forcibly given shots, was handcuffed and then transferred to another detention center for more torture. However, he went through all the hardships with great determination.
[Masanjia Labor Camp, Liaoning Province] The Evil Persons Who Tampered with Dafa Books Committed Immense Karma
We know from a reliable source that some vicious beings "reformed" by the demons in Masanjia Labor Camp tampered with Dafa books, altering the text and then printed a batch of them. The ignorant, stupid guards used these falsified books to "reform" Dafa practitioners.
We hereby earnestly put all those vicious beings who attempted to reform and confuse Dafa practitioners on notice: you can never cover up your demonized nature, no matter how you disguise yourself. The moment you tampered with Dafa books, the sin you committed was bigger than the tallest mountain and more immense than the vast sky. Goodness brings its own reward and being evil brings retribution. That is the principle of the cosmos.
[Shanghai] Dafa Practitioner Wu Dianhui from Shanghai was Sentenced to Forced Labor Without Due Process of Law
Dafa practitioner Wu Dianhui graduated from Shanghai Normal University Graduate School. He and his wife, Zhang Wuying, also a Dafa practitioner, were both employees of Changzhou City's Technology Education Institute [Jiangsu Province, next to Shanghai]. In July 1999, he went to appeal in Beijing. Ever since then, officials from his institute and from the police department watched him closely. He was eventually fired, due to practicing Falun Dafa. On May 1, he disappeared when he went to visit his classmate in Shanghai. His wife inquired at the police office regarding his whereabouts. Instead, the police actually suggested the institute to take control of Ms. Zhang. Now we know that Wu Dianhui has been illegally sentenced to forced labor. Strangely enough, the warrant was issued on April 4, whereas he was detained on May 1. We assume that he was abducted on his way to Shanghai.
[Wuhan City, Hubei Province] Guards of Wuhan City Hewan Detention Center Boldly Extorted Money from Falun Gong Practitioners' Families
The guards in Wuhan City's Hewan Detention Center came up with a new illegal scheme to unlawfully line their own pockets with money. Those who came to visit illegally detained Falun Gong practitioners had to pay 5 Yuan as an "entrance fee," otherwise they were not admitted. The fee was charged under the excuse of "meal expense." Actually, there was no meal served at all. In No. 6 Unit alone, over 100 practitioners were illegally detained. The15th day of each month is the visiting day. There were usually at least 2 family members visiting each practitioner. Sometimes there were as many as 8 or 9 family members. Even the children were charged the extortion "entrance fee"!
The families were not even allowed to bring their own commodities for illegally detained practitioners. Practitioners were forced to buy from the detention center commissary, with the price 2 or 3 times higher than on the outside. That is true price-gouging!
[China] Dafa Practitioner Yang Tian from the Civil Aviation Bureau Eastern Asia Company was Unlawfully Sent to a Drug Rehabilitation Center and Tortured
Dafa practitioner Yang Tian (female) from Civil Aviation Bureau Eastern Asia Company refused to succumb to the vicious forces and did not write the "guarantee statement." [to give up practicing Falun Dafa, to refrain from association with other practitioners, to promise not to go to Beijing to appeal] As a result, she was illegally sent to Harbin City's Drug Rehabilitation Center [Heilongjiang Province] by the company director Sun Shiyan. She was tortured in the center. As of today, she has not yet been released. The director Sun Shiyan, was responsible and to blame for her detention. He cannot shirk his guilt.
[Beijing] The Current Situation of Practitioner Zhang Dong
On May 14, we issued the following report on Minghui Net: "Beijing practitioner Zhang Dong was severely wounded while brutally abused by the police." [Note: English report is soon available by searching 11048.html or Zhang Dong] The following is his current situation, as we know it.
Zhang Dong was severely wounded on the left side of body and suffered bone fractures in many places. After emergency treatment he was transferred to room 2 in the orthopedic department on the 6th floor of the hospital. Just several days later, his left arm was amputated. Meanwhile, his wife was detained in isolation, and was also forced to be "reformed", an act carried out by unscrupulous people from the Huashi police station and the politics and law committee. She was not present when Zhang Dong's arm was amputated. As a matter of fact, she did not even know anything about it until a relative told her of this surgery afterwards.
This disregard for human dignity and compassion reminded people of the chaos during the lawlessness of the "Cultural Revolution." Many people were forced to jump off buildings, being killed or ended up handicapped.
Zhong Dong recovered very quickly from his ordeal. According to the doctors, it was a miracle that neither his brain nor his internal organs were damaged after falling off the 4th floor.
It is said that some plain-clothes policemen are also "hospitalized" in Zhang Dong's room. We don't know what their motive is for being in the same room with him. We hope that all kind-hearted people pay attention to this tragic case.
Now Zhang Dong is in a 6th-floor room in the headquarters of the Tiantan Hospital in Beijing.
The 6th-floor Telephone: 011-86-10-67050188
The switchboard of Tiantan Hospital: 011-86-10-67016611
[Wuhan City, Hubei Province] The List of Names of Dafa Practitioners Who are Illegally Detained for Lengthy Periods in the Qingshan District "Reform Class"
22 Dafa practitioners are detained in this "reform class;" they are:
No. Name Sex Age Date arrested Total Time Detained
1 Rao Weiming F 36 Dec. 27,2000 about 5 months
2 Xu Maolin F 51 Dec.21, 2000 about 5 months
3 Li Houli F 40 Dec.14, 2000 over 5 months
4 Li Zaili F 44 Dec.14, 2000 over 5 months
5 Fang Shiju F 64 Dec. 9, 2000 over 5 months
6 Zhu Youqing F 61 Dec. 28, 2000 over 5 months
7 Leng Hairu M 54 Dec. 28, 2000 over 5 months
8 Wang Li F 30 Dec. 27, 2000 about 5 months
9 Zhou Ailan F 58 Dec. 27, 2000 about 5 months
10 Zhang Xiaoying F 57 Dec.28, 2000 about 5 months
11 Ai Xizhen F 61 Jan 1, 2001 about 5 months
12 Zhu Chunlian F 58 Jan 9, 2001 about 4 months
13 Zhao Shutong M 65 Jan. 6, 2001 about 4 months
14 Liu Xiyu M 61 April - Sep. 2000, Nov. 24, 2000 - Present, extended over 1 year
15 Guo Ping F 54 Jan. 1, 2001 about 5 months
16 Guo Shuzhen M 69 Dec. 31, 2000 about 5 month
17 Chen Zhongyi M 58 Nov. 24, 2000 about half a year
18 Wu Yuanchou M 64 Mar. 6, 2001 about 2 months
19 Shi Yingxia F 39 Jan. 18, 2001 about 4 months
20 Ding Shilan F 48 Dec. 18, 2000 about 5 months
21 Li Yingjuan F 37 Jan. 18, 2001 4 months
22 Chen Yanming F 49 Jan. 15, 2001 over 4 months
Note: The detention times listed above are merely the times of practitioners being detained illegally and without any due process of law in the "reform class." Most Dafa practitioners had been previously detained from two weeks to 1 month. These Dafa practitioners were forcibly sent to the illegal "reform class" and are still kept in the class, even though their detention terms have expired. Since the practitioners persisted on practicing and safeguarding Dafa, several times they were all sent to the detention center for an additional 15 days to 1 month. Furthermore, they were not allowed to practice, nor read the book (Zhuan Falun) or study the Fa. Some practitioners were detained once or twice because they did not cooperate with the illegal persecution. Zhao Shutong who was in his late 60s could not eat well because of his poor dental health and is still is not allowed to go home either. In the above list of names, there are mothers and sons, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters. They insisted on cultivating Falun Dafa and refused to write the "repentance" letter [to give up practicing Falun Dafa]. They were sentenced to a "reform class" [to be brainwashed for Jiaag Zemin's purposes] and to a detention center for as long as half a year. Dafa practitioners were not allowed to go home. The debased, vicious people even falsely claimed that Dafa practitioners reject their families and relatives.
[Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province] News about Dafa Practitioners
On May 18, 2001, police, without due process of law, arrested several Dafa practitioners when they held an experience-sharing meeting. Detailed information as to their current circumstances is not available.
[China] Those who Slandered Dafa Received Retribution
A father of a village Party secretary who was in charge of persecuting Falun Gong often slandered Dafa to villagers on the streets. The mother also repeated her husband's bad words. Once the mother came to a practitioner's home and cursed Falun Gong. This practitioner used to help the abusive woman's son when their family experienced hard times. This practitioner asked her, " How did I treat you before?" She answered, "Fine." The practitioner said, "Today I will not forgive you for your slandering Falun Gong!" When the mother returned home, she stumbled and tripped over a thin rope tying up a cat. She fell hard and broke her leg and cried loud in severe pain. The father of the village secretary suffered sudden cerebral thrombosis and lies paralyzed on the bed. These are cases of immediate retribution for evil deeds!
[China] A Wise Policeman
There is a female practitioner who has been to Beijing three times to safeguard Dafa, and was detained four times. As of now, she is still illegally detained in a labor camp. A young policeman is in charge of her residential district. Once, while this policeman sent the practitioner to a detention center after taking her back from Beijing, he got punished on the spot. When she got into the police car, the policeman's hand was caught in the door when the driver tried to close the door. The arresting policeman's hand was heavily bleeding. At that moment, this policeman thought it could be retribution. He was worried and asked the practitioner about it. The second time when this practitioner went to safeguard Dafa, it was again the same policeman who sent her to a detention center. This time, his foot was hurt and bleeding. The practitioner encountered this same policeman for the third time. He was punished again. This time, a steel bar punctured his foot. Though the female practitioner comforted him, he awakened and asked for other job duty that was not related to the persecution of Dafa practitioners. A female police officer replaced him. Since she knew the stories of her predecessor she treated Dafa practitioners very well. Here we would like to offer advice to those law-violating police officers who are committing bad deeds: Stop right now before it is too late or you will forever regret your actions.
[Minghui Net]
Early one morning in 1998, Patricia, a Spanish woman in her fifties, came to our practice site and told us in broken English that she wanted to learn Falun Dafa. Patricia was not talkative. She did the exercises following the music, and liked to listen to others read the book during Fa study meetings.
Patricia told us that an intelligent ancestor in her family of origin had received an important teaching, and had passed it down from one generation to the next: namely, that in the future, there would be a Chinese teacher who would come to convey the truth of the universe, and that whoever in the family had the opportunity to hear the truth must not miss it.
Patricia said that she used to be afraid of the nighttime and that when night came, she would not step out of the door. She would pray that the night would be gone quickly and daytime would come soon. After practicing Falun Dafa, she was not afraid of the nighttime anymore. She now feels a special force is protecting her. Patricia said that she would introduce Dafa to her whole family, including her relatives in Mexico.
Her ancestors prophecy is realized today! Teacher Li Hongzhi has introduced the Great Law of the universe to the world and offered to everyone a path to Heaven. So many predestined people waited for thousands of years to attain the Fa, that this golden opportunity must be treasured. This chance of a lifetime must not be missed! (From Pure Insight)
[Minghui Net] A policewoman was moved by Dafa practitioners' noble words and actions, and she took special care of them. When she and her husband were both busy and couldn't help their son with his college entrance exam, he still got a good score on the test and was admitted by a first tier university. This is a very typical example of due retribution for being good.
Case 1. Policeman Yong Mingjiu Developed a Mental Disorder and Was Sent to a Mental Hospital
A vile policeman named Yong Mingjiu in a labor camp followed Jiang Zemin's lawless political group and worked as a hired thug. In order to get money and promotions, he brutally tortured Falun Dafa practitioners. He treated female practitioners in especially nasty and vulgar ways. He often called them to his office at midnight in the name of interrogation, and by using ribald means he forced them to have sex with him. He beat up, kicked, and hit with a baton those who refused him. He had a sudden heart attack in April, and later he developed a mental disorder and was sent to a mental hospital. Due retribution for goodness and evil is the true law of the universe. I hope all policemen learn a lesson from him and conduct themselves accordingly, for the sake of their own futures.
Case 2. Ren Feng and Zhang Lilan of Heizuizi Labor Camp in Changchun City Received Retribution for Their Wrongdoings
Ren Feng is the leader of Group 2 of Heizuizi Labor Camp in Changchun City. She devotedly renders her service to Jiang Zemin and his followers. In order to "reform" practitioners, in November 1999, she took advantage of her friendship with her former classmate Shao Lixin, a Falun Gong practitioner and the principal of Gongzhuling City Elementary School. Ren Feng used their relationship, money, fame, a ruse (Ren Feng inflicted an injury upon herself in order to win Shao Lixin's sympathy) and various other ensnaring means to deceive Shao Lixin. Her tactics so totally muddled up Shao Lixin's mind that she betrayed Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance (the three-word principle of Falun Gong-translator), wrote a criticism of Falun Gong, and made a presentation in the labor camp. After this incident, Ren Feng suffered a serious illness and was hospitalized. Here, we want to admonish everyone: it's a terrible sin to attack Dafa, and whoever does it will receive proper retribution.
The leader of Group 2, Zhang Lilan, lied to her superiors and reported that
she had "reformed" Falun Dafa practitioners who had in fact not
been reformed, just so she could submit a high percentage rate. During this
time, her brother was hospitalized because of serious illnesses and almost
entered a vegetative state. Therefore, we can see that one who has committed bad
deeds will receive retribution in this life time, and will also cause the
suffering of his/her family members.
At the Heizuizi Female Labor Camp in Changchun City, Jilin province, a few vicious guards always experienced physical discomfort after beating Dafa practitioners, and some went to the hospital numerous times. When they talked about it, they admitted that it was the due retribution for their beating others; however they could not control themselves when their bad nature took its course.
Here, we want to remind all guards and those who are still committing evil deeds, that due retribution for goodness and evil is serious. If you are the one who does the bad things, then you'll be the one who has to swallow the bitter fruit. Don't try to come up with any excuses to escape responsibility. The fact that you willingly allow yourselves to be controlled by bad people and bad thoughts shows your acceptance and support of the evil, and this alone is sinful! The wretched lives that encouraged you to do evil things will not escape the judgment of justice. However, you went after worldly goods and helped a villain do evil, which was extremely irresponsible. This is truly ignorant and pathetic.
Recently, there have been an increasing number of reports of malicious people and policemen suffering retribution and even death for their wrongdoings. They should be enough to serve as warning signs. The law of the universe is absolutely just, and the retribution for evil is ruthless. If you keep walking down this dangerous path, similar things will inevitably happen to you! Forsaking the evil and becoming good people is the only solution for you. Quickly get out of the quicksand of evil; otherwise you'll never be able to pull yourselves out and lose your opportunity forever! If you have a bit of sense left in you, you should learn to be responsible for yourselves and for your real lives.
You were already given numerous admonitions, and you should also realize that there is no such thing as countless opportunities. Cherish yourselves. If you don't even cherish yourselves, then history will just simply abandon you.
Case 4. Family Member of the Deputy Party Secretary of the Literature Institution of Qingdao University Gets a Fatal Disease After Persecuting Dafa Practitioners and Their Families
Xu Min, the deputy party secretary of the Literature Institution of Qingdao University was in charge of the persecution of Dafa practitioners after July 22, 1999. He spared no efforts in this job and required all departments to "reform" Dafa practitioners and to force practitioners to write criticism of Falun Gong and guarantee letters (that promise never to practice Falun Gong again-translator). Student practitioners were required to write their "understanding" according to the slander of the official newspapers, which is to disparage Dafa. Furthermore, he asked all departments to hold meetings to criticize Falun Gong.
In early 2001, Xu Min's wife was diagnosed with a fatal disease. It looks like the due retribution for persecuting Dafa can fall not only on oneself, but also on one's family members. We advise those who are helping the villains do evil to stop what they're doing now. You should know that the universe's law of justice will manifest, and retribution will run its course in front of your eyes!
The two policemen of Qingdao City Police Station who are in charge of the persecution of Dafa practitioners: Yang XX, Pager: 127-1687163; Sui XX, Pager: 127-0162012.
Case 5. Retribution on Those Persecuting Dafa Practitioners in Jining City, Shandong Province
According to the latest reliable news, Chen Baogen, who helped the evil forces to persecute Falun Dafa practitioners in Jining city after being "reformed" (people whose mind's have gone astray due to brainwashing or torture by Jiang Zemin regime) has received retribution. Half of his body turned black. This case frightened others who are still helping the tyrant to do evil, and they are now in a constant state of fear and worry.
Liang Xianlun, another lackey who damaged Dafa in Jining City now lies in bed in a hospital. He has also received due retribution.
Case 6. Feng Guoli and Wang Shanben from Chaoyang Branch, Daqing City Public Security Bureau of Heilongjiang Province Die Suddenly
Feng Guoli was the head of the politics and security section of the Chaoyang Branch, Daqing City Public Security Bureau. On his way back from a meeting in Daqing City on April 10, Feng's car accidentally crashed into another car and his driver died immediately, though the people in the other car were not hurt at all. Feng's chest was broken together with his collarbone. The wound did not heal after the operation, and he died after 20 days of severe suffering.
Feng was responsible for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners since April 25, 1999. During this period, he confiscated money from practitioners' families, and beat practitioners. He sent about 5 practitioners to the detention center and often sent people to harass practitioners' in their daily lives.
Wang Shanben was the deputy head of the Chaoyang Branch, Daqing City Public Security Bureau and was mainly in charge of security. On his way to a meeting, his car accidentally turned over due to driver error. He died on the way to the hospital, but all the other four, including the driver, were safe and sound.
Wang Shanben had practiced Falun Gong previously, but he gave up the practice after April 25, 1999 due to the great pressure (from the government ?translator). Then he turned to the opposite side and started to persecute Falun Dafa practitioners. For example, practitioner Zhang Liying was sent to the labor camp because of her firm resolution to practice Dafa. During the period of detention she was sentenced to serve the term outside the camp because of special circumstances. During the Chinese New Year holiday this year, in order to prevent her from going to Beijing (to appeal) again, Wang Shanben ordered Yang Mingjie, the head of the local police station to forcibly send Zhang back to the Shuanghe Labor Camp without the permission of the labor camp. The labor camp refused to accept her. Because of this Wang led Yang Mingjie to the provincial labor camp bureau and sued the Shuanghe Labor Camp. Since then practitioner Zhang Liying has had to leave her home and wander about.
Case 7. Wang Huanchen, the Head of Fuqiang Police Station in Daqing City of Heilongjiang Province, Dies Suddenly
Wang Huanchen, male, 52 years old, was the head of Fuqiang police station in Daqing City. He was a very wicked person and took advantage of his power to bully people. He acted wildly against law and public opinion, and his reputation among the police was very bad. As a follower of Jiang Zemin, since July 22, 1999 he had many times taken advantage of his power to illegally arrest and beat Dafa practitioner, and send them to labor camps. Especially on July 19, 2000, he arrested a practitioner from his home, and harshly beat the practitioner's daughter who was terribly sick. On the same day he arrested another practitioner from his workplace for no reason, and took the chance to extort money from him. As the practitioner was not able to pay, Wang Huanchen and other criminals kicked the practitioner from the sixth floor to the ground level while going downstairs, and illegally arrested and sent the practitioner to a labor camp, leaving a boy at home alone with nobody looking after him. Because Wang Huanchen and other criminals have committed countless crimes, Wang met due retribution and died suddenly on May 9, 2001, beside a table as he was eating and drinking in a restaurant.
May 21, 2001
[Editor's note] Shanshan turned nine years old this year. He began practicing Falun Dafa at the age of four with his parents. At the very beginning, his mother watched videos and listened to tapes of the Teacher's lectures at home, while Shanshan was playing with his toys nearby. He appeared not to have been listening closely to the lectures at all, but he started saying some words that really amazed his parents when he was five. Since then, Shanshan began his cultivation practice in earnest. Though he didn't know any Chinese characters, and couldn't even write his name in Chinese, he was able to read Zhuan Falun and other Dafa books. However, he couldn't recognize the same words when they appeared elsewhere. Over the past year, Shanshan has started telling his mother about what he has seen. The contents are substantial, and the main parts are described in the following.
Remembering Falun Dafa is Fundamentally Important when Eliminating and Vanquishing Demons and Monsters
During the few days after practicing Falun Gong with a group on World Falun Dafa Day (May 13, 2001), I felt very tired and had a confused mind. I couldn't concentrate while practicing the exercises and couldn't recite the Fa in the morning. I couldn't remember and forgot the sentence I had just memorized. I felt cold over my whole body and even felt death approaching.
At noon, my mom asked me suddenly, "Do you think you did something wrong during the practice on World Falun Dafa Day?" I shook my head. She asked again, "Did you accept the magic baton from the 'Taoist priest'? Your dad said before he left this morning, 'magic tools are closely related to the energy mechanism and are consistent with Xinxing and cultivation. Following one cultivation way is a fundamental principle of cultivation.'" I realized the seriousness of the matter. That day I was trying wholeheartedly to eliminate and vanquish demons and monsters. The 'Taoist priest' came to help and I considered him one of us. Before he left he said that he had some urgent thing to do and that he needed to leave immediately. He then gave me a magic tool and told me that the baton would jump out to fight if big demons came. I have liked batons and weapons since I was very young and I have been curious about the magic devices of various deities in "Xiyouji" (Journey to the West). That day, somebody had given me a weapon unexpectedly; I was happy and took it without further thought.
Soon after it was almost time for me to practice the first four sets of Falun Gong exercises, I thought seriously, "I don't want magic tools from anybody. Following one cultivation way is one of the fundamental principles of cultivation." Then that "magic baton" moved out of my body slowly and flew to a distant place. The "baton" instantly transformed into a weird life form with a triangular beard that was not a human being although it looked like one. Its eyes were filled with fear, hate, and resentment, and appeared very negative. Its hands held the same baton. It made various gestures to scare me and wanted to strike at me. I instantly destroyed it.
Soon I entered into a state to vanquish demons. Five warriors came by riding horses with swords in their hands and suits of armor on their bodies. They destroyed the demons. Later, they wanted to leave and asked me at the same time if I wanted any magic devices. They all said, "We don't see that you have enough weapons. You may need these things. We'd like to help you." They respectively handed over their magic devices, including their fighting horses, treasured swords, sharp swords, etc. I said with a determined mind, "My own energy mechanism was perturbed when I accepted other people's magic things. I don't accept any magic things from now on. It is a serious matter of following only one cultivation way. My Teacher is Li Hongzhi. Falun Dafa created the whole universe. Nothing can hurt me." The five warriors disappeared instantly.
I saw that there was a table that was also a scale and was similar to the X-Y coordinates in mathematics, in which the names of all lives in the universe are listed. It was actually a Xinxing scale. There are strict rules that those below a certain level will go to hell and those at certain levels will go to a certain level universe or place or experience a certain incident. Those lives to be destroyed are not listed in this table. At that moment, I saw the change of my energy pole during the last few days. The yellow energy-pole rapidly decreased a lot when I had that "evil baton" and went up slowly after I abandoned it.
Demons and monsters are now frenzied and desperate. One would be taken advantage of if one were to attract them with a thought that is not righteous. If one of my thoughts is not so righteous, the supernatural powers I send forth for destroying demons are not effective.
Devoting all I have without reservation
Later, my dad, my mom, and I exchanged views about this matter. We all felt that cultivation is very serious and that at any time we may be tested on the firmness of our inner heart towards Dafa and Teacher. Whatever saintly things we do, the principles of Dafa and improvement of Xinxing are fundamental. Last time, the evil demons took advantage of me due to my attachments of fear and greed. Dafa created all lives. When we deviate from Dafa and its principles, only pursuing "to do the work," that is equivalent to losing one's life.
In addition, I felt that in cultivation during Fa-ratification, the improvement of one's Xinxing is reflected in one's attitude towards Fa-ratification. Teacher once said that Buddhas are guardians of the cosmos and are responsible for all righteous elements in the cosmos, and that Buddhas can perish together with demons for the safety of the cosmos. Can you make it? During these days, my dad and I are sending forth righteous thoughts to destroy the big demon Jiang Zemin. I asked my dad, "Are you sending forth the thought?" He said slowly, "I do my best to destroy it with all my energy potency, my life, and all I have without reservation." I felt ashamed that I had specially made a shield to protect myself to recover energy during the practice of the tranquil sitting exercise on World Falun Dafa Day. When facing evil demons, can I have any reservations?!
May 23, 2001
[Editor's note] Shanshan turned nine years old this year. He began practicing Falun Dafa at the age of four with his parents. At the very beginning, his mother watched videos and listened to tapes of the Teacher's lectures at home, while Shanshan was playing with his toys nearby. He appeared not to have been listening closely to the lectures at all, but he started saying some words that really amazed his parents when he was five. Since then, Shanshan began his cultivation practice in earnest. Though he didn't know any Chinese characters, and couldn't even write his name in Chinese, he was able to read Zhuan Falun and other Dafa books. However, he couldn't recognize the same words when they appeared elsewhere. Over the past year, Shanshan has started telling his mother about what he has seen. The contents are substantial, and the main parts are described below.
Maintaining Powerful Righteous Thoughts
When I was reading the lecture Master gave at the Canada Conference, I saw that the scriptures were shining radiantly in various colors: red, orange, yellow, green, sky-blue, blue, and purple.
Recently, various demons and monsters have gone crazy. They all know they will be killed soon and they are fleeing for their lives. In the past, they used to gather at their headquarters in China to have meetings and to discuss what further destructive actions to take. Many of them have been exploded. Some are monsters, madly seeking to commit suicide; some hit the big fireball and committed suicide.
On the 22nd, I saw that three-legged toad demon again. Its eyelids were drooping. It was basically dead, without any vitality, unlike a few days ago when its eyes could still stare at things and it could tremble. It couldn't move at all, but just sat there stiffly. I didn't think of using weapons but just released Falun directly. When the Falun hit the stiff toad, the scene in my Celestial Eye (tianmu) changed again, like last time.
This toad demon has suffered a lot in the past few days--it was bombarded and burned. However, I won't feel comfortable until I see that it has been destroyed completely. These demons, though they have only one breath left, will absorb the demonic vitality and energy from other demons if the environment is suitable. Then they will recover and survive. Sometimes, my righteous thoughts were not strong enough when dealing with some big demons. Though I could cut their heads off and break up their bodies, they would generate another head and create another body quickly. There were some alien spaceships carrying weird beings. If these were not completely exploded, but only the windows, glass or energy system etc. were destroyed, they would recuperate quickly with their own recovery mechanisms. The righteous thoughts must be strong!
á
I first encountered Falun Dafa on a sunny autumn day in the park. Its majestic and flowing movements impressed me a lot, as I knew a little bit about acupuncture. So I was eager to know more about this school. As Master Li's teaching was gradually revealed to me, my heart was very moved, because during my whole life (I was 55 years old) I had been searching and learning from many kinds of cultivation schools. But I had never found anything so perfect and so righteous. "This system could only have been set up by a truly great enlightened being," I thought to myself. My learning Dafa then became so natural and systematic that it seemed as if Teacher was directing it. The more I learned, the more I loved it. Falun Gong surpassed all my expectations. All the marvelous things that I had heard or read in the ancient books of cultivation in the past now became clear and easy to understand. Not only did Zhuan Falun clearly and logically explain all the "secret of secrets" that assist cultivators to ascend to higher levels or even achieve Consummation, but also "a real, living great Buddha" with all his compassion and wisdom is right there telling us: "If you want to truly cultivate in this school, I shall be responsible to you, I shall protect and guide you as a disciple." I was so moved by this.
I had the chance to see Teacher in person twice at conferences before the cruel crackdown in China. Each time, he left me with unforgettable memories that help me to firmly believe. This is the true righteous way of cultivation and Teacher Li is the true enlightened Master of all time. I decided from this point on that I shall cultivate in this school and this school only. á
Since then, my life has taken a different course. Not only did my body rapidly undergo a marvelous change, but also my interior life took on a bright new direction as well. As I belonged to the category of people who can only believe what they see and had poor "inborn quality," Teacher helped me see and experience that everything that was said in Zhuan Falun was the truth. For example, the first days I did the exercises, I felt a strong energy circulating under my skin, as well as a kind of dizzy feeling, but I was not afraid and understood that it was the process of purification. My body then became very light and free of illness. When I walked on the street, I had the cheerfulness of a teenager. I used to have big headaches and needed vitamin C and expensive Chinese herbs to help me get through the day. After a few days of practicing the exercises, I forgot all of them without noticing it. I was so happy I had encountered something so marvelous. á
And there was something else very special that I could never forget. At the very beginning, my vision of life and of people was strange. I began seeing people as though from another level and wondering why they were living like that: everybody was running and hurrying for nothing, eating, sleeping, and working like in an ant community. Babies were born and grew up by themselves, old people were sent to special places such as hospitals, retirement villages, and nursing homes so that fewer people would have to see and witness their presence. The young people were trying to enjoy life as quickly and easily as possible, turning their backs on the tragedy of mankind, old age, illness and death. Listening to people's conversations, they seemed so meaningless. That kind of perception made me feel very painful out of compassion. Then I silently said to Teacher: "Teacher, now I understand your lesson; I understand how enlightened beings feel about us! It is so painful! Please let it go." Then I came back to normal after about another week.
There were other things that I encountered during the first period that definitely could not have been a coincidence. Once I was shopping in a crowded store, and when the time came to pay the cashier, I realized that all my money was gone. My first reaction was true joy because only the money was gone. At home, I told my two sons what happened, and we were all happy because we knew that through this loss I had repaid a lot of karma. Then, just one week later, I met up with a professional robber on a deserted street who threatened me with a sharp knife. I calmly told him: "I won't shout. If you need money, it's no problem." Suddenly, he started crying like a child. During the next twenty minutes, as he kept crying, he told me about his life, his suffering, his being deceived by friends, addicted to drugs, and driven into debt. Some force was helping me. I was very calm during all that time. I only felt compassion for him and thought of his mother, who could have been about my age. I tried to find a way to help him, and told him about the centers for drug treatment and about Teacher's Book. When everything was over, I suddenly felt afraid, very afraid. I understood that Teacher's fashen had been protecting me, even though I was only a beginning student. Later on, I also understood that it was not my real level of compassion that moved the robber, but the one Teacher had boosted in me. At the same time, the meaning of cultivation practice became very clear in my mind: everyone has a different realm of mind! One could raise it only through cultivating one's xinxing. It also showed that I had a lot of karma to be repaid, even though in this life I looked like a kind person and one of whom it is easy to take advantage. á
I also want to report some other things. I wished to have Teacher's Zhuan Falun in my own language to learn instead of learning from its English or French versions. As it was not yet translated, Teacher arranged the circumstances so that I could do it myself. It was done extraordinarly quickly with the help of friends, and that dream of mine has now become a reality. Now I still don't know how it could be so good, as actually my level of understanding of my own language is very common. (Thanks Teacher!). Regarding this issue, some other practitioners are now translating it again, but from the original Chinese version. We all are waiting for it. Another thing to report is that Teacher has arranged circumstances in which I can rapidly progress in my attempt to learn Chinese, so that I can better understand his teaching.
The suffering and joy of a practitioner
All this still does not show the change that Falun Dafa has brought to my life. Externally, friends and relatives might see only that I have become more patient and more attentive to others, but inside myself I know that I have passed through various changes at a very high speed. For example, when the persecution of our friends and Dafa began in China, I truly asked myself the essential questions that Master later pointed out in his lecture during the US Western Dafa conference on October 23, 2000. I had made my decision: even if it seemed overwhelming, I had to do something, anything possible within my means, to support my school of cultivation, because I knew it was righteous, it was fundamentally good for all individuals who practiced it, and definitively good for families and for the whole society. I also wanted to do something because of my gratitude towards Master Li. In return, my reward was the happiness beyond words that I felt while I was going from house to house putting flyers in mailboxes or distributing literature alone in various metro stations. My efforts helped me to overcome my laziness, my shyness, and my human reactions when people looked weirdly at me or said some odd words to me. I was rewarded tremendously with a bright warm energy coming from I don't know where, which filled me with joy and understanding and power, and at the same time a certain feeling of peaceful suffering that I shall explain later. Each time I did this, a level was transcended. As Master taught us: "Cultivation is like climbing a ladder, step by step; stopping in the middle is not saving (anything), being able to carry on the next heavy step is true cultivation." (Hongyin) So I am always trying to take the next step, the necessary step arranged by Teacher for the sake of my cultivation progress. Each difficult step, once done, makes it is easier the next time when I have to do it again. My whole interior life is changing step by step, tremendously, without stop. I can never be grateful enough to our Teacher. If I had not encountered Dafa, I would have always walked on one spot or "crawled within the boundary delimited by my own ignorance." Love, anger, jealousy, bitterness, desires: whereas before I had all these things, now I have peace in my mind and my heart as I know there is "a karmic reason behind everything," and that "one's life is predestined with the amount of De and Karma he/she carries at birth." All these and other teachings of Master Li appear in my mind whenever the time comes to make the next step. A marvelous Teacher is always around to shine on you and show you the way to go up and up. Would you not say that my life has changed now compared with the one I had before, and that this change is forever and never ending?
My story is very simple. I have witnessed no scenes in heaven, but I have truly changed over the past two and a half years. Thanks to Teacher Li, a middle-aged woman like me has been able to live truly in Dafa. Without his benevolence in teaching this Falun Dafa throughout the world, it would have been impossible for me to know it and embrace it in my life. Without Dafa, I would go on fatefully towards old age and die in obscurity. Now and forever, I know and see the light which will shine in my soul and illuminate my way; now I know how to cultivate myself, how to conduct myself in life and how to educate my children, thanks to our beloved Teacher. I understand the practitioners in China who would give up their lives before giving up Dafa in their hearts.
Nowadays my biggest joy is to see Falun Dafa spreading every day, far and wide, to every corner of the world. "The Buddha light is illuminating, rectifying everything, everyone will progress, the future is bright"(Hongyin). My biggest suffering is to see that still many people do not understand, even though it could be the miracle solution to all human miseries. I sincerely think so and hope that more people, all people, will quickly come to embrace it in their lives. Dafa is truly the big gift that Teacher gives to mankind in this dawn of the twenty first century.
[Minghui Net] I am a primary school teacher. I have cultivated Falun Dafa for over four years. I work as a head teacher of a class. In my class there is a boy from a rural area who is notorious in the school for making trouble. He was enrolled late in my class in the third grade. He didn't understand anything; neither did he listen to the teachers in class. He couldn't write a word, nor could he solve a problem. It seemed that he didn't have a sense of study at all. In his final exams, he got 6 points in math and 11 in Chinese language (out of 100 each). Almost everyday he would make some trouble, big or little, without a break. He caused the most difficulties to the teachers, and also was a big headache for me. I have patiently counseled him several times to behave himself, and his father also tried both hard and soft tactics at home with him, but all of these methods produced no result.
This Spring Festival, the "Self-immolation Incident" occurred in Tiananmen Square, under a scheme by Jiang's gang of scoundrels for framing Falun Gong. After the incident, I often thought of "letting my students know the truth." But I could not speak out even when words were on the tip of my tongue. I worried that students in the county were unsophisticated and it was likely to get me into trouble if I spoke out. So I did not tell my students about the truth of the incident. Later on when I read in Master's speech: "I think you should, as a student, a cultivator, do these things from the perspective of benevolence as well. Inform people of the truth, tell them about it--this is also offering people salvation," [Speech by Master Li Hongzhi at the Western US Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference of Falun Dafa] I felt that as a cultivator, clarifying the truth to people is to help them to establish the right understanding of Dafa [great law and principles]. Dafa treasures every being. With great mercy, Master wants to give everybody a chance. Everyone has a right to know the truth, including every innocent child. They should in the first place not live in lies and deception.
In March of this year, I explained the truth about Falun Gong to my students. At that time both my mind and tone were very calm, without any worries. After I finished talking, a student in the last row of the classroom raised his hand and shouted loudly, "Teacher, I want to learn Falun Gong!" I looked around and found surprisingly that it was that troublemaker. At that time I thought he was making mischief and said right away, "You sit down first, wait until afterwards." I did not take this seriously, since I thought it was impossible for him to truly want to learn. So I kind of forgot about this matter.
Soon it was April 10. The last class in the morning is my morality class. At the end of the text, it enclosed an essay slandering Falun Dafa. I thought, I couldn't allow such an abominable article to poison the pure hearts of the children. So, I told some true stories to the class about Falun Gong teaching people to be good, and the great deeds of Dafa practitioners who held firmly to the Truth in front of vicious tribulations. After I completed the talk, this student again put up his little hand and shouted loudly: "Teacher, I want to learn Falun Gong, please teach me!" I saw his sincerity, and promised him I would.
Section one in the afternoon was my math class. No sooner did I finish explaining one example, than this student raised his hand, saying that he could do it. At that time I did not believe him at first because he never listened to teachers in classes, neither was he able to do any problems. I let him go to the blackboard and solve the problem. Surprisingly he did it correctly. I asked him to do another one, again he did it right. Other students were very surprised. I thought at the moment that although I did not talk much, the boy had already been affected by the righteous power of Dafa that lifts people upward. He wanted to be good himself! This is something that could not be done by any external forces. I was very excited. The mighty power of Dafa had already melted him. On the same afternoon after school, he found me in my office, and asked me, "Teacher, is there any book for learning Falun Gong?" I said, "Yes, but you can't read yet." He insisted on reading it, and wanted to know if he could read it through. He opened the book and saw "Lunyu." [the foreword of Zhuan Falun] Unexpectedly he read it through with only several unrecognized characters.
He really began to study from then on. He listened to teachers attentively in classes, and also started to do homework. Once the teacher of Chinese language talked to me surprised, "What happened to this boy these days? He began to study. He did a Chinese language test and surprisingly, he correctly answered many of the questions. He seems to be a changed person! He is also obedient and no longer makes trouble everyday."
This boy had an old complaint since his childhood. He told me he had bronchitis in childhood. He would throw up whenever he coughed. Especially the first month of every lunar year, he threw up nearly everyday, several times each day. His classmates were all unwilling to share desks with him for loathing the dirty things he threw up. The first day after he began to study the Fa [law and principles], in the first section of the afternoon he threw up again. He seemed very nervous this time, and went to the front to tell me about it. I asked him, "You throw up everyday, what's there to be afraid of?" He said, "Teacher, I don't know how I threw up this time. I only felt that there was a strong current of air gushing out from my stomach. I did not cough this time, it was very different from the previous state." I knew at that time that Master had already begun to clean up his body for him. I told him, "It doesn't matter to practitioners." He was not nervous any more.
Another time, during a class, he suddenly had a severe stomachache, I told him in a whisper, "Master is clearing up your body for you. It is a good thing, don't be afraid." He then pressed his hand against his stomach with perseverance, while doing class work at the same time. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. After ten minutes or so, the pain was gone. Later he told me that he felt something moving up his stomach slowly, then it disappeared in the upper abdomen and the pain was gone too. He hasn't thrown up since.
Once he told me, he had seen the words "The Law Wheel Is Always Rotating" on a wall. There was a bad word under it and he erased this word. Later someone wrote it again and he erased it again. This is a little practitioner who just obtained the Fa several days ago. He has already been a force of righteousness and is firmly protecting Dafa.
Dafa saves people with predestined relationship. Just like this, the little boy started on the cultivation path of returning to his original, true self. And from this I understood: truly using reason, wisdom and a benevolent heart to promote the Fa, and doing things without pursuit, one will naturally do well. Also I think it is good to tell his parents and more kind people, that it was Dafa that changed him! Falun Dafa is truly a righteous Fa!
I am 48 years old and have practiced Falun Gong for 5 years. I want to tell you about a few wonderful things that I have seen.
1. My daughter's eyes are healed
My daughter is a college student who has not practiced Falun Gong. I have tried to persuade her to practice several times, but she is not interested. One day, her eyes became red. All the medicine she tried failed to work, so she stayed home for 3 days. I thought that it would be nice if she could read the Falun Dafa book. At that time, I was reading a Dafa book that mentions humans from other planets. I told my daughter, "Come read this paragraph. It's about foreign living beings." She said that she didn't want to read, but I persuaded her that it was very interesting and she should read it as soon as possible. She hesitated, but began to read. After reading for only 5 minutes, to my surprise, she jumped up suddenly and cried out loudly, "My eyes are healed!" I took a look and found that her eyes were not red anymore.
2. A story about a flower
One day, a relative and I bought the same pots of flowers. Both of them were very beautiful. Their buds had just began to blossom. One week later, she came to my home and said that my flower looked so lovely, while hers had already withered. Another week past and again she came to my home and told me that my flower had blossomed so well that I must be an expert. The 3rd week, my flower still looked very nice. The 4th week, my relative could not help asking me, "Why did my flower only blossom for one week, but yours has lasted so long even though it only got watered once a week when I came to your home?" Suddenly, I understood that practitioners who practice Falun Dafa are surrounded with a strong energy field, and this prolonged the life of the flower.
3. Story about burdock
I have a vegetable garden at home. Due to lack of time, I don't take care of it very well, but it always grows nicely. Whenever I plant the seeds, it always rains in time. One summer, I planted a bunch of burdock. When it was time to harvest them, a piece of burdock grew in a strange shape. Generally the root of burdock is thin and long, but in the middle of this special one, there were two branches of root crossing each other like conjoining hands. At the upper position, there was an area that looked like a kind face. It faced the room where Teacher's picture was hanging. This burdock grew very big and thick, much bigger than average. It was one and a half feet long.
4. Story about the moles
During one summer, I saw that the field had hardened. Speaking to myself I said, "It will be great if the hard mud would loosen." The following day, I found many holes drilled by small moles. I took a careful look and found that the holes they had drilled in the leek field were very close to the leeks. Again speaking to myself, I said, "You should not have helped me like this even if you wanted to. How can the leeks survive if their roots are not in the mud? The holes should be besides the plants." The next day, again I took a look and found that all new holes had been drilled around the plants and the field became very soft and pliable. Your feet would sink if you were to walk on the field.
May 25, 2001 8:55 a.m. In a move as farcical as it is sad, leaders of China's government-controlled churches have criticized the Second Annual Report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, proclaiming that it "distorts facts with ulterior motives" and "interferes in China's internal affairs."
The Commission on International Religious Freedom, established by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-292), monitors religious freedom in other countries and advises the president, the Secretary of State, and Congress on how best to promote it. According to the Commission's May report, "The Commission's concern has been validated by the deteriorating religious-freedom situation in China over the last year. Thus the Commission urges the U.S. government to work vigorously to promote religious freedom in China by making its concern known to the Chinese government and by working to secure substantial improvements."
This U.S. Commission Report follows a year in which international headlines reported "PRC Officials tell AFP 1,200 Temples Destroyed or Closed During Crackdown"; "Crackdown at Christmas Dims Holiday for Chinese: Regional Assault on Illegal Churches Worst in Decades"; and "3,000 Temples, Churches in Wenzhou Reportedly Closed Down, Demolished."
Even though China's state-run media has confirmed such atrocities, Yu Xinli, deputy-president of the China Christian Council, said earlier this month: "Today in China, Chinese Christians enjoy the freedom to conduct religious activities -- it serves as a good example of how good the situation is."
At great personal risk, House Church Christians inside China are reporting that all of the information and facts of the Commission's report are based on the truth. Many Christians inside China refuse to register with the state-controlled church, insisting that the head of their church is God -- not the godless [party's name omitted]. They reject their government's regulations that forbid them from teaching about the Second Coming of Jesus. The Commission's report explains, "Bishop Ding Guangxum, the concurrent honorary president of the official Three Self Patriotic Movement (TSPM) for the Protestant churches in China and the Christian Council of China, reportedly has introduced a 'new theology' that seeks to de-emphasize the differences between believers and non-believers and to ensure that doctrines of the official Chinese Protestant churches are compatible with socialist ideology. One important feature of this theology is the denial of the fundamental Christian doctrine of salvation by faith."
After reviewing the Commission's Report, House Church Christians inside China are encouraged that they are neither abandoned nor forgotten. They implore, "The persecution here has never ceased. We need the U.S. efforts to continue to investigate and let the outside world know the real situation in China and not to be deceived by Trinity Broadcast Network, Benny Hinn, and those organizations and persons hired by China's [pary's name omitted] officials. Many people are hired by China's government to build up connections between the government's official Three-Self Church and every big Christian church in the U.S. The Chinese government boasts of how proud they are with their public-relations work -- 'before those easily deceived and silly Americans' ... but they will continue to treat us, their own brothers and sisters the same way as before."
Protesting the U.S. Commission's Report, Fu Tieshan, chairman of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, said, "Catholic followers in China enjoy freedom of religion." Nevertheless, many believe that China's Patriotic leaders are failing their duties to their "flocks," either by overlooking repression, or being genuinely unaware of suffering because of their government's suppression of information. In April alone, the following known Loyal Catholic clerics and faithful were arrested: Bishop Shi Enxiang, 79 of Yixian, Hebei -- arrested on Good Friday; Fr. Li Jianbo, 34, Inner Mongolia -- arrested; Fr. Lu Genjun, 39, Baoding, Hebei -- sentenced to laogai for 3 years; Fr. Yin -- Hebei, sentenced to laogai for 3 years; one priest in Fujian -- arrested; one priest in Jiangxi -- arrested; 13 underground Loyal Catholic laypeople -- arrested April 13th.
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Regarding Tibet, the U.S. Commission reports: "Chinese authorities maintain tight control over religious activity and places of worship in Tibet and reportedly have increased some restrictions in the last year. The government remains suspicious of Tibetan Buddhism because of its link with the Dalai Lama." An exiled Tibetan monk from the Amdo region who was imprisoned for 24 years states, "Life in Tibet is a total disaster, and we are in need of help." [...]
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Most faith communities do not recognize geographical boundaries, and do not share the political tensions that have broiled between the U.S. and China. If China's official faith leaders could recognize that their communities extend beyond their country's walls, they might gain powerful, new allies to repel the PRC's campaign of religious persecution.
To learn more about the PRC's assault on religious freedoms, visit www.freechurchforchina.org.
May 25, 2001
Hong Kong authorities appear to be on the verge of following Beijing's lead and banning the Falun Gong spiritual movement. Such a move would be the gravest blow yet to the principle of "one country, two systems" and would effectively downgrade the territory to the status of just another mainland city, making it difficult for foreign governments to justify treating it as an entity distinct from the rest of China.
Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa seems to be looking for a way to ban the group while still preserving the appearance that all is well with Hong Kong's rule of law. The head of the civil service Donald Tsang announced last week that the government is considering an anti-[term omitted] criminal law similar to those drafted in some Western countries; the main model is reportedly a law now before the French legislature.
In order to justify such a move, the government is gearing up a campaign to portray the Falun Gong as a threat to Hong Kong's people. [...]
Adopting a law like the one under consideration in France would represent an attack on Hong Kong's freedoms. The law is vague enough about what constitutes a [term omitted] to allow serious abuses of power by officials, and it is ill-advised even in France. But at least there it can be counterbalanced by the forces of democracy, since French citizens can use the ballot box to remove from power a government that enforces the law too harshly. No such possibility exists in undemocratic Hong Kong.
Moreover, the law would immediately pose a problem for the Hong Kong judiciary, which would be called on to judge whether it violated the freedoms guaranteed in the Basic Law, the territory's post-handover constitution. The local courts deservedly enjoy a reputation as the finest in Asia, but since the 1997 return to Chinese sovereignty the highest body, the Court of Final Appeal, has had its wings clipped on constitutional matters by the National People's Congress in Beijing.
Just to be absolutely clear, the Falun Gong poses no threat to Hong Kong. Its local members number a few hundred, and it has never shown any propensity for violence. Indeed, Falun Gong's teachings prohibit violence, and even in mainland China, where authorities have persecuted the group ruthlessly, the practitioners have refused to lash out. Other local religious groups, including the Catholic Church, have come to Falun Gong's defense, recognizing that any government action against the group would erode religious freedom for all.
There can be no mistake, an anti-[term omitted] law would be a crossing of the Rubicon, showing that Hong Kong is willing to throw out the principle of "one country, two systems" in order to please Beijing. It would draw down condemnation on the Tung administration from every government and organization that monitors Hong Kong's autonomy and human rights, hurting the city's reputation. And it would even do economic damage, by throwing into doubt Hong Kong's commitments to honor a whole range of other promises that underpin its status as a reliable base for doing business. The message is clear: Falun Gong members should be left to practice their religion in peace.