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LOS ANGELES (FDI) -- In 1992 media footage showing starving men behind barbwire fences led to global outrage and reaction to ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia.
Facts of the Persecution
News and Events Around the World
Media Reports
People's Hearts Determine Their Futures
Breaking Through the Internet Blockade
Practitioners Exchange Insights and Experiences
News From China
(by Leeshai Lemish -- 8/22/2004)
32-year-old Ms. Wang Xia before the persecution of
Falun Gong began in China. (left) After suffering 2 years of
repeated torture and beatings, Wang was reduced to 45 lbs (right)
and is in critical condition.
32-year-old Ms. Wang Xia before the persecution of Falun Gong began in China. (left) After suffering 2 years of repeated torture and beatings, Wang was reduced to 45 lbs (right) and is in critical condition.
It is long overdue for the media to show the world pictures of what is happening to Falun Gong practitioners in China today.
International media broadcasted images of policemen violently arresting Falun Gong practitioners on Tiananmen Square at the outset of Jiang Zemin's persecution in 1999-2000. Yet, as this story grew repetitive or less "breaking," these images disappeared from worldwide newspapers and television shows.
Many outside of China have come to believe that the brutality against Falun Gong has also gone away.
Nothing could be further from reality. The brutality has simply shifted from the public eye to behind concentration camp walls.
Ms. Wang Xia (pictured above) was sent to a Mongolian forced labor camp
simply because she openly talked to people about Falun Gong. After going on a
hunger strike to protest her detention and abuse she was injected with unknown
drugs, force fed, shocked with electric batons, hung and beaten. The once 120
pound woman now weighs 45 pounds and fades in and out of consciousness. A person
in charge of the prison said in front of several guards to: "Move her to the
mortuary for cremation!"
Mr. Zhang Zhong was arrested and tortured for
trying to expose human rights atrocities over state-run T.V.
Mr. Zhang Zhong was arrested and tortured for trying to expose human rights atrocities over state-run T.V.
Mr. Zhang Zhong (pictured left) was arrested in 2002 for seeking to expose Jiang's persecution and the misinformation that props it up by tapping into a cable TV broadcast signal to show programs about the human rights abuses against Falun Gong practitioners. Zhang was shackled, hung up, and pricked with needles until he vomited blood. As a result of the torture he became unable to digest any food and vomits whatever he eats. He urinates blood and has had only four bowel movements over the past six months.
Let the World See
The Chinese government continues to refuse international inspections. Reporters, human rights activists, and many other courageous individuals in China who have sought to expose the atrocities in labor camps are being sent there themselves. (news)
We do not have footage from within these labor camps as we do from Iraq's Abu Ghraib, but we have many photographs taken by torture victims after they are sent home to die.
Every one of these photos comes at the risk of people's lives, and yet -- through exposing what the perpetrators do not want the world to know - every one of these photos has the potential to save lives.
After five years of persecution and a death toll most likely at several thousand, we call upon the international media: let the world see with their own eyes what is happening to Falun Gong practitioners in China.
http://faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=8901
(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Zhou Zhi, around 38 years of age, was an engineer at Benxi City Steel Group in Liaoning Province. He was arrested last May for downloading Falun Gong truth-clarification materials from the internet. After his arrest, Zhou had been on hunger strike to protest the illegal detention. Last November, he and three other practitioners were sentenced to 11 years in prison. Zhou was tortured to death at around 9:00 p.m. on August 16 this year at the Second Prison in Shanyang City, Liaoning Province.
Phone number of the Second Prison in Shanyang City: 86-24-89296196
Li Chuang (a captain of the prison): 86-24-89246553
(Clearwisdom.net)
Illustration 1. This happened inside the Xinhua Labor Camp in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province. This torture method is called "tying the ropes." It is often used by the guards there. They strip practitioners of their' upper body clothing. Then they take a rope the circumference of a small finger and tie the rope tightly around the practitioner's arms, making the rope cut into the skin. They put the practitioners' arms behind their backs and raise their hands. This causes extreme, unbearable pain. According to the official camp "rules," such torture cannot be used beyond 15 minutes, otherwise both arms will be disabled. After the rope is removed, almost every place the rope had come in contact with has an open, bleeding wound. The arms have lost feeling. It takes weeks to recover from such gross mistreatment; some people take two to three months to recover. Others, who were tortured more severely, are permanently disabled. In general, when the jail guards "tie the ropes", they also use several high voltage electric batons, some carrying 300,000 volts, to shock a practitioner's head, cheek, neck, heart, back, armpits, sciatic nerve and other places. The extreme pain, coupled with the agony from the high voltage electric shocks often make people lose control of their bowel and bladder.
Illustration 2. One day in May 2002, people from Team No.4 from Division No.4, ' guards He Yuan and He Licheng instigated two drug addicts who had been assigned as monitors to torture Chengdu City practitioner Deng Jiangang (over 60 years old). Outside the Team No. 4 jail building, they attempted to force Dafa practitioner Mr. Deng Jiangang to repeatedly stand up and squat down. Deng refused. The two monitors pushed and squashed Deng's back area and broke four of Mr. Deng's ribs. When questioned about the fractures, the two "monitors" pretended that they knew nothing about it. The next day Mr. Deng was in severe pain and was sent to the Mianyang City Hospital. The team concealed the information inside the labor camp. After the other practitioners heard about the event, they demanded to have the criminals punished. The guards, however, just said the monitors made a mistake, and it had nothing to do with the guards. Their so-called "punishment" for the two monitors was to transfer them to another team.
Illustration 3. On November 30, 2002, the labor camp authorities started brainwashing the practitioners. They gathered more than ten of the worst guards from each team as well as more than 90 of the worst drug addicts/monitors to begin brainwashing more than thirty practitioners in Team No. 5, Division No. 4. They did not allow practitioners to talk; forced them to stand for a long period of time; didn't allow them to sleep or use the restroom; locked them inside small cages; tied them with the torture called "tying the ropes," and shocked them with electric batons in attempts to get them to give up their belief in Falun Dafa.
The picture is of practitioner Zheng Fangjun from Suining City who is in his 40's. Because he ripped up ""the labor camp uniform and tore up cartoons that ""slander Dafa, the guards organized eight inmates to monitor him around the clock. They put a metal helmet on his head to prevent him from banging into the wall. They tied up sleeves on the garment to prevent his hands from coming through, and tortured him many times with "tying the rope" and high voltage electric shocks.
Illustration 4. One afternoon in February 2001, an individual named Yang, head of Team No. 4, in his 50's, arrived at after he had been drinking. He came up with some excuse to beat practitioner Song Ziming, in his 50's, from Kai County, Sichuan Province. Practitioner Mr. Song Ziming's cheek, lips and nose were swollen and bleeding. Yang then called drug addicts to drag Mr. Song Ziming to the corridor's metal gate, put a spittoon on top of Song's head and they hit Song's chest with their fists. The other practitioners heard the noise, and indignantly condemned Yang's vicious act. Yang declared that he wanted to drag Mr. Song Ziming to the riot group to kill him, and shouted that he would come back in the evening to keep torturing him. The other guards in Team No. 4 were afraid things would get out of hand and locked the metal gate. Yang then left. Later, the practitioners protested the brutal acts with a group hunger strike and demanded punishment for the criminals. After they had been on a hunger strike for four days, the guards came and apologized. Later, Yang was removed from this post. In fact, he was merely transferred to another job. The change was merely a formality to soothe people's feelings.'
(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Teng Jiajun is 17-years-old and lives in Maokuishan, Dandong City, Liaoning Province. Both of her parents are Falun Gong practitioners, and local authorities ordered the police to monitor them. The police often broke into the family's home and harassed them. In order to avoid further persecution, Jiajun's parents had to leave home and wander around. Her mother had been laid off from work because she practiced Falun Gong and was supposed to get a monthly stipend of 208 Yuan. Her parents had hoped such a small stipend could at least serve as Jiajun's living expenses. However, the director of the work unit, Wang, refused to give the stipend to Jiajun, saying her mom had to come back to claim it herself. As a result, the 17-year-old had to rely on friends and relatives to give her food.
This summer Jiajun attended the national college entrance examination. She got a very high score of over 600, which was more than enough for her to get accepted by many universities in China. However, she was not able to pass the political examination. (1) Party Secretary Fan of Maokuishan said, "Her parents practice Falun Gong. We don't know where they are right now. We cannot give her an ok on the political examination. You may go to the street committee to ask if they can sign off on you." When Jiajun's relatives went to Jia Xiaona, an officer of the street committee to request his signature, Jiang said such a signature could be given only after Jiajun's parents came back.
Jiajun has the right to receive an education. Such a young woman is the hope of the nation. No one has the authority to deprive a 17-year-old of her right to receive an education. During the past five years of Jiang's regime persecuting Falun Gong, many children have been mistreated just because their parents practice Falun Gong.
List of people who participated in the persecution of Jiajun and her parents:
Dandong City "610 Office"
Person in charge: Gao Ge: 86-415-2103455 extension 167
Zeng Wu: 86-415-2103282 extension167, 86-415-2853955 (home)
Dandong City Political and Legal Committee
Secretary Wang Baozhi: 86-415-2164000, 86-415-2125851, 86-415-2127550
Deputy Secretary Wu Huimin and Liu Wenbo: 86-415-2123536
Dandong City Police Department Division One
Director Li Xueyi: 86-415-2103279
Vice Director Cao Yujia: 86-415-2103282
Vice Director Yu Deqing: 86-415-3153837
(Both Vice Directors are in charge of persecuting Falun Gong.)
Dandong City Police Department Chife Lin Lubo: 86-415-2125655
Liaoning Province Supervision Department: 86-24--22855031
(Clearwisdom.net) Since May 2002, the abuse of Falun Dafa practitioners in the Tumuji Labor Camp in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous District has intensified. The police have tried all sorts of means to try to force Falun Dafa practitioners to give up their belief and "be transformed." Officials gave the order to use any means possible, ignoring the practitioner's safety.
They handcuff practitioners and hang them up by the cuffs, with only the tip of their toes touching the floor. This is done for more than 2 hours at a time, several times each day. Some practitioners are shocked with electric batons while hanging there.
After practitioners were beaten and subjected to sleep deprivation for several days, the police would have several people grab the practitioners' hands and force their fingerprints onto Guarantee Statements written by someone else. Then the police would declare that these practitioners have been "transformed."
Ms. Li Shuping is an older practitioner. After her fingerprint was forcibly placed on the transformation statement, she could not eat or sleep. She asked for her "statement" back and was rejected each time. The mental strain had severe adverse effects on her, and she had to be sent to the hospital numerous times.
Yin Guijuan, a female police officer, beat one practitioner until she passed out. Yin used a pin to pierce the practitioner's lower eye lid. Yin went as far as to sexually violate practitioners with her hand.
Many practitioners declared their forced fingerprint statements to be null and void, and they were severely beaten afterwards. Policeman Yin beat Ms. Wang Guihua with a wet towel, resulting in Wang's face becoming swollen and bruised. Her eyes were swollen shut, and she was rendered beyond recognition by the beatings.
One practitioner escaped but was later caught. The police beat her inhumanely, torturing her by pinching her nose and forcing-feeding her with large quantities of cold water. Then they drenched her and used electric batons to shock her.
The ward leader Zhou Guoling (female) used an electric baton to shock her nipples, and then had her beaten by other guards. They kicked her head viciously, resulting in a huge bump the size of a fist on her forehead. Her face was covered with bruises, and her body was covered with injuries.
After the escape incident, the police changed their strategies. They established a "transformation room." Practitioners would go through torture one by one. There were more than 10 guards that would keep her from sleeping. They forced her to stand for long periods of time, beat her, cursed at her and did not allow any contact with anyone else. They even had her watched by several people, even while she used the toilet. After more than a week, when they saw that this practitioner was exhausted, they forced her fingerprint on the "Three Statements (1)".
During the time that practitioner Yu Wenxia went through that "transformation room," the police handcuffed her and hung her up on the window frame. They used electric batons to shock the soles of her feet and whipped her with a wet leather belt. Two men whipped practitioner Meng Hulun with a leather belt under Yin's instructions. They also whipped her face with a wet towel and kicked her. This resulted in internal and external bleeding, as well as severe swelling.
Practitioner Ms. Wang Guihua was also hung up by handcuffs, but she refused to renounce Falun Gong. In the end all of the Falun Dafa practitioners whose fingerprints were stolen declared that the "Three Statements" were null and void.
(1) Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write the Three Statements as proof that they have given up their beliefs. Created by the "610 Office," the Three Statements consist of a letter of repentance, a guarantee to never again practice Falun Gong and a list of names and addresses of family members, friends and acquaintances who are practitioners.
(Clearwisdom.net) This is a letter that Ms. Zou Guirong wrote to her mother in 2001. Since then, Zou Guirong has been tortured to death. The whereabouts of Ms. Yin Liping, who is mentioned in the letter, is unknown as she has been missing for years.
Dear Mom,
I have left you and been gone for nearly two years now, something that I am most sorry about. I know that I am supposed to be with you to carry out my filial responsibilities, but I am unable to do that right now. You have raised me well and given me a firm and compassionate personality. When I learned Falun Dafa, it provided me with more complete standards for being a human--Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance. Dafa gave me a new life.
I know you miss me dearly and are afraid that I will suffer in the labor camp. Mom, I want to tell you, if I didn't practice Dafa, the pain and hardship that I've suffered in Masanjia Forced Labor Camp would have been more than enough to kill me. Now I am suffering from even more harsh beatings and abuse at Shenxin Forced Labor Camp. Earlier, my two elder sisters came to see me and under orders from the labor camp, pleaded with me to eat. They even used these words that the police guards often use, "You should be beaten if you don't admit you're wrong." Mom, what have I done wrong? If clarifying the truth in Beijing has become a crime and the nation's capital has become a restricted area where appeals are forbidden, then what is the point of establishing the appeals offices in the first place?
Practitioners are not guilty of any crime, but we have suffered from relentless torture and abuse in the forced labor camps. I have already finished serving my term (which expired on March 14), yet as of today I have been held for three additional months, and remain detained in the labor camp. Two other practitioners and I went on a hunger strike to appeal for my freedom. When Deguo and my sisters came to visit, the police deceived them into pleading with me to make me eat, and made them believe that I would be set free once my sentence was finished. On June 5, when we returned from Dabei Prison Hospital (I was sent there after the hunger strike at Shenxin and taken to a dark basement with metal doors and locks which made it appear like a dungeon) to Shenxin Labor Camp with another practitioner, labor camp officials extended Wang Li's sentence for six months. Supposedly, she was to be set free on June 15, but now the policy is that those who do not renounce their practice will have their sentences continually extended. In fact, three days after we returned to Shenxin, they again started to force me to wear clothing denouncing our practice. I and another practitioner, Yin Liping, refused to wear them. The vicious female police guards dragged me into an office, tore my shirt, and forced me into those clothes. They pulled my hair, hit my head, and slapped me in the face. After the abuse, I was locked up. Yin Liping and I were locked up in separate cells. Both of our sentences have expired and we should have been released to go home, but because we persisted in our practice, we continue to remain in custody and continue to suffer from vicious abuse. So in reality, who is breaking the law? We don't assault people verbally or physically, but are branded as criminals. Instead, those who recklessly abuse and harass others are supposed to be at no fault at all. They supposedly enforce the law, but break the law themselves. Who is evil and who is righteous? The answer is quite obvious. Currently right and wrong are inverted, and people just can't distinguish good from bad these days.
Because I practiced the Falun Gong exercises, I had to suffer from being shocked by guard Song Xiaoshi's electric batons. He used two electric batons to shock me. The third time, he shocked me in the guard chamber until the battery of the electric baton went dead. The officers spread a lot of deceitful propaganda. They deceive practitioners' families using even more deceitful methods, telling them about how we became such-and-such in the labor camp. We are also human, and have families and children, but in addition to extending our imprisonment, they even say that we cause trouble and that we are not reasonable. They talk one way, but act another way; they simply do not do correct things. Everything here is deceptive, and they do not speak the truth. Last time my two older sisters came to visit, I refused to meet my with them (it would have been our second meeting) because I didn't want the guards' plot to prevail, and that is why I refused. As a result, they sent us to the Dabei Prison Hospital. We went there and saw that the basement looked like a black hell. If we didn't eat and died from starvation, no one would even notice.
During our second hunger strike, when Yin Liping was force-fed, Division Head Guo Yong threw a punch to her back, leaving her unable to walk. Her back movements are still very limited. The guards treat practitioners with such brutality. Can't all this awaken our families to distinguish clearly between right and wrong? Yin Liping is totally aware of the evil drama. She condemns them every time she is force-fed, and lets the people know about their evil actions. Since Yin Liping's last force-feeding, division head Guo Yong has been afraid to make an appearance, because his evil deeds have been completely exposed by Yin Liping. Doing good will bring good, and doing evil will bring evil. The heavens will not forgive them.
Mom, please tell Deguo to be alert and not trust anyone easily, especially the guards from the Shenxin Forced Labor Camp. This includes what they say and what they ask him to do. My hospital expenses should be covered by the Shenxin Labor Camp; do not listen to their deceit.
Tell Deguo to read more about practitioners' experiences validating Dafa if he can access Minghui Net [Chinese version of Clearwisdom.net].
Wishing you good health and longevity! Wishing the entire family happiness!
I am currently at Shenyang City Dabei Prison underground prison hospital.
Your fourth daughter: Guirong
(Clearwisdom.net)
Photo taken on Wall Street in Manhattan, New York at 11:31 AM, August 16, 2004.
The above photo was taken around noon on August 16, 2004, while we were at the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street clarifying the truth to people. In the photo, on the left-hand-side of the Falun Gong practitioner holding a poster in her hands, a column of black gas emits from the ground and forms an umbrella-shape cover.
Thoughts regarding this photo are summarized below:
1. The evil factors in other dimensions are gathered at the American financial center, Wall Street, and are attempting to prevent Falun Dafa practitioners from clarifying the truth. In this situation they were unable to manipulate people to stop practitioners from clarifying the truth, and they personally went into action and had their traces disclosed.
2. The evil is right around us. However, one righteous thought can subdue all evils. Although the column of black gas and the umbrella-shape cover were very close to the practitioner in the photo, they were unable to touch the practitioner. What this practitioner had in her heart at that moment was the desire to let more people learn about the persecution and killing launched by Jiang against Falun Gong practitioners. Let more people come to stop it and help more people to better position themselves.
The reflection of evil that can be captured by camera is in a dimension that is closest to the one visible to us. There are countless dimensions in the three realms. In the immeasurable dimensions that are invisible to us, we are unable to see the evil's manifestations or the breath-taking battle of righteousness subduing the evil. As long as we resolutely follow what Teacher tells us, to do the three things, all will be fulfilled in the process.
3. Each practitioner has a field of righteous thoughts. On the streets of New York, the more practitioners distribute flyers and explain the facts, the greater the chance people have to be saved. Surrounding each practitioner is an energy field that he or she has obtained through the cultivation of Falun Dafa. The size of each practitioner's energy field differs according to their own cultivation and level. Teacher told us:
"When an evil-minded person is thinking of something bad, this person might change his mind due to the powerful effect of your field; he might then no longer want to commit the wrongdoing. Perhaps a person wants to swear at someone. Suddenly, he may change his mind and will not want to swear. Only the energy field from cultivation practice in a righteous way can produce this effect. Therefore, in the past there was this saying in Buddhism: 'The Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities.' This is what it means." (Zhuan Falun)
On August 16, when we had just arrived on Wall Street, we met a tourist group from China. At first when we handed the Chinese version of truth-clarifying literature to them, they dared not accept the flyers. When the group leader wasn't paying attention, a young man took one set of materials. Then several people came to ask for the literature. It was a pity that at that time we had only about six sets of materials and did not have enough for all people who wanted them. When the tour leader saw that materials were being handed out, he said, "Don't take it!" But they still took the materials. The people quickly put the flyers into their pockets. One young lady asked a practitioner if she could take a picture of her. When the practitioner replied, "Of course, yes!" the lady took a photo of the practitioner, who wore a shirt imprinted with words of Falun Dafa, even though the leader shouted, "Don't take the picture! Don't!" A Falun Gong practitioner told the leader, "This is the U.S., where people enjoy human rights." The leader then stopped talking.
4. Sending forth righteous thoughts is as important as distributing flyers and clarifying the truth. I remember on August 16, when we had just arrived at Wall Street, people were very indifferent. Few took the truth-clarifying materials. At the beginning, we had a thought, "Let's go to Water Street. Although there were fewer passersby there, more people had accepted the flyers. There are more people here on Wall Street, but fewer accept the materials." Although at that moment, we did not see the column of black gas or the umbrella-shaped cover, we immediately realized that we should not leave. The field here needed to be cleared. Later, a practitioner found a spot which was a bit higher than the surroundings, and played the exercise music and started doing the sitting meditation. After practicing the meditation for one hour, she saw that the materials were being distributed much more quickly. At that point, a practitioner from Washington DC who speaks very good English also arrived. The practitioner continuously answered people's questions, and the flyers were quickly distributed. Feeling so good about it, she once again sat down with her legs crossed and played the music "Pu Du" and "Ji Shi," composed by practitioners. At that moment, some people came over to carefully read the truth-clarifying posters. Some people asked her what she was practicing and where they could learn it. When they obtained the information, they were very happy and sincerely said, "Thank you! Thank you!" We understand that wherever there is a practitioner, the evil factors are eliminated and people become awakened. Since overseas evil factors have gathered in New York, practitioners who are able to arrange it should try their best to go to New York and bring Dafa practitioners' field of righteous thoughts there.
The above is my personal understanding. Please point out if there is anything inappropriate. Thank you!
(Clearwisdom.net) Four representatives from the Malaysia Falun Dafa Research Center delivered a memorandum to the South Africa Embassy in Malaysia on August 20, 2004, regarding the South Africa shooting incident targeting Australian practitioners on June 28. Zeng Qinghong, a member of Jiang's faction, is suspected of being a behind-the-scene instigator. It is hoped that the South African government will expedite the investigation into the case.
 First Secretary of the South Africa Embassy in Malaysia Philip Riley (right) meets with spokesperson of Malaysia Falun Dafa Research Center Yan Wenshun (left) |
 President of Falun Dafa Research Center Yang Sheng delivers the memorandum to the South Africa Embassy |
 Memorandum: Appealing to expedite the investigation of the shooting case in South Africa |
 Representatives from Falun Dafa Research Center arrive at the South Africa Embassy in Malaysia |
 Philip Riley (right) talks with representatives of Falun Dafa Research Center |
(Clearwisdom.net) It was a gorgeous, sunny day in Cambridge on Sunday August 21. Practitioners held a second anti-torture exhibition in the city centre to expose the genocide against Falun Gong, which was planned and initiated by Jiang Zemin and is taking place right now in Mainland China. Information boards were set up alongside exhibits in which several methods of torture used in Chinese prisons and labor camps to force practitioners to renounce Falun Gong were demonstrated by actors in realistic make-up.
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| Practitioners in realistic make-up demonstrate several torture methods | ||
As crowds gathered to take a look at the exhibition and read the information on the display boards, practitioners were on hand to answer questions about Falun Gong and the persecution. Most people just could not believe that they had never heard about it before and were eager to show their support by signing the petition. Even very young children wanted to sign. One man signed the petition and asked lots of questions including, "Why don't the practitioners just give up Falun Gong when faced with such horror?" He said he was a coward and couldn't imagine what it would take to stand up for what he believed in like that.
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| Crowds gather to read the information boards | |
Several locals asked about classes after seeing demonstrations of the Falun Gong exercises. 2100 petition signatures were collected in total during Saturday and Sunday's activities and lots of people, including some of the many visiting Chinese, learned more about Falun Gong and the persecution.
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| A little practitioner practises the exercises |
Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200408/21559.html
(Clearwisdom.net) A special scene in Hong Kong that often leaves a deep impression on tourists from Mainland China is the display of large banners with the words, "Falun Dafa Is Great" and "Global Trial of Jiang Zemin." At major tourist locations, Falun Gong practitioners display large exhibition boards and distribute truth-clarification flyers, rain or shine. They tell people rationally and peacefully, "The world knows Falun Dafa is great. Please work together to stop the persecution of innocent people trying to live according to 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.'" They spend their vacation and their own money to call attention to the catastrophe in China, to the freedom of belief and to tell people of the deceit and lies of Jiang's regime. People are often moved by the unselfishness of these practitioners.
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| Falun Gong truth-clarification banners and display boards at tourist sites | |
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| Tourists eagerly find out the true story of Falun Gong | |
Some tourists give Falun Gong practitioners the thumbs-up sign. Some smile and nod their head to tell us they already knew these facts. Several tour guides and Chinese tourists shouted "Falun Dafa Is Great!" They read the display boards carefully. Chinese tourists were very happy to read about the "Global Trial of Jiang Zemin" and said, "Jiang's days as dictator are numbered."
Upon seeing photos of persecution victims, including an eight-month-old baby, the visitors looked sad and sympathetic. They couldn't agree with Falun Gong practitioners more when practitioners explained to them that Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong had greatly harmed the national image of China and that Falun Gong practitioners were making every possible effort to stop the persecution of their fellow practitioners. Looking at the peaceful practitioners meditating, the tourists agreed that Falun Gong practitioners are very kind people.
Some tourists from the Mainland were too afraid to take truth-clarification materials at first, but many eventually did after seeing the truth-clarification exhibition and video, and after seeing the positive attitude toward Falun Gong exhibited by their team leaders, tour guides, fellow travelers and policemen. A local resident said, "I greatly admire your strong will and persistence!" By supporting Falun Gong, these kind people are laying a good foundation for their bright future. Falun Gong practitioners' peacefulness, rationality, self-control, sincerity, kindness and forbearance have won their recognition and support.
Some Chinese people asked for truth-clarification materials for themselves and their friends. Many of them took pictures and videotaped the practitioners and their display. Having lived under dictatorship, they were so thirsty for the truth. Falun Gong practitioners' work has paid off. The lies in the Chinese government's propaganda collapsed on themselves when people learned that Falun Gong has been spread in more than sixty countries throughout the world and has won more than one thousand proclamations including a Nobel Prize nomination. As more and more people learn the facts, the day is getting closer when this injustice is redressed.
(Clearwisdom.net) On August 21, 2004, Shoreline, located in north of Seattle greeted its annual festival. Falun Gong practitioners were invited to participate in the parade and festival stall exhibit. The practitioners also demonstrated the five sets of the exercises to the audience. Many people obtained materials related to Falun Dafa. Some people learned to practice the exercises from the practitioners and hoped that practitioners could come to their community to set up a practice site.
 Falun Dafa contingent in the parade |
  Demonstrating the exercise |
  Demonstrating the exercise |
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Teaching the exercises
(Clearwisdom.net) On August 21, two practitioners in Sudbury organized an activity to promote Falun Dafa and clarify the truth. Sudbury is located several hours drive north of Toronto, Ontario and has a population about 100,000 people. Two early-arrived practitioners had passed out over 3000 flyers already and they needed support from Toronto. New York also needs practitioners to support and the drive to and back from the city which takes over ten hours. Shall we go to Sudbury or New York?
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Some practitioners who can't go to New York thought they could help the Sudbury activity so they decided to go. Early one morning, five cars with over a dozen practitioners set off for Sudbury. It was a small but highly efficient team. Eight practitioners would play the waist drums, two would do the lion dance, and the others distribute flyers, take photos and write the report.
The practitioners who had arrived the night before had already set up the exhibition tables. It was at the entrance of a park. The surrounding hills, streams and flowers are beautiful. The reporters from the local CTV station were also waiting for us. Having no time to enjoy the scenery, the practitioners began to prepare for the exercise demonstration, distributing flyers, waist drum and lion dance. All was set in about ten minutes.
After a round of performances, the practitioners were interviewed by the media. Time passes fast and it was soon noon. The practitioners sat down in a circle, ate the food brought with them and discussed the activities of the afternoon. Some suggested to go into the city to introduce Falun Dafa, clarify the truth and perform. So the team split into two. One team stayed at the park to continue the activity, one team went into the city to clarify the truth.
The second team drove along the streets but they seldom saw any people in the streets. Suddenly, they saw an open-air concert with many people in attendance. Beside the concert, there were many children waiting for a hayride. This was the place we were looking for. So the practitioners parked the car and talked about how to communicate with the concert organizers. Maybe our golden yellow suite attracted her, because right away an organizer came to us and asked what we wanted to do. After just a few sentences, she happily invited us to make a 15 minute demonstration.
We were happy to hear it and understood Dafa and the Master arranged this. We don't need to plan too much. With a pure heart to bring Dafa to sentient beings, everything will be prepared for us. A few practitioners drove back to the park to bring the other half of our group. Some practitioners moved to a place a distance away from the concert to practice the exercises in order not to interrupt the concert. A few practitioners passed out flyers quietly.
Small cities are different from big cities. There aren't big crowds of people, but the residents are more pure and honest. Almost everyone accepted the flyer and many asked us more questions about what we were doing. That gave us more opportunity to clarify the truth to people. In a short time, many flyers were passed out, and the other half of the group arrived. A large group of golden yellow color attracted the concert audience. Many people who had already stood up and were ready to leave stayed to wait for us. Some accepted the flyers and chatted with the practitioners.
A local music radio station organized the concert. A practitioner gave the host a music CD "Coming For you". He was very happy. When we went up the stage, he used many beautiful words to introduce us. We performed lion dance, waist drum and demonstrated the Falun Dafa exercises. The audience watched carefully and gave warm applause from time to time. In the end, they thanked us for bringing these to them. The practitioners blessed these pure and kind people and wish they will obtain Dafa soon.
When they returned to the park, the practitioners who had stayed there told them that many residents eagerly wanted to help them. Later, the practitioners performed one more time at the park. In the evening, they left Sudbury and headed back.
When they arrived in Toronto, it was 2 o'clock the next morning. The practitioners said, "It has been a worthwhile trip. We hope the seed of Dafa will grow and spread in Sudbury."
(Clearwisdom.net) On August 21-22, 2004 (weekend), practitioners continued exhibiting anti-torture displays with live actors and Hollywood-style makeup on the streets of New York City's Manhattan, exposing the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
The anti-torture exhibit was held at 60th Street and Lexington Avenue, opposite an entrance to the subway. From 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., a continuous stream of people viewed the exhibit. Countless New Yorkers have learned more of the truth about Falun Gong to some extent.
A white trailer from Washington DC with truth-clarification pictures hanging around it attracted a great deal of attention. It moved around downtown New York, allowing many passersby and drivers to learn about the truth of Falun Gong. The practitioner who drove the trailer said he had planned to contact more practitioners so that the truth clarification trailer can move around Manhattan's streets not only on weekends but every day. He also hoped that there would be more truth clarification trailers that could bring the truth to more New York people.
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(Clearwisdom.net) On August 7, 2004, in the U.S. Capital, Washington DC, Falun Gong practitioners held a live re-enactment of torture methods used against fellow practitioners in the persecution in China. Kery Nune from Annandale, Virginia wrote a letter to the editor of the Magic City Morning Star in which she criticized media for turning a blind eye to the persecution.
The following is the text of her letter, which was published August 22.
Dear Editor:
A torture exhibit held on August 7 outside the Washington, DC Convention Center depicting the Chinese government's mistreatment of people who practice Falun Gong was very shocking. More shocking than the real life actors appearing bruised and bloodied, is the fact that the U.S. State Department and human rights organizations documented this cruel punishment of the spiritual group yet it is not in the news.
Nearly all Americans are familiar with the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, yet the media seems to have turned a blind eye to an even larger population being persecuted to death today. One-hundred thousand people who practice Falun Gong are in forced-labor camps in China. Women have been raped by Chinese policemen or they are thrown naked into jail cells with criminals sometimes resulting in unwanted pregnancies. Children, including honors students, are thrown out of school. Further, many children become orphans when their parents are arrested or beaten to death by the Chinese government. What is their crime? It is simply their belief. These people are harmless yet they are treated worse than dogs.
While I understand that not all media cover China in great detail, I am surprised that I haven't heard more reports about a U.S. congressional resolution (H Con Res 304 with 74 co-sponsors) urging the Chinese government to stop harassing and intimidating people who practice Falun Gong right here in the United States! Chinese, who come here to avoid persecution in China, have been subject to Chinese government surveillance, death threats, break-ins to their homes, and even a car was set on fire. To top it off an American is imprisoned in China for attempting to reveal the human rights abuses to the Chinese public. Despite Dr. Charles Lee's U.S. citizenship, he has been deprived of his legal rights and subjected to severe torture. When foreign government's go after U.S. nationals or when our citizens are imprisoned abroad, the American public has a right to know.
Until now, I have seen reports simply stating that Falun Gong says it has been "mistreated" by the Chinese government, coupled with China's anti-Falun Gong propaganda to justify its actions. I've only seen a couple of Washington Post articles and one Wall Street Journal article explaining China's political motivation for labeling Falun Gong as a [slandering word omitted]. Falsely labeling innocent people in order to eradicate them is very serious. And if reporters outside of China are not covering this, how can the public know what is happening?
As genocide began in Rwanda, reporters were busy covering the Tanya Harding story. And during the early years of the Holocaust, major newspapers in the west downplayed the human rights violations in Germany, which quickly turned to genocide. This massive persecution was a human tragedy that we should learn from. But perhaps, far worse than that tragedy, is allowing history to repeat itself.
Sincerely,
Kery Nunez
Annandale, Virginia
Source: http://magic-city-news.com/article_1968.shtml
(Clearwisdom.net) On August 6, 2004 the Finnish newspaper Norra Posten, a newspaper that is freely distributed to all the Swedish speaking households on the Finnish west coast, published a full page article about Falun Dafa.
"I found myself through Falun Gong!"
Pia-Maria Sandas "found herself" and her life has become more harmonious since she started practicing Falun Gong. It has its roots in ancient China, where it is forbidden. Falun Gong is an ancient form of qigong and cultivation practice for body and soul. The discipline is based on Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.
Falun Gong consists of four standing slow-moving exercises, and one sitting meditation. One starts with a relaxing exercise that opens up all blocked energy channels in the body. The next exercise is a standing static one that enhances one's energy level and awakens wisdom. The third exercise consists of gentle movements that purifies the body and renews energy. The fourth is a slow exercise with rounded movements that helps the energy to circulate widely.
"The fifth exercise consists of meditation", Pia-Maria Sandas says, "and one can do the exercises wherever you are in the world. No tools are needed, and one can do them alone. The best thing is of course to do all the exercises together, but when short of time one can do, for example, only the meditation. The exercises are easy to learn." Pia-Maria adds that everyone can do them, and there are no special requirements in terms of ones physical condition. The discipline is suitable for all ages. In some places people meet to do the exercises together.
"One should not think about anything while doing the exercises, and they should be done with a peaceful and pure mind. It is also easier to relax by listening to the exercise music. It is important to be clearly awake and conscious when practicing Falun Gong."
Cultivation Method
"Falun Gong is a cultivation practice. The body and soul is purified. Besides doing the five powerful and peaceful exercises, the emphasis is on cultivating one's mind and spirit and improving one's moral character by following and incorporating the three cornerstones of the practice: Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance into our daily lives," Pia-Maria explains. When one realizes its benefits, it is easy to set aside time for the practice. Pia-Maria, who constantly travels for her work, always tries to find time for the practice. Falun Gong is a cultivation process to be practiced daily.
"I came in contact with Falun Gong in 1998", Pia-Maria says. She found that the practice started to truly help her about one and a half years ago. She feels peaceful and harmonious. It is also so much easier dealing with and solving conflicts when one is at peace. Pia-Maria has also noted that both her health and energy level have improved.
No Threat
Falun Gong comes from China, where it is forbidden. The cultivation method is ancient, but was again introduced to the public by Master Li Hongzhi. In a few years it became the biggest and most popular qigong practice in China. In the beginning of 1999 over 70 million Chinese citizens were practicing Falun Gong. When China's former leader Jiang Zemin saw the popularity of Falun Gong, he perceived it as a threat to his personal position of power. He forbade Falun Gong. Hundreds of thousands of people have been incarcerated. Many have been tortured to death.
"It is horrible and so very tragic," Pia-Maria says. She knows many people who have family members that have been tortured to death in China. "With the details that I know it would be a crime to stay quiet."
Pia-Maria is convinced that the discipline is not a threat to Christianity or any other orthodox religion. For example the Pope has given his blessings to Falun Gong. Now seventeen countries, including Finland, have taken legal actions against the people responsible for the persecution of Falun Gong in China.
"Master Li Hongzhi has been given many proclamations and awards. For example in 1993 at the Oriental Health Expo in Beijing, Master Li was honored with 'The Award for Advancing Frontier Science'. In Houston Master Li Hongzhi was appointed an 'Honorary Citizen' and 'Goodwill Ambassador'," Pia-Maria says, and adds that the method is completely free. All activities are free from commercialism. There are no membership registers, and no fees are collected. In some of the bigger cities in Finland, groups meet to do the exercises together.
"Practitioners get together in Helsinki, Abo, Jyvaskyla, Uleaborg and Kemi. When I visit Jakobstad we also have a group there," Pia-Maria, was born and grew up in Jakobstad.
Out in the World
Pia-Maria went out in the world seventeen years ago, when a fashion modelling job brought her to Paris. When she got tired of the modelling industry she went to South America and Chile, where she started working for TV. In this industry Pia-Maria was also always obliged to think about her looks.
"It was quite a superficial world, and it became very hard in the long run. The inside of a human being is so much more important than the outside appearance," Pia-Maria says, as she pulls up her legs on the couch. She gives a calm and natural impression. Without make-up, she pulls her long hair back and starts talking about her life since she left her childhood home in Jakobstad. She enjoys being able to spend a couple of weeks of vacation with her family. Pia-Maria was living in Sweden for a while when she was offered a position as PR-manager for Isadora. First she worked in the US, and lately she has been working in Spain. This autumn Pia-Maria, who continues working for Isadora, will most likely be working in the US market again.
When working in Sweden, Pia-Maria came in contact with Falun Gong. "I was doing karate when I came in contact with practitioners of Falun Gong," she says, but adds that "karate and Falun Gong have nothing in common. I was immediately drawn to Falun Gong's five beautiful and peaceful exercises and the principles the practice is based on. One of the advantages of Falun Gong is that the practice is not complicated and can be practiced anywhere."
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Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200408/21561.html
(Clearwisdom.net)
My name is Fei Baoyin and I am in my 60's. I live in Qinglong County, Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province. In the past, I was against Falun Dafa. I would say bad things about Falun Dafa whenever I met practitioners, and I would tear down truth-clarification messages whenever I saw them. Practitioners tried to talk to me many times, but I just turned a deaf ear to them. As a result, I invited karmic retribution and developed late-stage cancer. The hospital couldn't cure my cancer and all I could do is was go home and wait to die.
One day my daughter ran into a practitioner who told her that by chanting "Falun Dafa is good" and "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance are good," many patients had their illnesses cured. After returning home, my daughter told me what she learned from that practitioner. I thought to myself, "I have to die anyway. Why don't I just have a try and see if Falun Gong can save my life." Therefore, I started to chant "Falun Dafa is good" and "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance is good" every day. I also helped practitioners post Dafa materials in hopes of making up for the loss I caused to Dafa. Soon a miracle happened. My cancer disappeared and I became very energetic. I can go shopping now. Moreover, I can do some work too. I know that it is Dafa and Teacher that saved my life.
I sincerely hope my fellow citizens come to learn the truth of Dafa. I advise you not to do things that damage Dafa. I know from my own experience that treating Dafa with kindness brings blessings to one's life.
(Clearwisdom.net) Overcoming many shortcomings in other proxy products, Ultrasurf 6.2 is the latest version of a software program designed to break through the Internet blockade. It has been developed by network experts at Ultrareach Inc. (www.ultrareach.net), who have many years of experience in researching and developing Internet technology.
Ultrasurf is very effective in breaking the Internet blockade in Mainland China and clarifying the truth to the people there. Hundreds of millions of people have visited websites outside China through Ultrasurf. Most of the people come from the big cities like Beijing, where the evil is most concentrated. Ultrasurf has never been blocked and is getting stronger and stronger.
A few weeks after the new version of Ultrasurf became available, the number of visitors to the site reached a new high. Everybody can use Ultrasurf 6.2, including Falun Dafa practitioners (Note: the software is currently available only in Chinese). The more people that use it, the better.
We suggest that Western practitioners introduce this powerful and simple tool for breaking the Internet blockade to Chinese people while clarifying the truth to them. This will give the people in China the opportunity to learn more about the truth.
The user's guide has step-by-step instructions and is suitable for both new and experienced users.
The download URL is:
Software http://media1.minghui.org/software/2004/08/16/ultrasurf62.zip (96KB)
User's guide (Chinese) http://media1.minghui.org/software/2004/08/16/ultrasurf6_userguide.zip
(Clearwisdom.net) Teacher visited Wuhan three times since he introduced Falun Gong to the public in 1992, and gave five nine-day lectures there. Many local practitioners were fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the Fa (1) lectures. When practitioners recall that period of time they feel very happy, special and wonderful. The following are some of the stories from those times shared by practitioners who were there. We hope more practitioners can write their own experiences to testify the greatness of our Teacher and Falun Dafa.
......Many stories from Teacher's Fa lectures in Wuhan have inspired practitioners to be more diligent on their path of validating the Fa. We must do well the three things Teacher asks us to do and must live up to the expectations of Teacher's boundless benevolence and 'infinite grace.
Note:
(1) Fa - law and principles of Falun Dafa
(2) Wudang Mountain - This mountainous area is best known as a Taoist sanctuary.
(3) The Leshan Giant Buddha - its building was started in 713, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and completed in the 19th year of Emperor Dezong (803 AD). At 71 meters (220 feet), it is the largest stone sculpture of Buddha in the world. It sits at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers.
(4) "Holding the wheel in front of the head" - This is the first gesture from the second set of exercise of Falun Gong.
(Clearwisdom.net)
Every time I read fellow practitioners' insights about the issue of security, I felt that the authors were discussing it at the same level. Actually there are different security issues at different levels. We can't talk about it in general. For instance, some actions warrant certain security precautions at a certain level, but as one elevates one's level, the same actions are no longer safe. Whatever we do is always cultivation, rather than everyday people's work. As we cultivate ourselves, we're elevating our levels. As a result, the Fa (Law) at those levels will guide us and set the criteria for us.
Those who produce and distribute Dafa truth clarifying materials here in China are not exceptions and should not be treated specially. In other words, they should do whatever other practitioners do. With regard to security, it's good enough if our actions are reasonably consistent with everyday people and we don't, for example, shout on the street while holding a Dafa book. We should not stand out on purpose, because as soon as we do, evil will come to test us. If we stand out, we might one day be "compromised" under their constant attacks, for we are practicing in the maze of everyday life and are thus bound to have attachments.
As a whole body, we're all connected to one another. Attacking one of us is equivalent to attacking the whole body and therefore will affect the whole body. One day, a fellow practitioner from another province came to attend our local Fa conference. After hearing our independent comments on a fellow practitioner's experience sharing, the practitioner from that province told us, "The way you folks openly make critical comments on a fellow practitioner's insights without worrying about hurting him has never been used in our area." Yes, there is no authority here. Good practitioner or not, you might be criticized and corrected by anyone as soon as your speech deviates from the Fa. If the comments themselves are incorrect or not thorough enough, more practitioners will share their thoughts. No one will hold back one's thoughts without sharing with other practitioners, because such an act will, as we strongly believe, demonstrate only one's irresponsibility for the fellow practitioners.
In my area, cases of betrayal have also happened. I'd like to share my thoughts in that aspect.
First, when such an incident happens, those involved must set strict demands on themselves with the requirements of Fa, rather than accusing the betrayer. I was once asked, "Given the way you treat her, aren't you afraid that she would one day betray you in case she can't endure the persecution?" In response, I told him the following story. There was once a Falun Dafa practitioner B who had been doing a lot of Dafa work. One day, his fellow practitioner C who frequently contacted him was arrested. Failing to endure the persecution, C betrayed the Fa and provided the information about many fellow practitioners. Ironically, she didn't provide information about practitioner B whom she had the most contact with. After she was released, nobody but practitioner B talked to her about it. When asked why she didn't sell out B despite the fact he was her most closely contacted practitioner, she said, "I didn't recall your face. If I had, I would have also told them about you."
As I understand, blaming anybody when an incident happens is not what Master has taught us. Rather, we should deny the arrangements of the old forces, including dealing with the mistakes our fellow practitioners have made. This is because even collaborators (1) are victims of the arrangement of the old forces. To deny the arrangements of the old forces entirely, we have to properly deal with the collaborators who once betrayed our fellow practitioners. The best way to deny such arrangements with respect to collaborators is to prevent them from happening. As a matter of fact, once the betrayal occurs, the old forces' arrangements for the collaborator becomes less meaningful and he or she will become more rational. In history, many collaborators committed suicide after they became more rational and regretted their wrongdoings. We must strive hard to prevent our former fellow practitioners from stepping onto that route. At the very minimum, we must not push them, by accident or on purpose, onto that route.
This way, we successfully deny the arrangement of the old forces. In particular, the betrayed practitioners are safely protected, while the collaborators also successfully escape the persecution, under the reinforcement of righteous thoughts. Although there will be a long way in front of her and she will have to be accountable for what she did, she did not, after all, fall into the route of collaborator arranged by the old forces.
Finally I'd like to share my thoughts on sending forth righteous thoughts. I have enlightened that sending forth righteous thoughts is a great and sacred ability that Master has bestowed upon us. Reciting the Fa-rectification formula is an extremely powerful and sacred action. At the beginning stage, it can't be taken as wrong if one uses this ability to protect oneself by remotely locking up wicked people, loosening up the handcuffs, or making oneself invisible to them. It is the manifestation that Master wants us to be confident in sending forth righteous thoughts. Up until now, however, to think of the action merely as such, is in serious terms, to bring disgrace to this supernormal capability.
Many practitioners often shared their experience about how they denied the arrangement of the old forces using righteous thoughts when officers from their local police stations came to investigate if they were at home. Why didn't these practitioners send forth righteous thoughts beforehand so that the latter wouldn't have been able to come over? Think about it. Under what mentality did they come over to knock at the door? Did they take us as human beings in their hearts? Where would their futures be if they came over to interrogate us with such a status? To be responsible for the future of these beings, why don't we be more compassionate so as not to let them knock at our doors at all?
The coordinators in our area are always on the authority's "top list." Nevertheless, in the past few years, the authorities dared not even think of "wanting" them, let alone to actually put it into action. Because we have been very diligent in eliminating the evil beings that control humans, humans will commit fewer or no crimes of persecuting Falun Dafa practitioners. As practitioners, we must always remember: It is we who are saving the sentient beings. We must not use our tolerance and misery to exchange for the sympathy of the sentient beings. These two attitudes are vastly different. Only when we position ourselves as the "Masters" and "Kings," can we be worthy of the sacred capability that Master has equipped us with -- "sending forth righteous thoughts." Only in this way, can we truly send out the righteous thoughts that terrify all the evils but are responsible for all the positive factors in the cosmos. If all the fellow practitioners in one area, all the practitioners in China, or all of us around the world, send out such righteous thoughts together, how can the persecution possibly persist any longer?
Note this is simply a bit of my understanding that I'd like to share with fellow practitioners. Please kindly correct if you find anything wrong here.
(Clearwisdom.net) As Dafa Disciples, we know the role played by Minghui website (Clearwisdom is the English version) in the Fa-rectification period. Master said, "on important matters, practitioners must pay attention to the attitude of Minghui Net." During this special period of the Fa-rectification, Minghui net has played an irreplaceable role for practitioners to communicate their experiences and share their understandings so as to improve together as a whole and keep up with the Fa-rectification progress.
Since the persecution of Falun Gong began on July 20, 1999, I have been detained and sentenced to a forced labor camp for some time and couldn't visit Minghui or download articles from it. It was not until I got out of the forced labor camp when I was able to visit the website and witness the great tide of the Fa-rectification. The articles written by other practitioners help me to deepen my understanding of Dafa. Through reading the articles, I discover my own shortcomings and rectify the path I am taking.
Meanwhile, I have noticed that some practitioners do not pay much attention to Minghui. Some never read the articles on the website, saying that there is no point in reading them, for they are not the Fa. Some think that the practitioners who wrote those articles have attachments, and one might be interfered with after reading them. There are also some people who have gone astray and attack Minghui along with the evil, saying that it is telling false stories.
I think that whoever has those thoughts has strong attachments, to think of Minghui in the same way as the world's media. They look at cultivation in the Fa-rectification period from the perspective of cultivation from the past.
I learned from my own cultivation that Master has put everything which can help us improve and everything we can attain into the book Zhuan Falun. In different periods of our cultivation, Master writes articles and gives lectures to point out problems and rectify the path. That is because he wants us to study Zhuan Falun better and spread Dafa to the sentient beings in order to save them. Minghui is the website of Dafa during this special historic period which delivers Master's voice to practitioners and sentient beings, and coordinates the work of practitioners around the world to help us improve as a whole. It is also the most powerful weapon to expose the evil, suffocate the evil, fight against the persecution, clarify the truth, and save sentient beings. Jiang Zemin and his regime spend a huge amount of money trying to destroy Minghui, reflecting their extreme hatred and fear of Falun Dafa and its principles of Truth-Compassion-Forbearance.
Of course, not every article on Minghui is outstanding, but they are the understandings and enlightenment attained by practitioners at different levels of their cultivation. Some articles might reveal a lack of deep understanding of Dafa or the attachments of the writer. On the other hand, we can also see our own problems from reading those articles. Master has repeatedly asked us to look within ourselves. When we see other people's attachments and shortcomings, why don't we just look within ourselves and realize why we were made to see those problems? Why don't we just look at ourselves to see if we have the same problems? Dafa disciples ought to have boundless compassion and forbearance. When we see other people's shortcomings, we can point them out, try to eliminate them, and improve the situation. This, I think, is a way Master has worked out for us practitioners to upgrade our levels in Dafa cultivation.
Some people read the articles on Minghui in the same way an everyday person would read. They criticize and comment, feeling superior and full of themselves. Actually, on different levels, people have different understandings of the Fa, and different levels have different laws. There cannot be only one single right answer. Dafa is harmonious. We should see if the articles are written from the standpoint of the Fa, and how we can maintain righteous thoughts and behaviors in a tribulation, meeting the requirements of different Fa principles on different levels. We can also learn how to walk our path of Fa-rectification and get rid of our fundamental attachments.
Some people do not read the articles on Minghui. On the contrary, they spread slander about the website. Although they might not be demons, they are doing what the demons want them to do. Some people use their deviated understandings to explain Master's boundless Dafa, taking words out of context to prove their points. They think they have enlightened to the highest Fa principles. Aren't they misinterpreting and damaging the Fa? Some people even claim that they have reached consummation. They have been taken advantage of to damage and interfere with practitioners, preventing them from doing the three things well. If these practitioners are unable to turn away from the old force arrangements, "Everything and that millions upon millions of years' wait will be fulfilled according to the vows made before history." ("Dafa is Indestructible") Isn't it dangerous? We are certainly improving and becoming enlightened to the Fa principles from constantly studying the Fa. Yet we are Dafa disciples of the Fa-rectification period. The old forces have a systematic arrangement for each and every one of us. If we can't turn away from the state of individual cultivation to melt into the great tide of Fa-rectification, then how can we follow Master's Fa-rectification process?
Master has imparted upon us the great law of the cosmos and created a future for all sentient beings. His immense mercy is saving sentient beings, taking care of practitioners, and arranging everything for our consummation. Falun Dafa disciples have the historic mission of clarifying the truth, saving sentient beings, and "assisting Teacher in his journey in this world;" (from Hong Yin) Master too, reads articles on Minghui and comments on quite a few articles written by practitioners. What is it that we can't abandon? Why can't we read other practitioners' experience sharing articles? Why can't we get a whole picture of the great tide of the Fa-rectification in China and around the world?
(Clearwisdom.net)
Since July 20, 1999, practitioners in our region have never ceased their effort to comprehensively clarify the truth, to save sentient beings and to validate Dafa. They coordinate and cooperate with each other well as a group. As a group and as individuals, they have been responsible for Dafa and the sentient beings, and have been able to let go of the attachment to self, so their surrounding environment has become better and better. They often meet with each other to study the Fa, send forth righteous thoughts, discuss and exchange cultivation experiences together and raise their level as a group. They have come to understand the magnificent meaning of a Dafa practitioner during the Fa rectification period. Below we'd like to share some of their stories.
1. There is an ordinary farming village to the south of the township government center. In order to help villagers understand the facts, practitioners often deliver fliers, VCDs, pamphlets and other truth clarifying materials directly into the villagers' hands or to their homes. They talk face to face with villagers about the spread of Dafa all over the world, telling them that the self-immolation farce in Tiananmen Square was fabricated, and they tell them not to believe the deceitful lies on state-run newspapers and TV programs. They let them know that their one good thought about Dafa could bring blessings. One day a young man came to ask the practitioners, "Our house only has couplets on the two sides of the front door, please help me write a streamer with the words "Truth, Compassion, Forbearance."
2. There is a small village with about 100 families in our region. Dafa practitioners in that village have strictly followed the teachings of the Fa and Teacher's requirements to clarify the facts to people and to validate the Fa since July 20, 1999. Every family has received our fliers, and most people have viewed the VCDs, and seen banners and signs about the goodness of Dafa and calling people's attention to the lawsuits against Jiang Zemin around the world. It has had a considerable impact on nearby areas and villages, and has greatly encouraged fellow practitioners. Some practitioners who had fallen behind because of fear have joined the Fa rectification effort again. There are even new practitioners joining in. More and more villagers who have learned the facts are supporting practitioners to carry out Fa rectification activities. Once practitioners found out that the villages across the river had very few Dafa practitioners. Some villages had no practitioners at all, and in others, the Dafa practitioners there had yet to step forward. Few people had seen the truth clarifying material, and most people did not dare to read them and were deceived by lies and propaganda. Practitioners were very concerned, so they contacted the practitioners nearby. They got together to discuss their understandings and genuinely followed Master's teachings -- not waiting or relying on others to validate the Fa. Exposing the evil, validating the Fa, clarifying the truth and saving sentient beings are the duty of each practitioner. They agreed that they must go to the other side of the river to help people, regardless of how difficult it might be.
One evening in the middle of summer, several Dafa practitioners came to the riverbank, and each one carried large quantities of truth clarifying material. Out of consideration for safety, one practitioner took a fishing boat and transported fellow practitioners to the other side of the river in two batches. They walked many miles in the dark of the night, carrying the truth clarifying materials to the nearby villages. They delivered fliers and VCDs to every home. After they visited each village, there would be fliers, banners and spray-painted signs in front of every home, inside or outside the villages, on top of the bridges or hanging from the trees. Practitioners exchanged their understandings and sent forth righteous thoughts while carrying out the tasks. They truly let go of themselves and fear, as well as all other human attachment and notions. They did this a few times during the past several years. During the cold of winter, some practitioners drove their farm tractors. Each time it would be almost dawn when they returned.
3. There is another village where two counties meet; it had Dafa banners all over the place, on walls and next to doorways. One day, the local township government sent several people to this village by car to get rid of the banners and whitewash the signs. After they got out of the car, they walked towards the peasants resting and chatting on the side of the road. Pointing to the signs and banners on the wall and next to doorways, they asked the farmers why they did not wash off the "reactionary" signs and banners. The villagers stood up and asked them, "You tell us, how and which of these signs, 'The Buddha-light illuminates everywhere and rectifies all abnormalities,' and 'Truth, Compassion, Forbearance is Good' is reactionary? They look pretty good to us, so why not let them post them. Nobody is allowed to wash them off. Now leave us alone." The stern statement from the villagers stunned the officials. They got in the car and left without causing any trouble.
4. There is another small village near the canal. Each summer during the flood season, the farm produce is often flooded, causing a great deal of economic loss to the local farmers. One time when the river upstream was flooding, the local village secretary tried to organize the farmers to go and work on the urgent flood prevention measures in a hurry, but the villagers were not overly enthusiastic about doing so. The secretary became anxious and called out on the loudspeaker, "The flooding affects each and every one of you personally, yet you are dragging your feet. Look at the Falun Gong practitioners; they do everything with enthusiasm, and they are so together. We should all learn from them."
5. In the spring of 2004, the local government officials initiated another citywide effort to arrest practitioners. Many practitioners were also arrested in the surrounding townships and villages. Many information distribution points were destroyed. Some practitioners were abducted to the brainwashing classes, and some were abducted to the labor camps. The situation was critical at that time, but the practitioners in our region recognized clearly that this was another test. They frequently got together to study the Fa, sent forth righteous thoughts, exchanged understandings and experiences and carefully followed Master's teachings. By continuously studying the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts while clarifying the truth to people, significant changes in the surrounding environment took place. The practitioners' minds were calm and unperturbed. Many village security officials went to inform the practitioners after they received orders to arrest practitioners. Some even said, "These few days will be bad, you must be careful; why not try and elude them by leaving home for a few days, put away the Dafa books, and don't post any banners and fliers until after things calm down. Pay attention to safety." So there was not a single practitioner abducted in this township. A person from an adjacent village invited the local township Party Secretary, police chief and the village secretary to his home. He complained to them about the Dafa banners and signs. The village secretary informed him that banners were all over the region. The township government and the police chief did not react or say anything after they listened to them, and did not take any action against the practitioners or try to remove the banners and signs.
6. Just before the Chinese New Year in 2004, practitioners decided to make use of the various forms of traditional Chinese New Year celebration such as putting up antithetical couplets, posting the fortune character, etc. to clarify the truth. Practitioners delivered couplets and fortune characters, New Year greetings and truth clarifying materials to every household one by one. Some of the villagers happily accepted their couplets and said, "The poems on your couplets were very good. Next year please come around earlier so we will just post yours and we do not have to buy them."
Finally let us conclude our experience sharing with Master's words, "On Reading Weathering the Storm"
"Born into a sphere of suffering
Man struggles just to survive
One day, behold, the Great Law gained
Cease not your steps on the path of return"
(Clearwisdom.net) Around 10 p.m. on July 20, 2004, to mark the fifth anniversary of the persecution of Falun Dafa, my wife and I went to nearby towns on our motorcycle to hang up banners that read, "Falun Dafa is good." While maintaining strong righteous thoughts, we first put up banners in the farthest away town. There were many people and cars out on the roads. With the help of Teacher and righteous thoughts, we were able to quickly hang up the banners in many intersections in two different towns.
In our own town, we went to hang the banners up at a busy intersection, and saw a man standing there. However, we did not let the man deter us from finishing our task. After we finished hanging up the banners we went back home. Just before we entered our village, a police car caught up with us. Four officers came out of the car; one of them took away our motorcycle, while the other three forced us into the car and took us to the local police station. At that time, we realized that the man at the intersection reported us.
We kept sending forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil behind the police officers and clarified the facts to them. They were polite and let us sit down. One policeman asked, "If you want to practice Falun Gong, you can do it at home. Why do you need to hang up banners? " I said, "Jiang Zemin has been persecuting us for five years, and has used all kinds of deceit to frame good people and deceive the people of the world. Why can't we speak out? We just want to let people know the truth about Falun Dafa and that it is good." Then, another officer asked, "Don't you fear being arrested? Why would you want to be persecuted?" When I saw that they lacked righteous thoughts and were blindly following Jiang's orders, I felt sad for them and sincerely said, "I didn't do well before and was too scared to tell you the truth. I should have told you earlier. All of us who believe in 'Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance' have benefited much from practicing Falun Dafa. But you have been deceived by lies and follow the Jiang regime's orders, undermining the Fa (1). You are victims who have been deceived."
I told them that practitioners only strive to be good people, and have not done anything illegal. I also clarified the truth of the April 25 (2) incident and the staged "Self-Immolation on Tiananmen Square" (3), that Falun Dafa is welcomed around the world and that Jiang is being sued in various countries. I told them that if they treated Dafa kindly, they will be rewarded and undermining Dafa will incur karmic retribution. They listened quietly and looked as though they understood what I said. One officer asked, "You are so kind. Why is Jiang against that?" My wife answered, "Those who attack kind people must be evil." A police officer repeated, "Yes, those who attack kind people must be evil."
At that time, it was past 1:00 a.m., so I said, "We don't want to bother you any longer. We should go back home now." They still refused to release us and said, "You should wait until our manager comes." My wife then asked to call home and they let us use their cell phone to call my brother. My wife told my brother to take care of our parents because we were at the police station. After a while, my brother came and asked for our release. They discussed it amongst themselves and then said, "You can go back and take care of your parents now." Before we left the station, my brother told them that he would not let us go out to hang up banners any more. The police replied, "It is not likely that they will listen to you. If they want to keep doing so, they can go somewhere far from here." Then they repeatedly reminded us to be more careful next time.
Notes:
1.Fa: Law and principles
2. Ten thousand Falun Dafa practitioners peacefully appealed to the Chinese government on April 25, 1999. A detailed account can be found at http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/5/5/47735.html
3. Staged "Self-Immolation in Tiananmen Square," please refer to http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/special_column/self-immolation.html
(Clearwisdom.net) In the past, I thought that only the most noteworthy cultivation stories were worth writing about. In fact, the act of writing out an ordinary cultivation experience, whether it is published or not, is in and of itself a process of improvement. I also understand that I must have the heart of "experience sharing" to properly understand another's cultivation experience. Previously, I read cultivation experiences from the standpoint of "judgment." I still find that this attitude exists among other practitioners I know.
The following are some of my cultivation experiences.
1. Discovering Falun Dafa
In August 1998, my wife was very sick, so I took her to a Falun Dafa exercise site with the intention of giving it a try. Because of this experience, I too started practicing Falun Dafa. I was very excited when I read Zhuan Falun (1) for the first time. I read "Lunyu" eagerly and with a happy heart. I wanted to read through the book in a single pass. The idea of cultivating for the rest of my life became rooted in my mind.
I also wanted my friends and relatives to learn the goodness of the practice. In October of that same year, I acquired several copies of Zhuan Falun and delivered them to my brothers in my hometown.
On July 22, 1999, all of the TV stations were attacking Dafa with fabricated lies. At that time, my wife was frightened and wanted me to give up practicing. I didn't believe anything the stations were reporting. I focused my thoughts on Teacher: First, Teacher taught us to be good people. Is this wrong? Second, the media fabricated the story that Teacher collected money. Did Teacher ever ask a single penny from us? Third, my wife hadn't been able to rise from her sick bed due to back surgery. The first night she practiced the exercises, she could walk again and eventually was once again able to care for herself. These were my experiences and my witness. That afternoon, I went to the exercise site as usual, but they were all blocked, and some practitioners were arrested at home.
The next morning, I was the first one to get to the office. I collected all the newspaper articles attacking Dafa. For a while, if I noticed articles slandering Dafa, I would gather them up and not let my co-workers see them. Although in my mind, as of yet I did not have the concept of "clarifying the truth," and while I could not prevent my co-workers from watching TV or reading the newspaper, I didn't want them to see the lies attacking Dafa. This was indeed a natural response from my heart.
During the past few years, none of my co-workers has ever said anything against Dafa in front of me.
2. Validating Dafa
Since Jiang's regime began persecuting Dafa, I have been practicing alone at home without any contact with other practitioners. Through analyzing the lies in the newspapers and on TV, I knew from indirect sources that our cultivators should "take the Fa as our teacher." Some practitioners went to Beijing to appeal. On the night of June 25, 2000, while practicing, I had a strong thought to call the former assistant of our practice site. I made contact with her. Fortunately I had recently read Teacher's new articles, "Towards Consummation" and "The Knowing Heart." I couldn't sleep that night. The debate between my human and cultivated side played out repeatedly in my mind. Finally, my cultivated side won over my human side. On June 27, I stepped on the path to validate Dafa in Beijing.
I was detained at the Tiananmen Police Station because I went to Tiananmen Square to validate Dafa, as were many others. One batch of practitioners left, and another batch of Dafa practitioners would come in. I was in the first batch to arrive that day and I was taken to the Chengdu City Liaison Office in Beijing that evening. I had the whole day to study the Fa, do the exercises and share experiences with other practitioners held there. The scene was magnificent and sacred during the group meditation. The entire police station remained still. Everyone, including the police, was very quiet and respectful while they went about their work. The female police officers even addressed us as "Dafa practitioners." The feeling we experienced there can only be understood by the practitioners who experienced it.
On the train back to Chengdu City, a practitioner sitting across from me talked about her understanding of Dafa and Teacher saving sentient beings with compassion. She was concerned that I might not fully understand her, so she spoke to me with her whole heart and with tears in her eyes. When I thought of Teacher's immense compassion in saving all sentient beings, I knew that we were so fortunate to be Dafa practitioners. The feelings of gratitude and joy could not be described with words, only with tears streaming down my face.
Before that event, I was busy with my work and with caring for my sick wife (she had stopped practicing before the persecution began). I didn't participate in any Fa conferences or communicate with other practitioners. I didn't know what level I had achieved, thinking that I practiced quite well. After I met with the practitioner on the train, I knew how mistaken I was. The Fa-principles that I had enlightened to were actually very shallow and my level was very low. I was determined under any and all circumstances to overcome my deficiencies and "steadfastly cultivate Dafa, the will unflinching." ("True Nature Revealed," Hong Yin II).
After I returned from Beijing, while completing my police record, the local policeman asked me: "What do you think of having gone to Beijing this time?" I said: "After I arrived in Beijing, I understood that I should firmly practice Falun Dafa." This came from the bottom of my heart. Hearing these words, he didn't ask me any more questions. I told him about the magnificent scene of Dafa practitioners doing group study and exercising in the Tiananmen Police Station. I just wanted to let him know how good Falun Dafa was, that many people were practicing, and that many practitioners were illegally detained at the police station every day.
My experience of validating the Fa on this trip, although I went to Beijing with many human attachments, let me know that Dafa practitioners were very fortunate and that Teacher's saving sentient beings with compassion was the greatest event we could ever hope to imagine. Therefore, this experience caused my belief in Dafa to become much firmer. With this foundation, I was able to overcome all manner of tribulations and hardships.
3. Doing the "Three Things" Well (2)
a) A serious lesson about neglecting Fa study
Teacher has been telling us that Dafa practitioners should study the Fa (3) with a pure heart. Teacher definitely stresses this aspect whenever talking about Fa study. There was an elderly practitioner in the same building where I lived. She had practiced for four years, but for some reason she didn't study the Fa well and finally stopped studying it altogether, which caused her and Dafa irreversible damage.
Her name is Ms. Jiang and she learned about Dafa in 1995. During that peaceful time, she thought she had cultivated very well. Her many difficult and complicated diseases had disappeared through practicing Falun Gong. However, after July 1999, when the Jiang regime began to persecute Falun Dafa, Ms. Jiang just practiced at home by herself and never studied the Fa. In the fall of 2000, she found that there were several beings from other dimensions following and interfering with her. Because of this, she was unable to exercise or carry on with her daily life normally. This annoyed her very much. When she was unable to endure it any longer, she discussed the matter with her family. They didn't believe in what she said and thought that "practicing Falun Gong made her go wrong" and that she was "becoming psychotic" from qigong practice. They planned to send her to the mental hospital. As a result, her situation had a negative effect on how Dafa was perceived by her family, friends and even the police in the area. In fact, her problems were caused because she neglected to study the Fa.
Ms. Jiang had so much fear of the persecution that she would not have contact with other practitioners. She wanted desperately to extricate herself from this interference and persecution from other dimensions. One evening in October 2000, she made up her mind to come to my home and ask me for help. After I heard her situation, I pointed out that not studying the Fa was absolutely wrong. At that time I didn't know the Fa principle of eliminating this interference by sending forth righteous thoughts, but I understood that there were bad things on her body. Suddenly, this idea just flashed into my mind and I felt a strong energy coming out of my body in other dimensions. At that moment, Ms. Jiang said she felt very comfortable in my home. The interference was eliminated from her body.
On May 19, 2001, at the Canadian experience sharing conference, Teacher explained sending forth righteous thoughts. I found the assistant of our former exercise site and he contacted several other fellow practitioners. We sent forth righteous thoughts and helped Ms. Jiang to eliminate the evil factors from other dimensions that were interfering with her. At the same time, Ms. Jiang believed that the beings she saw and heard in other dimensions were helping her. She had too many attachments, and her righteous thoughts were not very strong. While she was sending forth righteous thoughts, she couldn't completely eliminate the evil factors from other dimensions. When she stopped sending forth righteous thoughts, those things came back around her body and even on her body. She was attached to listening to or seeing the things in other dimension, so she was unable to study the Fa and her situation worsened. Afterwards, a practitioner and I went to see her. She avoided us and gave many excuses. After several months, I saw her on the street, where she explained that the evil persecuted her so much that "I already gave up practicing."
In Zhuan Falun Master states:
"Can you be considered a Falun Dafa disciple if you just practice these few sets of exercises every day? Not necessarily. This is because true cultivation practice must follow the requirements of the xinxing (4) standard that we have established, and you have to truly upgrade your xinxing -- then, it is true cultivation practice. If you only practice the exercises without improving xinxing and without the powerful energy that strengthens everything, it cannot be called cultivation practice; neither can we treat you as Falun Dafa disciples. If you go on like that without following the requirements of our Falun Dafa and behave yourself as usual among everyday people without upgrading your xinxing, you may still run into some other troubles though you practice the exercises. You may even claim that it is the practice of Falun Dafa that makes you go astray. This is all possible." (Zhuan Falun)
Ms. Jiang only did the exercises without studying the Fa, and she would not validate the Fa because of her attachment of fear. This caused her great misery. She was the only special case that I know of. I refer to her as a special case, because no one persecuted her openly. The police station also knew she practiced Dafa, but never asked her not to practice. However, she was persecuted by the evil factors in other dimensions. The persecution of her spirit and her body achieved the goal of causing her to give up practicing Dafa. She made an eternal mistake for herself because for a long time she didn't study the Fa. This led to her xinxing declining and her conduct deviating from Dafa.
I wanted to share this lesson of not studying the Fa with other practitioners. It was effective in motivating practitioners to study the Fa and improve their xinxing. I also dared not slacken in my personal Fa study. In the beginning, my understanding of Dafa was very shallow and I was slow in my cultivation. After July 1999, I also stayed at home to practice and study the Fa off and on. I knew I needed to improve myself after I went to Tiananmen Square to validate Dafa. Because I communicated more and more with other practitioners, I gradually came to know that Dafa cultivation was the most precious thing. No matter how busy I was, I would study the Fa. Whether I was in the office or out of town, Dafa books were always with me. Sometimes it was not convenient to read the book, so I would learn the Fa by heart. In the meantime, I did everything according to the requirements of the Fa. If I enlightened to something I did wrong, I would study the Fa with a clean mind and adjust myself over time.
b) Fighting with the evil
On May 19, 2001, after Teacher talked about sending forth righteous thoughts in the Canada conference, the evil's crazy performances were reflected before my very eyes. One night, when I was sending forth righteous thoughts, the evil couldn't move me but influenced my wife instead, causing her to interfere with me. One moment she tried to push my upright hand down; another moment she pushed or pulled at my body; and next she cried and shouted. Having tried very hard, she couldn't distract me from sending forth righteous thoughts. At 5:00 a.m., when I was sending forth righteous thoughts again, my wife suddenly jumped from the bed and left the bedroom crying. I wasn't moved. After a while she fell quietly asleep on the sofa.
Before the meeting of the 16th Party Congress in 2002, a policeman came to my home. While making tea for him, I sent forth righteous thoughts. When I returned to the living room, he jumped from the sofa as if he were going to leave. However, because he had just arrived, he stayed for a while, and asked about my wife's condition then left in haste. I knew it was because the evil factors behind the police were afraid.
c) Validating Dafa with one's words and deeds
In my workplace, my boss and co-workers all understand that I am well-intentioned at all times, and have never cared for personal gain or fame. My work was always excellent. Because of these characteristics, they knew the truth about Falun Gong practitioners, which was very different from the lies fabricated by the official media. In addition, I went to Beijing to validate Dafa and asked that the appeals office investigate the persecution of the practice. Therefore all of them knew that Falun Dafa is good, and they knew I was firm in practicing Dafa.
On one occasion, I was talking with the police when my boss, who is their auditor, asked: "Practicing Falun Gong belongs to the laws governing personal belief. Why do you interfere with him?"
Before the Spring Festival of 2002, a policeman came to my place of employment to talk with me. I told him with the power of justice, "It is totally wrong that Jiang's regime suppresses Falun Gong using government institutions. The persecution of Falun Gong is absolutely the greatest tragedy of many millennia." My boss spoke up, "Yes, Falun Gong has been treated unjustly." The policeman had nothing to say in reply.
In the spring of 2002, my workplace convened a work summary meeting with all employees. Before the meeting, the leader of the supervising unit was going to give a speech. His speech included some comments about "Falun Gong issues." My boss found his speech notes and tried very hard to persuade him to delete the comments. He actually deleted them. Later on my boss talked to me about it, and I was very happy for him for having stood up for Dafa.
d) With selflessness and altruism, I am successful in what I want to do
On April 24, 2001, Teacher said: "Dafa disciples' righteous thoughts are powerful." But some practitioners viewed the things related to cultivation using human notions. In fact, it is due to not believing in oneself. I have seen this too often. I will give some examples.
In August 2001, a practitioner who had contact with me was arrested. Because of this, I couldn't obtain Teacher's new articles for some time. During this time, I carried only one thought: "Teacher, please arrange for me to come in contact with another practitioner." Soon, through another person, a practitioner contacted me and provided current articles for me to study. My thanks to Teacher cannot be expressed in words.
During the 2004 Spring Festival, I obtained Teacher's article "Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Atlanta Fa Conference." When I was reading it, I thought: "During this holiday period, if I go back to my hometown I can distribute Teacher's new article to the practitioners in my hometown." After one hour, my wife called me to let me know that tomorrow her brother was going back to my hometown. It was raining that night, but her brother said he was going back, even with the rain. The town was 50 miles from my home. Usually, her brother never drove his own car for long trips, much less when it was raining. I alone knew that this trip was for me to support Dafa.
In December 2001, I wanted a computer to make truth-clarifying materials. My wife strongly discouraged me from buying a computer. I knew she was being manipulated by evil factors. I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate them. Because my daughter cried and wanted a computer every day, my wife soon urged me to purchase a computer.
I often deliver Dafa materials to other practitioners, and sometimes it takes me a long time to complete a trip. I hoped to purchase a motorcycle to help in this work. My wife was against me buying one: "Your workplace is nearby. What are you going to do with a motorcycle? I know your motives." But I thought in my mind, "You are bound to buy it for me of your own accord. Because I am a Dafa practitioner and my purpose is not selfish but for saving sentient beings, it will occur." Indeed, on a Sunday, she let me take the deposit book to buy a motorcycle, and she specifically chose the lightweight, high speed model for me.
Notes
(1) The book, Zhuan Falun, comprises the principal teachings of Falun Dafa. "Lun Yu" is the statement by Master Li at the beginning of the book.
(2) The three things that Master Li has asked Dafa practitioners to do are to study the Fa, to send forth righteous thoughts and to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and the persecution to the world's people.
(3) Fa: Law and principles; the teachings of Falun Dafa.
(4) Xinxing: mind-heart nature; moral character
(Clearwisdom.net)
1. [Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province] Brutal Police Torture Causes Dafa Practitioner Chen Guanghui a Severe Head Injury
The police from Suzhou City's Prison in Jiangsu Province brutally tortured practitioner Mr. Chen Guanghui in order to force Chen to renounce Falun Dafa. Chen subsequently sustained a severe head injury. During the evening of July 29, Chen was sent to the Neurology Department of Suzhou University's No. 1 Medical Hospital for emergency treatment. He is still in a coma and the doctor issued a "critical condition" notice.
To shirk their responsibility, the police from the Suzhou City's Prison took Chen Guanghui's wife to the hospital on August 5, but did not tell her anything about her husband's condition, except that Chen just had brain surgery. Chen's head was heavily bandaged.
2. [Kaifeng City, Henan Province] Yang Yong in Critical Condition after Hunger Strike Protest
On July 8, members of the National Security Guard from Kaifeng City, Henan Province arrested practitioner Yang Yong. Since his arrest, Yang Yong has been on a hunger strike. He has been sent to Kaifeng City's Huaihe Hospital for emergency treatment. His life is in danger.
3. [Changchun City, Jilin Province] Heizuizi Forced Labor Camp Guards Threaten Practitioner Wang Huilian's Family Members
Zhang Guimei,head of the No. 4 Division in Changchun City's Heizuizi Forced Labor Camp and guards have used all kinds of torture methods to force Ms. Wang Huilian to give up Falun Dafa.
Since Wang Huilian refused to give up her belief, the camp guards then threatened Wang Huilian's elderly parents who were ill and had come a long way to visit their daughter. The guards tried to force the elderly couple to persuade their daughter to give up Falun Dafa; otherwise they would not be permitted to see her. They even stated that they would extend Wang's prison term. The guards also used this method to threaten Wang Huilian's other relatives, friends and co-workers in an attempt to reach their goal of forcing Wang Huilian to yield.
For a long time during the hot summer, the guards did not permit Wang Huilian to take a shower or brush her teeth. The police also reduced bathroom privileges or prohibited Wang to use the restroom altogether. They also did not allow Wang to wear summer clothing, forcing Wang to wear a thick sweater during the hot summer. The National Forced Labor Regulations state, among other things that, "all detainees need to have eight hours of sleep everyday." But in the Heizuizi Force Labor Camp, detainees are forced to work during the day and can only sleep four or five hours during the night. The guards also forbid Wang to talk with other detainees. Two detainees have been ordered to monitor her on a daily basis.
4. [Yunnan Province] Liu Zhongming, Hao Mingxin Are Held in Yunnan Province's No. 1 Prison
Dafa practitioner Mr. Liu Mingzhong, the former deputy chief of Kunming City's Shibo Police Department in Yunan Province is from Hualong Village, Baiyi Township, Songming County, Yunan Province. He was sentenced to three years of imprisonment for practicing Falun Gong. He has been held in the 11th Section of Yunnan Province's No.1 Prison since 2002 and has been tortured. His vertebrae were fractured when he jumped out of a building in June 2002 in an attempt to escape the persecution.
Practitioner Mr. Hao Mingxin from Yantai City, Shandong Province worked as a technician in Chengdu City's Shuangliu Airport, Sichuan Province. Officers from Kunming City's Police Department arrested him for practicing Falun Gong . He was sentenced to five years of imprisonment and was held in the Seventh Section of Yunnan Province's No.1 Prison. Hao Mingxin's sustained two fractured ribs from beatings by the savage guards in Kunming City's Detention Center.
Address of Yunan Province's No.1 Prison: Minors #8, P.O. Box 62, Kunming City (the Eighth Section of the prison) 86-871-3811874, 3845479 Ext: 2382, 2782
Minors #11 (for the 11th section of the prison)
Minors #7 (the seventh section of the prison)
Zip code: 650216
5. [Huili County, Sichuan Province] Arrest of Han Meng by Personnel from the Hongqi Police Precinct
At around 4:00 p.m. on August 4, 2004, the house of practitioner Ms. Han Meng, an employee of Huili County's Long-distance Bus Station, was ransacked and Dafa books and CDs were confiscated. The culprits are officers from the Hongqi Police Precinct. They arrested Han on August 5. The details are unclear.
6. [Sichuan Province] Hong Yongyu Sentenced to Four and a Half Years of Imprisonment
Officers from Huili County's Police Department in the Lianshan Area arrested practitioner Ms. Hong Yongyu. They found in her possession a few stickers reading, "Falun Dafa is Great." The Huili County Court sentenced her to four and a half years of imprisonment.
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Lawless official Luo Chengyu from Huili County's People's Hospital has withheld practitioner Ms. Luo Jiping's pension ever since September 2003. Luo Chengyu's phone number: 86-834-5695341
7. [Qinhuangdao City, Hebei Province] Arrest of Zhao Shunying by Policemen from Liushouying Town in Funing County
On July 19, 2004 at 11:00 p.m., Liushouying Town police precinct officials dispatched many policemen and forcibly dragged practitioner Ms. Zhao Shunying out of bed where she had been asleep and took her away. Now she is being held in Funing County's Detention Center.
Related phone numbers: Funing County's Custody Center: 86-335-6012960, 6017970
Funing County's Detention Center: 86-335-3012574
8. [Hebei Province] Tangshan City Forced Labor Camp Continues to Detain and Torture Dafa Practitioners
On July 12, 2004, two police officers were transferred from Handan City's Forced Labor Camp to Tangshan City's Forced Labor Camp to force practitioners to renounce Falun Dafa
Practitioner Zheng Hongbo from Qinhuangdao City was beaten up and had bruises all over the body. Another practitioner, Gao Guochang from Qinhuangdao City, suffered other physical punishments. He was forbidden to sleep, his limbs stretched apart on a bed, tied with ropes and subjected to other tortures in a so-called "Storm Fortification Team." Recently, the police used "reducing detention terms" as a bait to incite inmates to torture practitioners.
Phone numbers at the Forced Labor Camp:
"Storm Fortification Team": 86-315-5931139, 86-315-5931137
Wang Yong, deputy administrator of the Forced Labor Camp who is in charge of persecuting practitioners
Political instructor of the Sixth Brigade: Ai Zhenming
Head of the "610 Office (1)": Gao Yongjing
Deputy Head of the Sixth Brigade: Li Xiaozhong
9. [Pingdingshan City, Henan Province] Chang Xinqin Is Detained at Ruzhou City's Detention Center for Distributing Truth-clarifying Materials
On July 20, 2004, officers from Ruzhou City's Police Department arrested Dafa practitioner Chang Xinqin from Pingdingshan City's Foreign Language School (former Ruzhou City Normal School) for distributing truth-clarifying materials. Chang is currently being detained at Ruzhou City's Detention Center.
10. [Shenyang City, Liaoning Province] Phone Number of Ren Hongzan, Chief of the No.6 Team, No.1 Division in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp
Dafa practitioner Ms. Gen Shufeng, over 60 years old, from Fuxin City, is detained at the No.6 Team of the No.1 Division in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province. On June 9, 2004 her family went to see her, but Ren Hongzan, the chief of the No.6 Team didn't allow them to see her.
Ren Hongzan's phone number: 86-24-89210406 (Office)
11. [China] Self-immolation Incident at Tiananmen Square Was Premeditated
On January 8, 2001, my son-in-law hurried to tell me, "How come you still practice Falun Gong? On the last day of the lunar year, some Falun Gong practitioners will burn themselves at Tiananmen Square!" I said, "It's impossible! Falun Gong prohibits killing and suicide!" He said with confidence, "I heard this in Sanhe City, Hebei Province. You will believe it when the time comes." Since the onset of the persecution of Falun Gong the situation became more and more intense. All my family members were against my practice of Falun Gong. I thought they just wanted me to quit practicing for my own safety, so I didn't take it seriously. My son-in-law was an armed police officer in Beijing. His unit is located at the Great Hall of the People. After his demobilization, he still kept in touch with highly placed acquaintances in the Armed Police.
Two weeks later, on January 23, 2003, the Self-immolation Incident happened at Tiananmen Square. Since my home is only 40 kilometers away from Beijing, I heard the news that night. I was shocked! What a coincidence! The time and place were exactly the same as what my son-in-law said two weeks earlier. If I could have told people early on what my son-in-law had told me, to expose the evil early, the tragedy might have been avoided.
(Clearwisdom.net)
A Lesson That Will Never Be Forgotten
My name is Ma Yuxin. I went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. The third time I went, I was caught and escorted back to the detention center where I was detained for thirty nine days. Because I refused to give up Falun Gong, I was sentenced to one year term in Masanjia Forced Labor Camp.
Because I wasn't really cultivating during Fa study, and I was only paying attention to the surface and didn't let the Fa become deeply rooted in my head, the evil found an omission in me. While in Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, those who went along the stray path told us that we had all succeeded in cultivation, and that there was no need to continue cultivation or study Fa. Though I was reluctant, I accepted this path of evil enlightenment. As Teacher said in article "Suggestion,"
"These people have relatively large amounts of karma and they have fundamental attachments to [things of] humans, so in the midst of absurd lies during the so-called 'reforming,' they have, in the interest of their attachments and to justify their behavior, gone along with the lies and willingly accepted evil 'enlightenment,' while pretending they didn't want to. If this kind of person then goes and deceives other students, he will have committed the sin of damaging the Fa. All who have been supposedly 'reformed' are people who couldn't let go of their attachments to [things of] humans and who stepped forward with the idea that they might be lucky."
This was exactly my behavior when I went to appeal in Beijing. I did it because I hoped that I could get lucky and not get caught. That is why after arriving at Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, those words from the traitors fit into my own thinking, and I accepted the so called "transformed."
After being transformed, I completely became a tool of evil. I helped the evil plot the persecution against Dafa practitioners. Zhou Guirong is a steadfast Dafa practitioner from the same second cell in the third group of the second Women's Team. She believed in Dafa and refused to be transformed. Using whatever means such as injecting evil thoughts, cursing, beating, depriving of food, and having her husband to influence her using human sentimentality, nothing could change her righteous belief in Dafa. The evil ran out of ideas and we became helpers for the evil. We made Zou Guirong stand in a low posture position with both arms raised parallel to the ground; we also made practitioner Su Juzhen who was transferred from the first department and very steadfast to stand with her body bent and her hands touching the ground for whole day; and we made Zhang Guiping hang face down between the upper and lower bunker beds so that she was completely floating. I remember that when Zou Guirong refused to be transformed, I beat her once. When Su Juzhen collapsed on the floor I tried to pull her up and she couldn't get up, so I kicked her twice. I lost all of my humanity. Because of my active participation in assisting the evil with persecuting Dafa practitioners, I was released for home six months earlier.
After coming home, I cooperated with the local "610 Office"(1) in setting up brainwashing sessions, and participated in two sessions, forcing Dafa practitioners to write the "Three Statements.(2)" I did what the evil couldn't do, such as attacking Dafa and attacking Dafa practitioners' righteous beliefs. I remember when the Tiananmen Self Immolation Incident happened, I cooperated with the evil "610 Office" and attacked Dafa on the TV, radio, and the workplace. Teacher said in the article "Suggestion": "Those who are spreading evil 'enlightenment' under the guise of Dafa students are, regardless of whether they were students before, doing what demons who damage Dafa do."
A practitioner who came out of Masanjia Forced Labor Camp visited me in May 2000 and showed me Teacher's new article which said being transformed is wrong. Due to many reasons, including becoming ill after being transformed, my husband having an affair while I was in Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, and my leaving the Fa and not living up to Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance, various degenerate thoughts came back to me and I didn't hold up my xinxing (moral standard). I fought with my husband, cursed at people, and filled for divorce. My xinxing had completed dropped and I become an everyday person. During that period of time, I felt great pain. Finally, under Teacher's hints, I decided to cultivate again.
I am a person who attacked Dafa. Every time I read Minghui website and I see greatly inspiring cultivation stories of Dafa practitioners, I burst into tears. I had my hands full of sins and am not pardonable. Even for a sinful person like me, Teacher still gives me a second chance, benevolently looking after me. I thank Teacher for giving me another chance, allowing me to fall down many times and pull myself back up again and again, which has made me mature in my Fa rectification period cultivation. From now on, however challenging my cultivation path may be, I will walk through the last part of my cultivation with my righteous mind.
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/7/30/80624.html
Solemn Declaration
I was arrested while distributing truth materials on the evening of March 20, 2002. Right before sentencing, a person returning from Changchun City came to me who had gone along the path of evil enlightenment. Under her lies, I went along with the evil enlightenment, and I thought that my truth-telling activities had violated Teacher's requirements for us. So I wrote the so called the "Three Statements" -- "Repentance Statement (3)," "Guarantee Statement (4)" and "Dissociation Statement (5)." Because of that, the court scheduled a second hearing for me and let me go home after 132 days in detention. After returning to everyday society, everything seemed to return to normal on the ssurface, but my connection with Dafa was severed. I stopped practicing or studying
the Fa. I was becoming more and more aware of my betrayal to Dafa and other Dafa practitioners. I felt ashamed of myself, the pain in my heart was increasing everyday. Benevolent Teacher helped to reopen my sealed soul, and brought me back to Dafa cultivation. Because of my insufficient study in the Fa, I was therefore taken advantage of by the evil, and I weakened my righteous belief in Teacher and Dafa. My mind was controlled by the evil and I wrote the so called "Three Letters" and other materials. I now formally declare all those statements against Teacher and Dafa null and void. From now on, I will uphold my righteous thoughts and do the three things instructed by Teacher, striving to become a qualified Dafa practitioner in the Fa rectification time. I will do more to make up for the losses I made to Dafa.
Li Wenhui, July 29, 2004.
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/7/31/80686.html
Notes:
(1) "610 Office" - an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.
(2) "Three Statements/Letters" -- Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write these as proof that they have given up their belief. Created by the "610 Office," the Three Statements consist of a letter of repentance, a guarantee to never again practice Falun Gong, and a list of names and addresses of all family members, friends and acquaintances who are practitioners.
(3) "Repentance Statement" - In this statement the practitioner is forced to admit remorse for practicing Falun Gong, promise to give up Falun Gong, and never again associate with other practitioners or go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.
(4) "Guarantee Statement" - A statement to declare that he or she is remorseful for practicing Falun Gong and guarantees not to practice Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.
(5) "Dissociation Statement" - A statement to declare a dissociation with Falun Gong and promise not go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.
(Clearwisdom.net) A "solemn declaration" is a person's public statement declaring to the world that whatever he or she has done or said under duress or deception that was against Falun Dafa is null and void. Most of these statements have come from Falun Dafa practitioners in China who wished to express regret that, in the face of physical torture and brainwashing, they had signed documents renouncing Dafa and guaranteeing not to practice again. Also, as more and more people in China learn the truth about how they have been deceived and lied to by the Jiang regime, many non-practitioners are also submitting "solemn declarations."
Here are some examples of the Solemn Declarations:
Please click here for more Solemn Declarations.
(Clearwisdom.net)
Facts of the Persecution
1) Practitioner Liu Ruiyuan, in his 60's from Heilongjiang Province, went to Beijing to appeal in November 1999 and was stopped by some security agents in Shenyang. The 2,500 Yuan in Mr. Liu's pocket was confiscated and secretly divided between the Section Chief and Xu Shengli of the Security Section of a certain mine and the 5,000 Yuan that Mr. Liu had planned to donate to an orphanage was also taken by Xu Shengli. Later, Mr. Liu Ruiyuan was illegally sentenced to 3 years' forced-labor in the Jiamusi Labor Camp. Less than 10 days after he was released from the labor camp, Mr. Liu Ruiyuan went to the police station to ask for his ID back. Soon after, his home was illegally ransacked. Mr. Liu was also put in criminal detention for 15 days. One month after his release from detention, on the day of the Chinese New Year's eve, the police went to ransack his home again. When police found some materials clarifying the truth of Falun Gong, they illegally sentenced Mr. Liu to another 2 years' forced-labor. At present, Mr. Liu Ruiyuan is still detained in Suihua Labor Camp and suffering terrible persecution.
2) On April 30, 2004, Dafa practitioners Chen Ying, Ouyang Zhandong, Wu Wenzhang, and Gao Jihong were arrested and detained in the Shanhaiguan Police Department. At 9PM of the same day, these practitioners were sent to Nanguan Police Station in Shanhaiguan City for interrogation. On May 1, Fu Yong and a few other policemen searched the residence of Ouyang Zhandong and at the same time abducted Li Yuekun. On May 2, Fu Yong and some other policemen searched the residence of Chen Ying and also arrested Mr. Bao Changjiang and Ms. Deng Chunfeng. From the evening of May 1 to May 3, these 8 practitioners were separately imprisoned in the No. 3 Detention Center of Qinhuangdao City and on May 16 transferred to the No. 1 Detention Center in Qinhuangdao City.
3) Su Wei's home was in Wanghua District in Fushun City in Liaoning Province. On September 27, 1999, Su Wei and her husband, Kang Bin (who used to be a practitioner) went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong. She was arrested and sent for 2 years' forced-labor. After she was sent to Masanjia Labor Camp in February of 2000, Su Wei betrayed her belief and started to curse Dafa and Master Li and also to beat Dafa practitioners. Su Wei then organized a so-called "assistance and teaching team" and went to various labor camps in Mainland China to spread lies.
4) Masanjia Labor Camp forced practitioners to work over 16 hours every day. Those practitioners who refused to give up the practice were not allowed to sleep and were physically punished in the hallway. For example, they were shocked with electric batons and made to endure various other tortures. Dafa practitioner Li Ping from Linghai City was stripped of his winter coat and forced to stay outside to be frozen in the icy winter. Female Dafa practitioner Wang Yuxia, from Xingcheng was stripped of all of her clothes and forced to stand naked in public. Dafa practitioner Li Min from Xincheng had big blisters on her fingers from being shocked with electric batons. During the day, Ms. Li was also forced to sew buttonholes and make handicrafts, etc.