Clearwisdom.net, Friday, August 07, 2009

Cultivation is about removing human thinking and attachments. Some practitioners follow human thinking as they go about validating the Fa, and in the process satisfy a wish to do what they enjoy. When their ideas are not adopted or when their shortcomings are pointed out, they become resentful and even have no scruples about doing wrongful things, and very much reveal that only by causing disruption can they vent their hatred. All of this goes directly against my requirement that Dafa disciples cooperate well with each other, validate the Fa, and save sentient beings. When those kinds of human-thinking-born attachments drive you to align with the opposing side in your actions or on some particular matter, is that the conduct of a Dafa student? Isn't that precisely doing what the evil wants done? If the bad things you've done have caused sentient beings or practitioners who haven't studied the Fa deeply to be unsavable or lose their opportunity, when the day of Dafa disciples' Great Consummation arrives, how could you not be held accountable and suffer the consequences? Could you still achieve Consummation in that case? If you cannot achieve Consummation, then what are you cultivating for? I have always said that this cosmos has a principle: whatever a being--whoever it may be--does, he must face the consequences and make up for any losses caused. This especially holds true in the Fa-rectification period. I have long pondered, "What am I going to do with you students who are still not rational at this point?" I can help you eliminate a great deal of karma, but you must face on your own what you are to face, and neither Master nor anyone else can do so on your behalf. You have to, yourself, get through the attachments that are to be removed and the tests that need to be passed.

The online Qingxin Discussion Board that Dafa disciples used to run was frequently exploited by chaotic demons who are special agents, and when certain practitioners with attachments were added to the mix, the board turned into a forum for them. After the board, which wasn't having a positive effect, was shut down, some practitioners actually went looking for some other online forum. Are you really that attached to doing that? Do you really not understand that it was a demon who came knocking at your door, thanks to your human attachments? When that chaotic demon special agent named "Tang Qi" found gaps to exploit and got so out of hand online, wasn't that solely because he saw your human attachments? Hasn't he dared to be so brazen because practitioners who lack righteous thoughts gave him a forum? There are some who went further, regarding him as a "second master." Could someone who thinks that way still be my disciple? My daughter has always been by my side, yet when that rotten demon special agent Tang Qi made up lies about her, some people believed them--even to the point that they lost their sense of reason and echoed those lies, completely refusing to listen when other Dafa disciples pointed out the problem. And there are those who went still further, circulating widely the crooked words and lies of that rotten demon special agent, leading some students who hadn't studied the Fa deeply and some new practitioners to go astray. If, when such people indeed end up going astray because of that, they lose their chance to be saved and thus face the prospect of being weeded out in the future, how are you going to pay for what you've done? And that's not all, for the responsibility you must bear for having disrupted the Fa is itself immeasurably large. Scaring people is not Master's way, so I'll just give those students who are failing to pass muster a stick warning. Cultivation is about removing human attachments, so how could you go looking for a forum for them? How could you be so incredibly attached while cultivating?

Your wish is to help Master rectify the Fa, and that is something that can only be achieved with righteous thoughts. The main, predominant group of Dafa disciples who are validating the Fa and saving sentient beings is excellent, and no past cultivation form or religion can compare. This is your glory, and Master's glory. I am truly happy about the Great Consummation that's in store for you in the future. Walking the final part of the path well is a must, and it is Master's wish for you.

(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Lu Zhaoxin, 59, lived in Sifangtai Village, Dasiping Town, Xinbin County, in Fushun City of Liaoning Province. His tuberculosis disappeared after practicing Falun Gong, and his moral character improved from the following Falun Gong's teachings on how to become a better person. He made every effort to share his experience and help others see through the regime's slanderous propaganda, but doing so led to his arrest and detention in Wujiabao Forced Labor Camp in Fushun City three times.

Around April 25, 2006, he was arrested while getting out of a vehicle at the Sifangtai Village Station. Officer Zhao Yajun and others took him into custody in the Dasiping Town Police Department then forcibly took him to the Luotaishanzhuang Brainwashing Center and later to the Wujiabao Forced Labor Camp, after the brainwashing failed.

The last time he was arrested was on September 24, 2007, when local officer Zhao Yajun found him carrying Falun Dafa "truth-clarifying" materials on a bus and arrested him and took him to the police department. He was subsequently sent to the Wujiabao Forced Labor Camp. He was released in the spring of 2008. Due to being tortured severely in the labor camp, he became extremely weak and emaciated, lost his ability to work, and developed diabetes. He died on June 24, 2009.

(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Jing Cai, her elder sister Ms. Jing Tian, and brother-in-law Mr. Chen Song stepped onto soil of the free land of Canada on May 13, 2009, the very day of the 17^th annual celebration of World Falun Dafa Day. They said goodbye to a nightmarish life in China, and began their new life in a foreign land.

Ms. Jing Cai's mother and daughters, from left, Ms. Jing Tian, Ms. Chen Jun (mother) and Ms. Jing Cai

Ms. Jing Cai began practicing Falun Gong in October 1995, and her elder sister and mother also joined the practice. After the persecution of Falun Gong began on July 20, 1999, the three appealed to the government, as permissible under the law, and called for a stop to the persecution. In response, they were arrested, detained, tortured, force-fed and subjected to other maltreatment.

Ms. Jing Tian said, "What happened was like a nightmare. Blood tests were taken about five times [when I was detained] after unfurling a banner in Tiananmen Square. I was imprisoned in another city, and my family had no news of me. Later, when the organ harvesting from living practitioners was exposed, I realized that I also was a target for organ removal. If my family members had not searched for me non-stop, I might not be here today."

Ms. Jing continued, "We cannot be joyful for having escaped the evil hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), because in China, tens of thousands of Falun Dafa practitioners are suffering in prisons at this moment. Practitioners are losing their lives daily. We were not allowed to speak up in China. Therefore, we came to speak outside of China. We want the entire world to clearly see the evilness of the CCP. We hope that kind people will pay attention to the persecution suffered by practitioners in China, with the wish that people from the international community will reach out and help bring about an end to the persecution."

Ms. Jing Cai (right) and Ms. Jing Tian peacefully protest at the Chinese Consulate

Mr. Chen Song (first left), Ms. Jing Tian (second left) and Ms. Jing Cai (third left) peacefully protest outside the Chinese Consulate

"The ten-year-long persecution is not only the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, as it truly is a persecution that brings harm to all people. It is more serious than anything that has taken place in historical times. Given the CCP's lies, many people don't understand the facts, and they assist the CCP in committing crimes, and don't know that their futures will be pitiful," Ms. Jing Cai said. "The facts have proven that the CCP's persecution is suffering defeat. At the beginning of the persecution, Jiang [Zemin] said he would, 'Eliminate Falun Gong within three months.' However we have seen that practitioners have not been frightened, but have instead become more firm, and more people have learned about Falun Gong and have even taken up the practice."

In October 1995, Jing Cai, who worked in a bookshop, saw three new books. One of them was "Zhuan Falun". She glanced through it, and was attracted to it. After reading Lecture Four, she could not help saying, "This is a book from heaven!" The book answered many of her questions, which she could not find answers to for many years.

Ms. Jing Cai soon learned the five sets of exercises, and went to the park early in the morning to practice the exercises daily. One day, a week later, her elder sister asked, "What have you been doing so early every morning?" After her sister heard the reason, she immediately said, "I also want to practice." So, both got up at 5:00 a.m. daily and went to the park to practice the exercises, read one lecture of Zhuan Falun and then go to work.

In January 1996, their mother Chen Jun also began to practice Falun Gong. Soon after, her physical problems including gallstones, hemorrhoids, bursitis in the shoulder and diabetes were cured. From then on, the three happily practiced Dafa and hosted a group study at their home.

Ms. Jing Cai said that in the beginning, there were just over ten people at the practice site. Later more and more people joined and the number increased to over 100 people before the persecution started in 1999. At that time, however, their younger brother had not yet joined them.

After the persecution began, in mid-October 1999, Ms. Jing Cai, her mother and elder sister went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong. On October 18, Ms. Jing Cai and her mother went to the Beijing Appeals Bureau, but did not return.

Ms. Jing Tian heard that her mother and sister had been arrested. After she exchanged views with some practitioners from Shenyang and Beijing, she decided to go display a banner on Tiananmen Square.

On the morning of October 25, Ms. Jing Tian and more than ten other practitioners arrived at Tiananmen Square. They had a banner one-meter wide and over five meters long, with an inscription of red characters on a white background. At that time, Tiananmen Square was in a state of high alert, with uniformed and plainclothes police everywhere.

Ms. Jing Tian said, "Between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m., we displayed the banner, with me standing in the middle. The banner's inscription was, "Falun Dafa practitioners peacefully appeal." Within less than a minute, police surrounded us, grabbed the banner and dragged us into a police car."

The practitioners were first taken to the Tiananmen Police Sub-bureau, and then detained at the Dongcheng Detention Center. Two months later, on December 30, Ms. Jing Tian was transferred to the Hebei Province No. 1 Forced Labor Camp (also known as Tangshang City Kaiping District Forced Labor Camp), for one year of forced labor. When the one-year term was over, Ms. Jing Tian was not released, so she protested with a hunger strike until December 24, 2000, when she was finally released.

During her imprisonment, the forced labor camp blocked news about Ms. Jing Tian's whereabouts. Her family searched for her everywhere, but was unable to find out where she was. She said, "In the labor camp, I suffered torture, such as being hung up from a basketball hoop and being punched in the face and chest. I was very dizzy from the torture. If I was found doing the Falun Gong exercises, I was hung from a tree for one day. Afterwards I protested with a hunger strike. They force-fed me in such a way that I felt uncomfortably full. They often dragged me around by my hair and threw me to the ground. They also put me in a brick kiln to roast in summer and in an icy room in the winter. I witnessed several practitioners being killed due to torture."

63-Year-Old Woman Subjected to Electric Shock Torture for Legally Appealing for Justice

Ms. Jing Cai and her mother Chen Jun went to the Appeals Bureau to once again call for justice for Falun Gong. Officers from Shenyan arrested them outside the bureau and detained them at the Appeals Bureau boarding house for two days. Then, on October 20, they were taken back to Shenyan and detained for seven months at Fangjialan Detention Center.

Ms. Jing Cai recalled that on November 12, the guards handcuffed them and 18 other practitioners, with two people to one handcuff, and took them to Longshan Forced Labor Camp in Zhujia Town, Dongling District, Shenyang City. They were held there until May 26, 2000, when she and her mother were released.

During that time, the practitioners suffered all sorts of torture, including being beaten with electric batons, and were forced to stand, squat and dig for hours. They were also subjected to a torture known as "gecko climbing a wall." "Gecko climbing a wall" requires the victim to stand facing a wall with both feet closely together and both hands pressed up against the wall. Standing in this posture for a long time results in the arms becoming sore until one trembles uncontrollably and can't unbend the arms. The guards tortured practitioners with electric batons. Ms. Jing Cai said that her 63-year-old mother's mouth was very swollen from the torture, to the extent that her upper lip touched her nose.

Ms. Jing Cai said that they slept on the floor in the detention center. In the Appeals Bureau boarding house, they saw some young practitioners from Liaozhong, Shenyang, Mr. Qi Xiangyang and Ms. Li Xuguang. At that time, Ms. Li was six months pregnant. The officials said she had to choose between Falun Gong or the child. She refused to renounce Falun Gong, so they aborted the child.

Ms. Jing Cai recalled that in the Huanghai Police Station of Shenyang an officer wanted them to sign the detention document stating that appealing in Beijing was a "hindrance of social order." She recounted, "I refused to sign, and told him, 'I appealed as stipulated under the Constitution, and it was reasonable and legitimate. Moreover, before I even saw the Appeals Bureau building and entered through its door, I was arrested and detained by you. I did not hinder the social order, but you are violating the law by detaining me.'" The officer replied, "I can still detain you without your signature."

On the way to Shenyang, Ms. Jing Cai and her mother "clarified the truth" to the police. One of the police officers said, "How come it feels that you look like a good person and we look like the villains instead?"

Ms. Jing Cai said that many police officers knew the truth. One officer in a police station near their home often passed news to them, and once he ran into the restroom to cry after he beat Dafa practitioners.

Guard Zhang in the Fangjialan Detention Center was very vicious to practitioners in the beginning. He often brutally tortured practitioners with an electric baton. After having more contact with practitioners and learning the truth, this guard felt regretful for his behavior and changed his attitude towards Falun Gong.

In late October 1999, a review in the People's Daily claimed, "Falun Gong is a cult." Therefore, Ms. Jing Cai and other practitioners protested in the detention center with a hunger strike. A female guard urged them to eat, saying, "If you indeed conduct a hunger strike, the Communist Party has too many methods to torture you. They will ignore you in the beginning, let you be on the hunger strike and when you are too weak, they will force-feed you. Before force-feeding, they will film you and then find a cadre to urge you to eat. They want the TV viewers think that the government is humane. They know very well how to grasp an opportunity. They will do their best to urge you to eat. But, even if you want to eat, they won't let you and they'll take away the food the moment you want to eat. Then, they'll torment you through force-feeding and claim that they are saving you. They dare to do anything. You are all good people and I don't want to see you suffering. You are really very kind. I have been in contact with many of you, and understand you well."

On May 14, 2001, officers from the Huanghai Police Station broke into the family's home and threatened to take Ms. Jing Tian and her mother to a brainwashing center. Ms. Jing Cai decided to become homeless to avoid being arrested. Officers then discovered that Ms. Jing Tian took part in downloading materials from the Internet that exposed the persecution. She hung loudspeakers outside every forced labor camp and park in the area to clarify the facts about Falun Gong. In response, they transferred Ms. Jing to the Shenyang City Detention Center and sentenced her to a ten-year term. Ms. Jing Tian went on a hunger strike to protest. On November 16, 2001, she was released on bail for medical treatment, as her health had deteriorated and she was emaciated.

Their mother Ms. Chen Jun was sentenced to three years of forced labor and imprisoned in Longshan Forced Labor Camp. During the imprisonment, Ms. Chen developed symptoms of severe diabetes from the torture. She lost all vision in one eye and partial vision in the other eye. She displayed symptoms of stroke, a regarded a life-threatening condition. Ms. Chen was released on medical bail on June 6, 2002.

A family was broken up, with the mother and eldest sister arrested and the second eldest sister homeless and destitute. The only one left at home was brother Jing Yu, who was not a practitioner.

Mr. Jing Yu's life was very tough, because his family members were repeatedly arrested, detained, fined, and fired from their jobs. They found themselves in a difficult financial position. To maintain some semblance of family life, Mr. Jing delivered milk before dawn, mineral water during the day and saved money so he could visit his mother and eldest sister who were detained at different locations. He also worried about his second eldest sister whose whereabouts were unknown.

Mr. Jing thought deeply about what he had observed and experienced. His mother and two sisters had urged him to practice Falun Gong many times. He had witnessed their changes for the better and knew that Dafa was good. Yet, he did not wish to practice Falun Gong. When he was alone at home, he felt confused, and just could not understand why such kind people as his mother and sisters were imprisoned.

Mr. Jing Yu made contact with local practitioners and thus gained a clearer understanding of the practice. After understanding the facts about Falun Gong, he decided to join the practice and began doing the "three things" that the Teacher of the practice asked of practitioners. He hoped to rescue his mother and sister soon.

On the night of October 1, 2001, the police attempted to arrest Ms. Jing Cai at the family home. She was not at home, so they arrested Mr. Jing Yu. At Huanghai Police Station in the Hong District, Mr. Jing was deprived of sleep around the clock, and he was interrogated and tortured. He suffered beatings, as the officers wanted him to tell them Ms. Jing Cai's whereabouts and other practitioners' situations. Mr. Jing didn't cooperate with the police, so they imprisoned him in the Fangjialan Detention Center for 15 days and called it administrative detention. They claimed that he was violating the "People's Republic of China Public Security Management Punishment Rule." Mr. Jing was brutally tortured, and after his release he kept coughing and felt pain in his chest. He was diagnosed by the Hong District Hospital with two fractured ribs, which had punctured his lungs, and caused a pulmonary cyst.

After being imprisoned for 15 days and brutally tortured, Jing Yu saw even more clearly what was right and wrong, and good and evil, and he felt proud of being a practitioner. The entire episode strengthened his determination to practice Falun Gong.

After Ms. Jing Tian was released on bail for medical treatment, Ms. Jing Cai contacted her brother. They realized that they could no longer live at home and decided to rent a room somewhere else. Two other practitioners lived with them, who were engaged in producing materials that exposed the persecution and clarified the facts about Falun Gong. Three out of these five people were on the CCP's wanted list.

On March 7, 2002, the sisters and brother were reported for buying supplies for making the truth-clarification materials, and they were arrested that same night. The police put handcuffs on them, but covered the handcuffs so people could not see them. Ms. Jing Cai said, "Take off the cloth, so people can see the handcuffs, and shout Falun Dafa is good."

On October 25, 2002, they were taken to the Shenyang Intermediate People's Court for a trial. They were not represented by a lawyer. Ms. Jing Cai said that this was illegal, and requested to know which law allowed them to be arrested. They were told that the information was available, but the official did not produce it.

Ms. Jing Tian and Ms. Jing Cai were sentenced to 13 years, Mr. Jing Yu to10 years, and another practitioner, Mr. Zhang Huiyu, was sentenced to 15 years. Mr. Zhang was considered the leader of the group. The court didn't notify the defendants' relatives and friends about the trial. Only officers from the Shenyang Police station, the "Procuratorate," the court, judicial bureau and directors of several prisons and forced labor camps were present at the trial.

Mr. Jing Yu is still detained at Nanguanling Prison in Dalian, where he is forced to perform heavy labor daily.

On October 22, 2003, Ms. Jing Tian and her younger sister came to the understanding that they were treated unfairly and not as stipulated under Chinese law. They made the decision to escape as soon as possible.

"Both of us went on a hunger strike. Fifty days later, my younger sister's life was in danger. My symptoms were heart palpations and renal failure. Even the hospital refused to accept me, claiming that whatever I had was not curable. By now, the prison staff no longer wanted to accept responsibility for our condition and released us on bail for medical treatment." On December 9, 2003, the two sisters were taken home by other practitioners. Both were critically ill.

On May 18, 2006, because of overseas practitioners' rescue efforts, Ms. Jing Cai, Ms. Jing Tian and Jing Tian's husband Mr. Chen Song left China. They were granted United Nations refugee status in Thailand and moved on to Vancouver, Canada on May 13, 2009, with the help of the United Nations Refugee Agency.

Ms. Jing Tian's husband Mr. Chen Song had been detained at Shenyang's notorious Zhangshi Forced Labor Camp for three years. Because he refused to renounce his belief in Falun Gong, he was tortured with electric batons and suffered merciless beatings. A guard once used all the electric batons in the labor camp, more than twenty batons, on him in the course of one day. His entire body was burned. When he was asked about his plans in Canada, Mr. Chen said, "Expose the persecution and explain the truth."

Mr. Chen Song, Ms. Jing Tian and Ms. Jing Cai practicing the exercises at Vancouver's Chinatown practice site

After they came to Vancouver, the family immediately joined local efforts to clarify the facts about Falun Gong and expose the inhuman persecution. They have peacefully protested outside the Chinese Consulate and participated in parades.

Of course, they constantly think about the elderly Ms. Chen Jun who still suffers persecution, and their brother Mr. Jing Yu who is still imprisoned, as well as millions of other Falun Gong practitioners who are being persecuted in China. They hope to end the persecution soon through their efforts.

(Clearwisdom.net) At the Frankfurt airport in Germany, a man wearing glasses and holding a bouquet of lilies waited eagerly at the arrival gate. In front of him was a banner with the words, "The World Knows Falun Dafa Is Good."

On June 22, the flight from Beijing to Frankfurt was delayed for two hours. For Guo Jufeng, who had waited for 17 months, two more hours of waiting were not the end of the world.

Guo is an engineer. He was tortured in China for practicing Falun Gong. He came to Germany 17 months ago and was granted refugee status in Germany. That day he was waiting for his wife, Ms. Yu Hailing, a medical doctor, and his son, Guo Fangzhou, whom he had never met.

On June 5, 2002, Guo Jufeng was released from Huludao Prison in Liaoning Province. He had been imprisoned in three different places by that time. On the right was his fiancée, Ms. Yu Hailing.

After most of the passengers on the Beijing flight had disembarked, Guo finally saw his wife and their son. She was holding him in one hand and the baggage in the other. Tears ran down his face. As he reached for his son, the boy dodged, for Guo was a complete stranger to him.

In 1995, Guo was a 22-year-old college student. He practiced Falun Gong. After he graduated, he knew many practitioners. "Everyone followed the principle Truth-Compassion-Forbearance," said Guo.

"I remember clearly that after work, while my roommates were playing mah-jong and smoking, I studied the teachings of Falun Gong alone or with other practitioners."

After the persecution started in July 1999, everything changed overnight. "The entire media was slandering Falun Gong. Many practitioners were arrested and nobody did the exercises outside anymore," said Guo. He couldn't stand Falun Gong being treated that way, he wanted justice for Falun Gong, and so began his journey of appealing for the right to practice Falun Gong.

Guo was imprisoned unlawfully four times for refusing to renounce Falun Gong. The last time he was sent to a prison in Liaoning. "A guard shocked my neck with an electronic baton. I convulsed and bit my lips. My skin was scorched and the smell of burning flesh filled the room."

Guo was locked in solitary confinement for 50 days. The cell was 5 by 7 feet. No matter how cold the weather was, he had to sleep on the ground. He ate two meals a day, each meal a piece of cold bread with pickled cabbage. He had to drink sewer water when he could no longer bear his thirst.

It's been several years now but Guo still has nightmares about it at times. His physical pain is over, but his mind will take long time to heal.

While Guo was in prison, his girlfriend, Yu, remained true to him. She appealed to many officials to have him released. Once she dreamed of him with blood on his face asking her to save him. She went to the prison to see him but she was turned away. She later learned that he was suffering the worst torture during that time.

Yu was under a lot of pressure from her family. "No one I knew wanted me to continue seeing him. Everyone believed that his life was over and I needed to move on," she said.

"I was not a Falun Gong practitioner and didn't know much about it, but there was one thing I did know: Guo was a good person, very sincere, kind, responsible, and attentive. He cared a lot about me and we got a long very well. I was in love with him and couldn't forget him." These thoughts kept Yu going during that time.

Guo and Yu were classmates in high school and college. She had known him for a long time, and she knew that she was right about him. "From 1999 to 2004, everyone told me to leave him. I did not, and they stopped trying. When we got married in 2004, everyone knew I had been waiting for that moment for so long that they did not dissuade me."

On May 13, 2004, they were married. They did not invite anyone to the wedding, and there wasn't a ceremony. She did not even wear a wedding gown. They took a few pictures to remember the event. Every tribulation made them cherish each other more.

Life wasn't easy after they married. If the persecution hadn't been in place, Guo being an engineer and Yu being a doctor, they could have lived easily and comfortably. To avoid persecution, they left home and moved frequently so they couldn't be found. They ended up tutoring students after school.

In 2007, Yu was pregnant. The couple was excited and couldn't wait to see the new life. They were going to call the baby Guo Fangzhou. This name carried his parents' wish for him. "We wanted him to be like the ark (fangzhou) of Noah in the West who was known to help those in danger," Guo explained.

At the moment, things were changing for the better. A company hired Guo as an engineer and sent him on a business trip to Germany. In January 2008, Guo arrived in the center of finance in Europe, Frankfurt. What welcomed him was the air and morning sunlight of a free country.

Like a few drops of rain on a steamy summer night, they can bring joy but can't eliminate the suppressive sticky air. After Guo arrived in Germany, five people were arrested in his hometown of Shuangya City, Heilongjiang. Then, police broke into the houses of Falun Gong practitioners and arrested 15 of them.

"Chinese New Year was approaching at the time of the arrest. Three of those arrested were in their 60s. I met some of them last year when I visited home. I couldn't believe that, a month after I came to a free country, practitioners from my hometown were arrested and suffered torture," Gao said sadly.

The arrests shocked and saddened him. He had the feeling that a nationwide arrest of practitioners would soon begin. "When I learned about the new round of suppression of Falun Gong that was to take place before the Olympics, I realized my dilemma. What would happen if I returned to China? Should I stay for my safety? From Germany I could help rescue those arrested," Guo thought.

Guo had one night to think about it. That night, his wife and his baby that would be born in ten days occupied his mind the most. "After I came to Germany, we talked about the baby on the phone all the time--what he would look like, what we would call him, and how to be good parents. I so looked forward to reuniting with my wife and son after I returned home.

"If I didn't return, would she understand? It could made the delivery more dangerous if she was upset. If I made the decision to stay, I would not be with her when she delivered the baby, and I didn't know if I ever would see her again. She would have to raise the child alone and face other people's nasty remarks."

However, Guo was also reminded that, over the past nine years, nine of the Falun Gong practitioners he knew had been tortured to death. The youngest was 27 years old. Five of them left young children behind. "If I returned, would I be able to stay with my wife and child or would I be taken to a forced labor camp? They would be so worried about me if I was taken to a prison. Then, shouldn't I remain in Germany?"

Guo lost sleep that night. "I don't think anyone would've understood what a painful decision that was. I was so helpless." He eventually decided to stay and apply for asylum in Germany.

Yu, at first, couldn't accept Guo's decision. She did not know whether she would ever see him again. "I had the feeling that I would never see him again. I would have to raise our child alone," Yu recalled. "Later on I came to my senses. I hoped he stayed in Germany and never returned to China, so he would be safe and alive. In China, the government would not let us reunite and he would be in trouble."

Guo was surprised that Yu understood his decision. She promised to give birth and take care of the child. Guo promised that he would work nonstop in the free world to rescue the practitioners unlawfully imprisoned in China. "I still believed that one day I would reunite with my family in the free world, even though I did not even have an identity at the time," Guo sighed as he remembered the past.

Though far apart, they supported each other and kept their promises through the toughest times during the 17 months they were separated.

Yu talked about how she lived through those days, "I lived alone in another town with my son. People thought that I was divorced. It was so cold in the northeast in winter time, and people store coal for the winter. I spent three days just to move three tons of coal little by little. Having a baby, I sometimes didn't even have time to take a shower and had to have someone get groceries for me."

The couple talked every couple days. There were numerous things to do the first two months after the baby was born. Once Yu told Guo, "I sleep very little because the baby wakes up frequently. I have to clean his diapers. Life seems so hard, and every minute is too long. But I believe I can do it. This is definitely easier than the tortures you would have to endure if you were here."

In a letter Yu wrote to Guo, she said, "It's midnight now. The baby is fast asleep. He is a healthy and a pretty boy. His nose, eyebrows, and eyes look so much like his father's. This is a great consolation for me."

Guo partook in many activities to protest the persecution. He had interviews with the media to expose the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) lies and the slandering of Falun Gong. He protested outside the Chinese Embassy, participated in torture re-enactments, joined candlelight vigils, attended human rights conferences as a witness, wrote letters to politicians in Europe asking them to lend a hand, and so on.

It was of great concern whether Guo could stay in Germany. "I applied for asylum in January 2008 and on December 24, the German government approved my application. I believed this to be a gift from God."

Since Guo's application went smoothly, a large weight was lifted from Yu's shoulders. She and her family had not thought Guo would be granted asylum. For Guo, it was understandable. What with the Nazis persecuting the Jews in World War II, the Germans feel more obligated than others to provide help to those that are being persecuted.

The family was not separated forever, not even for ten years, but only a year and a half. Fangzhou called for Daddy a lot over the next few days. It was as if he wanted to make up for the past year and a half.

Not many couples can endure such adversities. Guo and Yu kept their promises to each other and their wishes were finally granted. Yu recalled the past ten years of persecution, "We moved all the time, we were destitute, we were separated by the government several times. Now it's all over."

"The CCP persecution distressed me a great deal. I am not a practitioner and was not a direct target of torture. But I never stopped worrying and being scared. I worried that my husband would be taken from me at any time, so I chose to move around with him and couldn't have a stable job. The persecution of Falun Gong didn't just change the lives of tens of millions of practitioners, but also those of their families and friends."

Guo commented, "We don't really want to live in any foreign country. The only reason we left China is because of our belief and freedom. I saw a statistic that there are practitioners in 114 countries. Only the CCP persecutes Falun Gong. The Chinese people really need to give that reality some serious thought.

"Now my family is reunited. There are still tens of thousands of practitioners imprisoned. Their families were broken apart. We will do our best to help end this persecution as soon as possible and help other families reunite."

(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Wei Xiuying from Jincheng, Linghai City, is 62 years old. She had a variety of diseases before beginning Falun Dafa practice, and her leg was disabled. She used to spend most of her time in the hospital. Her family suffered a lot financially because she had been sick for many years. Ms. Wei started to cultivate Falun Dafa in 1997, and all her diseases disappeared not long after. She previously had a bad temper but suddenly changed. She now always does things according to the principles of Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance, and her family life has become harmonious.

On July 20, 1999, the Chinese Communist Party started to persecute Falun Gong. In 2000, Ms. Wei went to Beijing to appeal on behalf of Falun Dafa, and she was arrested by a police officer on the way to Beijing and detained in the Linhai Detention Center for a month.

In 2001, she and a couple of other practitioners went to Beijing to validate Dafa a second time. At that time, practitioners who went to appeal were warned, followed, and chased. They could not take the train or the bus, so they walked, and it took them a whole week. Their shoes fell apart, and their feet poked through, but they still continued. They were caught by the police just as they arrived in Beijing. During her two months in the Linhai Detention Center, Wei Xiuying was subjected to all kinds of physical and mental tortures. At one point she was near death due to the persecution, so she was taken to a hospital outside the center and then sent home.

At about 6:00 a.m. on April 17, 2009, many police cars from the Jingzhou Police Station, Liaoning Province, and the Linhai National Security Group surrounded Ms. Wei's house. Many officers broke into the house and captured her, her mother, and her daughters, Zhao Hong and Zhao Bing, along with their non-practitioner father, and searched the home.

Witnesses saw that 62-year-old Ms. Wei only wore a woven coat and woven trousers and she was bleeding from the corner of her mouth.. She yelled, "Falun Dafa is good" in the police car as it drove away.

Ms. Wei Xiuying was detained in the Linhai Detention Center and brutally persecuted. They poured hot water over her head, kicked her in the chest, and hit her right ear with a filled water bottle. She has now lost hearing in that ear. She could not walk, her heart failed, and she had convulsions and high blood pressure. She spit out whatever she ate and was so emaciated that only skin and bones were left. Her life was in great danger.

In early May, someone saw that the police had taken Wei Xiuying to the Chinese Medicine Hospital in Linhai City. Her face appeared to have been beaten. She yelled, "Falun Dafa is good!" all the way to the hospital.

On May 21, Wei Xiuying was persecuted on the third floor of Renmin Hospital in Linhai City (Gynecology and Obstetrics department), and she appeared to be in critical condition.

On June 11, the companies and the personnel involved in the persecution of Wei Xiuying let her go to Renmin Hospital in Linhai in order to shirk their responsibility. They agreed to let her family take her to the hospital outside the prison. Her family insisted that practicing Falun Gong was legal and valid and asked them to release her. When the family went there to pick her up, the deputy chief of the Linhai Police Department, Wang Jingshan, refused to sign and prohibited them from releasing her. Her family members then asked another department that was involved to let Wei Xiuying go home immediately, and they all agreed, but Wang Jingshan still refused.

On June 30, the detention center called Wei Xiuying's family to tell them to send her some clothing. On July 2, Wang Jingshan, the deputy chief of the police department of Linhai City, paid money to have Ms. Wei sent to the Fushun Brainwashing Center, but they refused to take her due to her weak physical condition. She was taken back to the Linhai Detention Center the same night. Her family was not allowed to see her.

Individuals responsible for persecuting Ms.Wei:

Wang Hui, Li Yazhou: 86-416-8191011 (Office), 86-416-2572018 (Office), 86-416-2388888 (Home), 86-13897886666 (Cell)
Wang Jingshan, deputy chief of the Linhai Police Department (ex-chief of the sub police department of Jincheng District, Linhai City)
Liu Hongjun, chief of the sub police department of the Jincheng District, Linhai City: 86-416-8285999
Policemen that participated in persecuting Ms. Wei: Liu Yi, Liu Haiwang, Zhang Bo, He Lianjie, and others

(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Kong Xiangzhu, 39, a Falun Gong practitioner from Shuangyashan City, Heilongjiang Province, was tortured to the brink of death at Mudanjiang Prison. Mr. Kong was only released after the prison extorted 5,000 yuan from his family. On April 18, 2007, family members carried Mr. Kong home from the prison, only to see him pass away two months later.

While at Mudanjiang Prison Mr. Kong would not give up his belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and because of this he was subjected to severe torture. Officer Li Yan of the , along with other prison guards, pulled Mr. Kong onto a basketball court in the middle of summer. He was forced to sit on the burning concrete. They said, "You can meditate right? We'll let you meditate this time."

Guards sprinkled plastic bags with mustard powder and then covered Mr. Kong's head with the bag. Mr. Kong's face turned purple from the lack of oxygen. He choked on the powder with tears and nasal discharge streaming down his face at the same time. Mr. Kong was in such pain that his entire body became distorted.

Toward the end of Mr. Kong Xiangzhu's imprisonment he became stick-thin from the torture. Each rib was visible as his weight dropped from 130 pounds to around 80 pounds. When he lost consciousness from torture, there would still be shackles on his legs.

Mr. Kong Xiangzhu was a resident of Jianshan District of Shuangyashan City. He grew up in a very poor family. Before practicing Falun Gong, he had many health problems, including hematuria (blood in the urine). He was unable to do any type of work and could only lie down. Numerous attempts to treat him were unsuccessful. After he began practicing Falun Dafa when he was 28, he became healthy, his body strengthened, and he was finally able to fulfill his filial duties to his parents.

After the CCP began persecuting Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, Mr. Kong went to Beijing to appeal three times. He was also arrested three times. The first time, he was detained in Beijing for a month. Because he didn't cooperate with the persecutors, he was tortured to the brink of death before being released. The second time, he was taken to Tahe County, Heilongjiang Province. Mr. Kong didn't cooperate with the injustice and was released after a month. Mr. Kong walked from Tahe County to Shuangyashan City, a distance of over 300 miles, "clarifying the truth" about Falun Dafa to everyone along the way. The third time Mr. Kong was arrested in Beijing, the police ordered his family to come to Beijing to take him home. His family members said that Mr. Kong had committed no crime, the police had no reason to arrest him, and that they had no money to go to Beijing. Mr. Kong was then released.

On the night of May 1, 2002, police from the vice squad in Shuangyashan City tricked Mr. Kong Xiangzhu into meeting them at a construction site, only to arrest him on the charge of interrupting a cable television broadcast with Falun Gong truth clarification footage. The next day, Mr. Kong's family received a call that notified them that Mr. Kong was in a hospital for emergency treatment. When the family members arrived at the hospital, Mr. Kong had already been taken into surgery. His entire body was bruised, his back was burned from electric batons and his neck area was badly injured.

In June 2006, Mr. Kong Xiangzhu developed tubercular meningitis from the torture at the Tenth Division in Mudanjiang Prison and fell unconscious numerous times. In July 2006, after receiving medical treatment outside the prison for a period of time, his condition didn't improve. He was unable to move his lower body, he wasn't able to take care of his bodily functions and he was absent-minded. Mr. Kong was in critical condition.

Mr. Kong's family requested his release numerous times, but the prison authorities seemed to put no value on human lives. They didn't care whether practitioners lived or died. They had families complete applications for release on bail to seek medical treatment, but there was no word on the applications after several months. After ten months of effort by family members, the Mudanjiang Prison finally released Mr. Kong after extorting 5,000 yuan from the family. However, Mr. Kong Xiangzhu was extremely emaciated and unconscious at the time of his release. After two more months of suffering, Mr. Kong passed away at 10:00 p.m. on June 23, 2007.

Since July 20, 1999, at least 16 practitioners who didn't give up their belief in Truth-Compassion-Forbearance have been persecuted to death in Shuangyashan City, according to reports from local people. This number only includes people with confirmed names, and does not include the deaths that couldn't be verified. The deceased practitioners are Ms. Wu Lingxia, Mr. Liu Jinshan, Ms. Yin Ling, Mr. Ji Songshan, Ms. Guo Huailing, Mr. Li Ruqing, Mr. Pan Xingfu, Mr. Liu Guoyu, Mr. Cui Longzhi, Mr. Yu Zhixian, Mr. Li Fengwen, Mr. Kong Xiangzhu, Mr. Wu Yueqing, Ms. Yu Fengchun, Mr. Shan Zhenchang and Ms. Dai Xiaoling.

(Clearwisdom.net) On June 23, 2009, members of the "," collaborating with local community workers and policemen, harassed seven Falun Gong practitioners in Luzhou City, Sichuan Province, and searched the homes of five of them. About ten people, including policemen from the Dashanping Police Station and community workers from Ciyuanlu Community, broke into Ms. Tang Xuzhen's home and arrested her.

Ms. Tang, 73, is a retired associate professor from Luzhou Medical Institute. Ten years ago, she was diagnosed with nose and throat cancer, but practicing Falun Gong cured her. While others who were diagnosed with the same cancer died, Professor Tang was leading a healthy life and she felt deep gratitude to Falun Dafa and Master Li.

Because she shared her positive experience with Falun Dafa and told people about the persecution of practitioners, she was arrested and detained seven times by the Luzhou City 610 Office. She was detained for two years and sent to a forced labor camp for three years. When she returned home, she was watched and followed all the time over the past years.

Once she went out with a friend and saw a man filming them with a video camera. She went up to him and tried to talk to him, but he jumped into his car and drove away quickly. Officers from the Dashanping Police Station also took pictures of her secretly and showed the pictures to her husband. Once she came home by taxi and noticed several police cars, policemen, and community workers surrounding her home.

Once again Professor Tang is being "illegally detained" at the Naxi Detention Center. Tang Deyuan, a key member of the local 610 Office, has often searched practitioners' homes and harassed them. He has actively persecuted Falun Gong in the past. Workers from Xinmalu Community, Lianxilu Community, Dongshengqiao Community in Lantian District, Jinianbiao Community, and others also took part in the recent harassment.

(Clearwisdom.net) On January 5, 2004, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province Falun Gong practitioner Mr. Liao Nuli was "illegally sentenced" to ten years by the Futian District Court in Shenzhen City. Mr. Liao was taken to Sihui Prison in Guangdong Province where he was subjected to brutal torture.

While in the Seventh Division at Sihui Prison, Mr. Liao experienced inhumane treatment. In 2006, guard Zhong Shaobin ordered inmate Wang Guihai to beat Mr. Liao. After beating Mr. Liao unconscious, the prison's doctor diagnosed Mr. Liao as not in critical condition. Subsequently, guard Zhong again threatened Mr. Liao, telling him not to create any trouble or else the next time he would not be treated so lightly. The head of the prison politics management, who was also the deputy chief of the Seventh Division, Zhang Chaobin, covertly observed the interaction to see how the situation would develop. Deputy chief Zhang also told guard Zhong not to be lenient.

Mr. Liao found the handling of this incident unacceptable and wrote a letter of appeal to the prison. The prison warden, Shang Dongping, returned the appeal letter to the Seventh Division and said that the matter should be taken care of internally. When deputy chief Zhang Chaobin received the notice, he placed administrative sanctions on Mr. Liao. The secretary and chief of the Seventh Division physically tortured Mr. Liao, increased the intensity of his labor, and punished him at night using methods such as running or military training. This type of physical torture lasted from 2004 to 2009.

On June 26, 2009, Mr. Liao Nuli was released from prison. The head of "education transformation" and the deputy chief of the prison division, Chen Yuanbin, withheld Mr. Liao's three patents, published papers, some documents proving his attained credentials Mr. Liao received while in prison and some travel expense reimbursements provided by the prison.

When Mr. Liao was released, staff from the "610 Office" and police department from his home town picked him up and took him for further persecution. When Mr. Liao was first arrested, his bank card, computer, cellphone, various IDs and cash were confiscated by the Shenzhen City Police Department and "610 Office." Because Mr. Liao has been unable to retrieve the items held by Shenzhen City, he is not able to work. He has no income and there is no welfare for him to fall back on.

(Clearwisdom.net) Forty-five year-old practitioner Ms. Guo Lirong from Chengdu City in Sichuan Province is a former electrical engineer from the Qianfeng Electronics Corporation Ltd., having been fired simply because she practiced Falun Gong. On the afternoon of July 18, 2009, Ms. Guo was arrested a second time, while working in the Junxuwan Restaurant in Chengdu City. At approximately 4:30 p.m., plainclothes and other officers from the Fuqinglu Police Station, including officials from the Fuqinglu Administration Office, ransacked her home, and confiscated CDs, a computer and other family belongings. The personnel involved in the break-in included household register officer Li Xia and police officer Diao (last name) from the Fuqinglu Police Station.

That same evening, Ms. Guo was taken to the Xingjin Brainwashing Center. At this time, police station officials have notified Ms. Guo's family about her arrest.

Ms. Guo's mother, an elderly woman in her eighties, suffers from heart disease, asthma and other illnesses. After finding out that her daughter was arrested again, she broke into tears and was unable to sleep the entire night.

Ms. Guo was previously arrested by personnel from the Fuqinglu Police Station and Fuqinglu Administration Office on July 30, 2008. Subsequently, officials ransacked Ms. Guo's home, and she was sent to the Xinjin Brainwashing Center and detained for over three months. During that period of time, her parents tried to seek help with her rescue from numerous sources. Meanwhile, Ms. Guo held a hunger strike to protest the persecution. She was finally released when she was in critical condition.

To learn more details about the persecution experienced by Ms. Guo before 2006, please read the article below:

Tang Xiaodong, head of the Fuqinglu Administration Office and "610 Office" in Chengdu City: 86-28-83243610 (Office), 86-13982072465 (Cell)
Tang Zhonggui, chief of Fuqinglu Police Station
Li Xia, household-register officer

(Clearwisdom.net) At around 8:30 a.m. on June 23, 2009, Ms. Guan Yujing from Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, was taken away from the building where she lived. She is currently being detained at the No. 1 Detention Center in Fuzhou City.

Guan Yujing used to be the judge for the Fujian Province People's High Court. She has been working in the judicial system for over twenty years.

Because she has refused to give up Falun Gong in the face of persecution, Guan Yujing had been sent to a mental hospital twice and was once to a year of forced labor. On January 14, 2004, she was arrested while she was at work, and was sentenced to four years in prison. Ms. Guan used to have a happy family, but after her sentencing in 2004, her husband divorced her. Her family has also suffered a lot during these past years of persecution.

After suffering four years in prison, Guan Yujing came back home in early 2008, but she has now once again been arrested. Her parents, who are over 70 years old, and her teenage child are all very worried about her.

The following are Guan Yujing's own words, from a letter of appeal written in October 2004:

"I had been very weak and often got sick since I was young. In order to have a healthy body, I had practiced many different kinds of qigong. In 1997, a colleague introduced Falun Gong to me. I since gained a healthy body, and more than that, my mind was purified. I follow the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and try to be a good person with a high moral standard. I don't accept any bribes from clients, such as money or dinner invitations. I donated several tens of thousands of "yuan" that I earned in the stock market and lottery to the provincial "Hope Project" and "Cunlei Project." I treat people around me kindly, work hard, and regard fame and personal interests lightly. It is Falun Gong that makes me healthy both physically and mentally and has improved my moral standards.

"However, in July 1999, such a good practice was persecuted. Many groundless accusations were leveled against it. Overnight, millions of practitioners suddenly found themselves positioned on the opposite side of the government. Facing such a situation, I decided to go to Beijing to appeal and say a just word for Falun Gong. On December 26, 1999, I went to the State Appeals Bureau in Beijing, but I was arrested before I was even able to enter the gate of the bureau. I was sent back and detained in the local detention center. Three days later, unbelievably, I was escorted by the people from the court and my family members, and was forcibly sent to a mental hospital. I wasn't allowed to leave there after the Chinese New Year in 2000. Later, I learned what had happened. Because the officials in my work unit were going to fire me because they knew I went to Beijing to appeal, my family members made such a painful decision in order to save my job.

"In March 2000, during the National People's Congress, Falun Gong practitioners wrote a public letter to the People's Congress. Police, led by Deng Benxing from the municipal police department, searched my home. Because they found a copy of the public letter and a copy of the signed letter at my home, I was arrested and detained in the No. 1 Detention Center of Fuzhou City. Fifteen days later, I was once again sent to the mental hospital. This time, my family didn't agree to send me to the mental hospital, but the authorities deceived my family and forced them to sign an absurd agreement, stating that without this agreement from the work unit and police department, I would not be allowed to leave the hospital. During the period in the hospital, I was forced to take medicines and was given injections that were very harmful to the brain and nervous system. I was tied to a metal bed by four male patients in order to forcibly administer those medicines. When the head of the Party committee from my work unit came to visit me, I told him they should not put me in a mental hospital as a form of detention. I was told that if I wrote the "," promising to give up Falun Gong practice, I could be allowed to leave the hospital. I had been detained there for more than four months before I left. I was still under house arrest after returning home.

"During the Chinese New Year of 2001, the Tiananmen self-immolation incident was produced to frame Falun Gong practitioners, and the persecution of practitioners became more severe. I decided to make some copies of the materials to expose the lies. I was reported to the police and was illegally arrested. After being detained at the No. 2 Detention Center for a month, I was sent to a forced labor camp. In the labor camp, I was detained in a confinement cell where there was only a bare concrete floor and we were not even allowed to use a newspaper to cover the floor. Every night, guards and the head of the labor camp took turns trying to force me to write a so-called "repentance statement." I was not allowed to sleep for eighteen consecutive nights. During that period, the officials from my work unit came to announce that I had been dismissed from my job and my qualifications as a judge were revoked. Under intense pressure, I was forced to be "" and wrote the so-called "guarantee statement." After being subjected to forced labor for one year plus 15 days, I was released in March 2002. In June I start to working again at my original work unit. On January 2004, when I was at work, I was arrested and later detained at the No. 2 Detention Center. My home and my office were searched..."

During her detention in Fujian Women's Prison, Guan Yujing was subjected to inhumane torture because persisted in her belief. Feng Ningsheng, deputy head of the Education Section, Prison Administration Bureau of Fujian Province, collaborated with the prison guards to torture Ms. Guan physically and mentally. Guan Yujing had been cuffed with both hands together and hung up with only the tips of her toes touching the ground for three days and three nights. Ms. Guan had written letters to report the inhuman treatment to the head of the prison, but she received no replies. After she was released from prison in early 2008, she wrote letters to the Discipline Inspection Division of the Prison Administration Bureau to report what she had been subjected to in the prison. The letters were once again ignored.

(Clearwisdom.net) California State Assemblyman Jose Solorio recently wrote to President Obama and Secretary Clinton urging them to help release two Falun Gong practitioners who are imprisoned in China. Following is the text of the letter:

I am writing on behalf of Joanna (MaQiong) Wang and Ping Yu, residents of California. It is my understanding that both women have mothers who are now detained by Chinese authorities because of their beliefs in a peaceful meditation practice known as Falun Gong.

Joanna's mother, Jinhua Ma, 57, has been detained at Anhui Woman's Forced Labor Camp since September, 2008. Ping's mother, Chunyan Wang, 55, has been illegally sent to prison twice since 2001 -- most recently on August 14, 2007, where she is being held at Dabei Prison in Liaoning Province. Both mothers, who were law-abiding citizens, were arrested for engaging in the universal right to freedom of religion.

July 20, 2009 marks the tenth anniversary of the Chinese government's campaign against Falun Gong. At this sole moment in time, I respectfully urge that you focus on the ongoing human rights violations occurring in China against Falun Gong practitioners. I believe our government should and can do something about this situation. In fact, I understand that a number of Falun Gong practitioners have been released as a direct result of actions taken by United States senators and congressional members.

Our nation was founded upon the principle of safeguarding religious freedom. We have been a leader in protecting human rights and should continue this tradition by speaking out on behalf of Falun Gong practitioners. Therefore, I respectfully request that your staff look into Mrs. Ma and Mrs. Wangs' cases, and help with their early releases as you deem appropriate.

FDIC: "Urgent Appeal: Dozens of Lives at Risk in Daqing Prison as Authorities Systematically Starve Falun Gong Prisoners of Conscience"
August 3-The lives of Falun Gong practitioners held in a prison in Northeast China are in grave danger as authorities ordered in mid-July that they be forbidden from eating.... According to multiple reports from inside China, on July 8, 2009, the newly-promoted Deputy Warden of Daqing Prison Li Weilong ordered that all divisions holding Falun Gong practitioners forbid them from going to the canteen and that no one be permitted to bring them food. Li-who eyewitnesses say has himself been known to beat Falun Gong detainees-gave further orders on July 12 to force feed certain practitioners gruel mixed from raw corn flour, water, and large amounts of salt.

The current decision to starve Falun Gong detainees in Daqing Prison is the latest in a history of systematic abuses meted out against practitioners held at the facility....The Center more recently learned of the death of 43-year-old Mr. Zhu Hongbing (???), who had worked until his arrest in 2001 at the Seventh Oil Extraction Plant under the city's Petroleum Bureau. Zhu died in his home on June 18, 2009, almost six months after his release from Daqing prison, where he had been held for seven years following a show trial. A photo of Zhu taken after his release from prison and recently obtained by the Center shows his emaciated body.

To read more, view the photo of Zhu Hongbing, and obtain an address for sending an appeal letter: http://faluninfo.net/article/894/?cid=84

FDIC: "Urgent Appeal: Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioner Abducted in China, at Risk of Torture"
August 4-Taiwanese passport holder and Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Shao Yuhua was abducted by Chinese security agents on July 31, while visiting relatives in China's Henan province and has not been heard from since. The Falun Dafa Information Center fears that she is at grave risk of torture and calls on the Taiwanese government to do its utmost to ensure Ms. Shao's immediate release and safe return to Taiwan.

Ms. Shao, 56, was born in Nanyang, Henan province, but obtained a Taiwanese passport after marrying a Taiwanese citizen and resides in HsinChu Prefecture. She learned Falun Gong in Taiwan and has practiced it since December 2007. In early July, Ms. Shao traveled back to Nanyang with her 10-year-old daughter in order to visit her sister. In the early morning of July 31, Ms. Shao reportedly received a phone call at her sister's home from an unknown man requesting that she come downstairs. After she went down she did not return and has not been heard from since.

Chinese Human Rights Defenders: "Three Lawyers Detained for Defending Falun Gong Practitioners"
"CHRD learned on July 15 that three lawyers in different locations in Northeastern China have been detained in recent weeks by local authorities. The three, Liu Ruiping (???), Wang Yonghang (???), and Wang Ping (??), who have previously been harassed because of their work defending Falun Gong practitioners, were seized between July 2 and July 8 in Shandong and Liaoning Provinces.

Wang [Yonghang] and his wife were both taken away; his wife was released the next day. When she went to the police station on July 6, police presented a criminal detention warrant stating that her husband had been detained in accordance with Article 300 of the Criminal Code. Article 300... is regularly used against Falun Gong practitioners [to imprison them for up to 12 years]. Wang is believed to be held in Dalian City PSB Detention Center."

To read more: http://www.crd-net.org/Article/Class9/Class10/200907/20090717105130_16315.html

The Prague Post: "Woman tells of life in Chinese labor camp: Jailed for joining Falun Gong, forced to pack 8,000 chopsticks daily"
July 29-"Xiong Wei spent two years in a Chinese labor camp. Her crime was membership in the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement... Back in Beijing, Xiong was so enthusiastic about the [health] effects [of Falun Gong] that she felt compelled to spread the word. She ordered a printer and software that allowed her to access Falun Gong Web sites, which are banned in China, and started producing the leaflets that would later lead to her arrest.

On the day of her arrest, three men who turned out to be undercover police officers grabbed her in broad daylight and stuffed her in the trunk of a car...After spending eight hours in a cell built so that she could only stand up against a wall, Xiong was transported to the women's labor camp in Daxing, a Beijing suburb, where she was made to pack between 6,000 and 8,000 chop sticks per day.

Xiong managed to avoid the most severe forms of torture because, from the beginning, her case was high profile, generating an outpouring of letters and support from the International Society for Human Rights."

To read more: http://www.praguepost.com/tempo/1868-woman-tells-of-life-in-chinese-labor-camp.html

Taipei Times: "Editorial: The need to defend one's own"
August 5-"Reports on Saturday that two Taiwanese citizens were detained by Chinese police were a stark reminder of the unbridgeable divide between democracy and authoritarianism. Shao Yuhua (???), a Falun Gong practitioner who immigrated from China 11 years ago, was taken away, along with her Taiwan-born daughter, while visiting her family in Henan Province, the Taiwan Falun Dafa Association said.

The arrests illustrate the severity of China's crackdown on Falun Gong... It is unclear how many people have been sentenced to prison or thrown into the extrajudicial laogai system, in which prisoners have no recourse to courts, their families may not be informed of their whereabouts or sentence, and sentences are subject to arbitrary extension.

If Taipei keeps quiet on Shao's detention, it will be failing its obligation to protect its citizens. It must push decisively and sincerely for the release of Shao and her daughter."

[FDIC editor's note: According to the most recently available information, Shao's daughter is no longer being held in custody; Shao remains in detention]

To read more: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2009/08/05/2003450392

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER

Contacts: Gail Rachlin (+1 917-757-9780), Levi Browde (+1 646-415-0998), Erping Zhang (+1 646-533-6147), or Joel Chipkar (+1 416-731-6000)

Fax: 646-792-3916 Email: contact@faluninfo.net, Website: http://faluninfo.net/

(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Dafa practitioners in Johor Bahru, a southern city in Malaysia held a series of activities over the past several weekends in local super markets. They demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises and other aspects of traditional Chinese culture and informed the local people about the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

From 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Falun Gong practitioners demonstrated the exercises and played waist drums in turn. The young practitioners' exercise demonstration drew a lot of attention. Besides the exercise demonstration, Master Li Hongzhi's exercise instruction video and a film introducing Falun Dafa's wide dissemination around the world were played. Some practitioners talked with audience members who were interested in learning more about Falun Gong.

Since the persecution of Falun Gong began in 1999, many media repeated the lies fabricated by the Chinese Communist Party. As a result, many people have had misunderstandings about Falun Gong. Such an activity provides many people who have misunderstood Falun Gong an opportunity to learn the truth.

The waist drum team composed of Singapore practitioners came to support. Their performance was warmly received by the audience. The management of the super market arranged the waist drum team to parade through the two-story building so that staff members of each shop in the supermarket could watch their performance. They were happy to accept truth-clarification flyers, bookmarks and handmade paper lotus flowers from Falun Gong practitioners.

The series of activities attracted many people to come to learn to practice Falun Gong.

(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Dafa is an advanced cultivation practice of the Buddha School. The nine-day class is the most systematic way to learn the practice. From August 3 to 11, 2009, the nine-day class returned to Mazu, Taiwan. The last time it was held was six years ago.

People in more than 114 countries and areas practice Falun Dafa. Falun Dafa has also received more than a thousand proclamations and awards from governments and civil organizations. China is the only place where the practiced is suppressed. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) extends its persecution of Falun Gong overseas. Many people in Mazu, the land in Taiwan that is geographically closest to China, gave up the practice because of the threats from the CCP.

Ms. Lin has practiced Falun Gong for many years in Taiwan. She has benefited a lot from the practice and wants to introduce the practice to more people. On August 8, 2009, she went to Mazu and joined a parade that supported the 58 million people who have quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. After that, she decided to stay in Mazu to organize the nine-day class.

Ms. Lin said that since Jinmen and Mazu, the outskirt islands of Taiwan that are close to China, officially allowed direct travel between China and Taiwan, the CCP has been watching practitioners. When she was arranging the class, she received a threatening phone call. The person called her and told her not to "waste her time." The person then tried to threaten her by saying, "Many people in Mazu go to China and buy real estate. These people are followed. I am telling you there will be CCP secret agents in your class."

Ms. Lin did not stop. She continued her preparation work and distributed her Falun Dafa materials to every corner of Mazu. She had one thought, "The class will start and I'll let the secret agents know about it. This way they will come to the class and understand the facts of the persecution and the beauty of Falun Dafa."

The first day of the class, a man ran to the classroom panting and exclaimed, "Am I late?" After the class, he eagerly wanted to learn about Falun Dafa. This made Ms. Lin very happy and feel all her efforts were rewarded.

When the man left, he held the book Zhuan Falun in his arms as if it was an invaluable treasure that he had been waiting for.

(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Gong practitioners from Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany held an activity to "clarify the facts" about the persecution of Falun Gong on July 25, 2009. They told the passersby about the ten-year brutal persecution of Falun Gong and collected signatures on a petition calling on the German government to use all possible channels to end the harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners' organs in China.

Signing the petition to stop organ harvesting from living Falun Gong practitioners

Though it was raining, some Germans held umbrellas and listened to information about the persecution of Falun Gong.

One German said, "The German government should stand up for Falun Gong." One German who is working for a university took some Falun Gong truth clarification flyers and said he would give them to some Chinese students he knows. Some Germans asked where they can learn the Falun Gong exercises. Two Chinese students agreed to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after learning the truth.

Three ladies from the Turkey Culture Association could not understand the persecution. "Why has this happened?" Falun Gong practitioners explained that Falun Gong follows the principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, which are not compatible with the CCP's lies, hatred and violence. There were also more Falun Gong practitioners than CCP members. So the former head of the CCP started the persecution because of his jealousy. When they understood this, they invited Falun Gong practitioners to attend their seminar and tell other Turkish people about Falun Gong in Germany.

A man from Sri Lanka signed the petition and said he would tell other Sri Lankans working and living in Germany about the persecution.

Three young men signed the petition without any hesitation when they learned about the persecution. They took extra flyers for their friends.

A German who has done Yoga for over twenty years said that he could see that Falun Gong is a peaceful meditation. After reading the Dafa introduction and the display boards exposing the persecution, he signed the petition and said, "There are lots of good traditions in Chinese culture, for example, how to get along well with other people. It is such a shame that the CCP has destroyed these traditional values."

An older German couple said they had experienced the terror of the East German Communist Party and they firmly believed that the organ harvesting of living Falun Gong practitioners is happening in China. When mentioning about the communist party history, they said, "It is such a terror to live under the communist regime."

A young couple with a two year-old child wanted to know more about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. When the couple was talking, the young child went to the torture re-enactment cage and gave his food to the practitioners sitting in the cage.

Another compassionate older German lady really wanted to know what Falun Gong was and why it is persecuted in China. Upon learning the facts, the lady was very touched.

Falun Gong practitioners told her a story which happened during Beijing Olympics. Last year during the Olympics in Beijing, two policemen were monitoring a Falun Gong practitioner who was in her seventies, to prevent her from having contact with foreign visitors. During the surveillance, this Falun Gong practitioner did not treat the policemen as enemies. Instead, she treated them with compassion. Gradually the officers realized that Falun Gong is not like what the CCP portrays in the state media.

This German lady concluded, "The world will become better if everyone treats others as Falun Gong practitioners treat others."

(Clearwisdom.net) In an article dated August 1, 2009, the established French newspaper Le Monde denounced the increasingly violent repression of lawyers in China who dare to defend Falun Gong practitioners and other victims of the Chinese regime's blind violence.

The article stated, "Early in the morning of Wednesday, July 29th, in Beijing, the arrest of Xu Zhiyong, 36, one of the founders of Gongmeng, the organization that serves as a platform for human rights lawyers and the closing of which the authorities have decided on July 17th, marks an escalation in the offensive led against the movement which is more and more frightful."

"These years, lawyers linked to Gongmeng have embraced legal cases that are particularly sensitive. Besides the victims of contamination by melamine-tainted milk, they defend petitioners harassed by the police, members of the religious movement Falun Gong, as well as Tibetans. They are mobilized against the compulsory installation of censorship software on Chinese computers. [...]"

The Le Monde correspondent in China very regularly mentions the repression of Falun Gong in his articles, as well as the repression of people such as lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who has taken on the defense of Falun Gong in the repressive environment of China.

(Clearwisdom.net) For the last ten years the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has exhausted all of the nation's resources in persecuting Falun Gong. During this unprecedented time, practitioners have endured the persecution, persisted in cultivation, and walked firmly with dignity during the process of "clarifying the truth" to people around the world.

During this time, the practice has spread to over 100 countries, and Falun Dafa Associations are registered organizations around the world. The CCP has failed to extend its persecution overseas, as many politicians, medias and the mainstream society are not taken in by the the party's slander and propaganda. In addition, many Chinese who have been used by the CCP consulates to attack Falun Gong no longer act as the CCP's tools after they learn the truth. Outside of China, the worldwide presence of Falun Gong and the failure of the CCP are indisputable.

In China, the persecution has gone underground and the CCP is trying to block news of the persecution from reaching the outside world, which indicates that the persecution won't be able to continue for long. For the time being, the CCP is saying that Falun Gong has been "fundamentally destroyed," and the persecution in China "has been successful."

According to the Clearwisdom website, in the month of April 2009, there are about 200,000 informational materials production sites established by mainland Chinese practitioners across the country. Each site provides Falun Dafa books, new lectures, Clearwisdom Weekly Magazine, Clearwisdom Weekly Journal Mainland Version, and other truth-clarification materials. At least 40 million mainland practitioners visit the Minghui/Clearwisdom website to exchange information. The website is also an avenue for practitioners around the world to send their greetings, artworks, and poems to Master.

The Shen Yun performances on DVD can be seen by many households in China through the efforts of practitioners distributing them. More than 54 million Chinese have withdrawn from the CCP and its affiliated organizations after learning the truth.

These facts are only part of the story we know through the tightly-controlled Internet in China, but it provides sufficient evidence that practitioners in China are firmly cultivating and have made great strides during the ten years of truth clarification.

At the beginning of the persecution, the CCP used its mass media to slander Falun Gong. However, practitioners have exposed all of the CCP's lies during the process of clarifying the truth and resisting the persecution. For instance, the "Tiananmen Square Self-immolation" incident gave practitioners the opportunity to clarify the truth. After learning the truth, many Chinese citizens immediately stopped supporting the persecution.

A high-level CCP delegation once stayed at the famous Waldorf Astoria and Towers in New York City. Staff from the Chinese Consulate in New York delivered to them two bouquets of flowers--one white and one yellow--according to the usual custom. As it turns out, the staff members were criticized because the delegation was unhappy with the colors of the flowers, since white symbolizes death and yellow symbolizes Falun Gong. This incident shows how much the CCP fears Falun Gong. Zhili Chen, one of Zemin Jiang's cohorts in the persecution of Falun Gong, refused to use the front gate of the hotel, but instead used the door near the trash dumpster to enter and leave the hotel. She was afraid of getting another subpoena from practitioners.

In China, a confidential document delivered in February 2009 from a CCP City Council showed that the CCP considers 2009 to be a "sensitive year," a year when the CCP should be in "the most intense state of combat readiness," with the first priority being to strike down Falun Gong. If the persecution was successful, as the CCP claimed, then why is the CCP, which controls all levels of organizations in the country, so afraid?

During ten years of persecution, practitioners in China have gradually matured in cultivation from initially not knowing how to face the persecution to enduring the persecution without hesitation and actively working to bring the persecution to an end. They come from all walks of life and classes of society, and can cultivate in their own families and social environment as long as they truly cultivate themselves, whether they are male or female, young or old, rich or poor. Each person is a member of society and has his or her own colleagues and friends.

Practitioners clarifying the facts help people to understand the truth and resist the persecution. The environment created by practitioners who cultivate well directly counters the persecution, therefore acts of persecution will naturally not occur. Because of this, it seems that people don't see Falun Gong in public or the persecution. This actually shows the maturity of cultivation and the success of resisting the persecution. When everyone knows the truth and resists the persecution using their hearts and actions, the CCP will naturally disintegrate and the persecution will end.

After I read this passage, I felt I almost wanted to cry, and that I didn't live up to Master's expectation for us to grow and become mature.

I also wished that I could meet Master's requirement instantly, so as to relieve Master's worries about us. Nevertheless, during critical trials, I failed. Lately, I've felt very tired. At the beginning, I didn't know why, as I had been practicing the exercises and studying the every day. In addition to that, I also tried my best to save sentient beings. Why do I still feel so tired? Two days ago, because of a small matter, I got into a quarrel with my husband. Obviously, I was not able to pass the test, and I felt terrible. Why is my getting so poor?

I have thought that as long as I do the "three things" that Master requires of us, and seem to do better than the practitioners around me, I would be able to keep up with the process of Fa-rectification. In fact, this is not the case. Doing the three things is just the larger picture of what Dafa practitioners are supposed to do during the Fa-rectification period. However, on an individual level, when I can't meet the standard of the Fa in my realm, especially if I remain stagnant, in the same state, it will certainly affect the things I do in Fa-rectification. Thus, I won't be able to keep up with the pace and rhythm of Fa-rectification.

I feel that I am currently in such a stagnant state. It is like throwing a punch. I intend to use 100% of my stamina, but somehow only 70% is in effect when it reaches the target. I just feel that the other 30% is missing. In actuality, the 30% is missing because my xinxing is not up to par. Why so? When I hear people gossiping behind my back, I feel angry, and I unwittingly look for an excuse to defend myself. In the face of condemnation, I feel as though I will collapse. I get angry and grief-stricken when I can't convince people to quit the evil party, thinking that they are very difficult to save. When these things happen, where is my compassion? In fact, these things come about all because I have not solidly cultivated myself well.

When I hear Master say, "Let compassion spring from your heart, maintain a peaceful appearance," on the exercise tape, I feel shocked. In fact, it is required of us as practitioners that we cultivate our compassion on a daily basis, in all matters, and at all times. It is just that we don't take it seriously, and we often forget the most important element in cultivation.

After reading Master's recent lecture, I have come to understand that practitioners' cultivation states have increasingly affected their surroundings and the world's people. The paths that we are taking and the state of Fa-rectification are closely related to each other. We must take seriously our attachments and human notions which affect our saving sentient beings, and cultivate ourselves solidly. If we can do this, the so-called "gaps," conflicts, and lack of coordination that exists among practitioners will diminish, and we will become more mature and rational as a whole. Our compassionate Master will then have less to worry about.

(Clearwisdom.net) Master said in Zhuan Falun: "Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's master." Every practitioner knows that everything we can achieve during our cultivation is done by Master, including, the elimination of our attachments, the reduction of the malicious elements, and the transformation of our bodies. We generally just need to maintain a pure wish to improve ourselves.

First one: Two years ago, an informational materials site built by a practitioner was destroyed during her working hours. She received a phone call from another practitioner and understood that the situation was very serious. The police were looking for her. Although she kept sending forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the persecution that the evil forces added to her, she still felt a strong pressure from other dimensions. She felt that there were a lot of unrighteous elements in her dimension. They affected her and enhanced her attachment to fear.

When she sensed that her righteous thoughts were lost because of the fear, she asked herself, "Why should I fear? Fame, sentimentality or material interests, which one am I afraid of losing?" She got rid of the attachments to all of them one by one. Then she thought, "Am I still attached to my body? I understand that enlightened beings could give up their lives for the sentient beings of the universe. If I could save the sentient beings by giving up my life, would I do it?" After deep thinking, she answered firmly, "Yes." At this moment, she felt that the unrighteous elements in her dimension were breaking apart."

Then, she thought, "If the old forces take advantage of my thought of giving up my life, and control the ordinary people to persecute me to death, what will happen to those people? They will suffer from karmic retribution for murdering a Falun Gong practitioner and it's impossible for them to have a future. In order to let the sentient beings have a bright future, I could never allow any kind of persecution against me!" She held one hand vertically and sent forth the most righteous thought, "Eliminate all the evil creatures and elements. For sentient beings, the evil forces must not exist. The persecution must stop right away!" She clearly felt that the unrighteous elements in her dimension had disappeared right away. Everything became peaceful and harmonious.

Second one: An older practitioner who had practiced Falun Gong for more than 10 years, realized that her attachments to lust and sentimentality affected other practitioners. She said to herself, "I thought that I had already let go of the attachments to lust and sentimentality. However, I still find unrighteous elements in my dimension. I really feel ashamed, being saved by Master, and I really fall short of the expectations of the sentient beings." She said in her mind to Master, "Master, I have to get rid of these dirty things. I don't want these dirty things to pollute the new universe and affect the purity and beauty of the new universe or other practitioners. Master, please support me. I must let go of these dirty things! For certain!" After sleeping, she felt clear, and that the cosmic body was transparent in her dimension. The unrighteous elements had been reduced a lot. Therefore, she deeply felt the great mercy of Master and the meaning of "Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's Master." ("Zhuan Falun")

We were born in the old universe. In order to enter the new universe and become an enlightened selfless beings, we have to let go of selfishness. When we meet the standard of the new universe, Master can do everything for us. In many cases, Master only wants to see our thought of "for the benefit of other people." That thought will bring a difference that is easy to tell.

Our cultivation has reached the final stage. Some practitioners are still in the realm of self, such as, "I would like to practice cultivation. I want to reach higher levels." For example, while facing tribulations, these practitioners will generally think, "He (or she) is helping to raise my xinxing," "I am a practitioner, I should not argue with him (or her)," instead of standing on the other people's side and understanding the problem with the mindset of saving them.

We really don't care about how sentient beings treat us. We only wish that all the people with predestined relationships with Dafa will enter the new universe and have a bright future.

(Clearwisdom.net) After reading Teacher's lecture "Fa Teaching at the 2009 Greater New York International Fa Conference", I recalled what I had seen in a dream in June 2000. I would like to share with fellow practitioners on "the grand trial."

In June 2000, a few practitioners and I went to Beijing to validate the . Police officers from my hometown came to arrest me and put me in a detention center. While there I had a dream one night where I clearly saw what was going on in the grand trial after the Fa-rectification ended.

Early on, the sky was gray, a kind of muddy color, but all of a sudden the gray clouds in the northeast direction started tumbling like boiling water, and kept growing bigger and bigger. A gigantic wind broke open all graves and coffins on earth including clay urns. All the dead came alive because they had to stand trial.

The gray sky then gradually turned light blue, and finally became transparent blue, making heaven and earth so clean without a single speck of dust.

In the air, people were arrayed in front of a judge's bench--many lines had formed. I was standing at the back. As the grand trial started, heavenly soldiers continuously brought in many people who knelt in front of the bench. At this moment, I saw a man being escorted by two celestial soldiers passing by me. I was astounded, "Ah! He's a devil!"

Waking up from my dream, I couldn't remember who was the person being escorted, but I knew that he must be someone familiar to me. Maybe he was the one who the old forces arranged ages ago to do something against Dafa or me. However, regardless of who the person was, I always remind myself to trust Teacher and the Fa, and always deal with interference with righteous thoughts. I will forever cultivate Dafa and follow Teacher so I can return to my real home.

In the past ten arduous years of Dafa cultivation amidst persecution, even though I have been on many bumpy roads, I have finally become a new life created by Dafa. No interference can ever shake my determination in assisting and following Teacher's Fa-rectification.

In September 2000, I was hit by a motorcycle on the street. People around me wanted to call my family, but I stopped them because I knew my sons wouldn't let the driver off the hook. A nearby woman who was selling apples said to me, "You're in such bad shape, but still don't blame the driver. Where does one find such a good person these days? I will help you get home." So I endured the pain and walked home with her help.

Once I got home and laid in bed, I could no longer move. I couldn't even get up to use the bathroom. My legs were so swollen that I had a hard time taking my pants off. My husband and children saw me in such pain, and wanted to take me to the hospital and find the driver who hit me. I insisted they not do anything at all. I stayed in bed reciting the Fa every day. Eventually I was able to get up.

At the time, there were many practitioners in our area who were going to Beijing to validate the Fa. The police had set up road blocks, so many practitioners rode their bicycles and took the back roads into Beijing. But I couldn't even walk yet, what should I do? I was so eager to go as well. I forgot about the pain and the fact that I could not yet walk. I took my bicycle and went with the other practitioners. The strange thing was that my legs didn't hurt at all and I was able to ride my bicycle pretty fast. As such, my legs were cured.

The miracle happened to my body and my improvement set a solid foundation for passing tests from my family.

My family members are afraid of being persecuted. When I pay attention to my safety, it usually eases their worries. When I raise my xinxing, I can certainly pass this test.

My husband is head of a section in our local police department. My two sons both work for the township government. In 2000, I was detained after going to Beijing to validate the Fa. My husband felt he had lost face and my sons were afraid that their careers would be affected. After my husband took me home from the detention center, he said with a dark face, "Do not practice anymore. I feel very shamed that you were detained." I looked at him and said, "You know that I am healthy from practicing Falun Gong. If you agree to the following conditions, then I will stop practicing. You will need to brew Chinese medicine for me every day. Since you don't want me to be truthful, compassionate and tolerant, then I will want to eat well and dress well every day. I will not work. You will have to cook good food for me. If you cannot meet these conditions, then I will continue to practice." He was stunned after listening to me. Then he said, "Go ahead and keep practicing, I won't stop you."

My sons told me that the mayor's mother also practiced Falun Gong. The mayor wanted to keep his position so he made her publicly denounce Falun Gong in a meeting. I told my sons that they should not do such things just to keep their positions, and they should not commit such a bad deed even if they were promoted to head of a county. My sons agreed to let me practice at home, but said I couldn't go out or meet with other practitioners, so I said, "That won't do. I need to go and pass out flyers and save people. If you don't let me go out, both of you will need to quit your jobs and watch me at home every day." They now no longer interfere with me validating the Fa. I walk the streets every day "clarifying the truth" about Falun Gong. Sometimes when people ask if I still practice Falun Gong, my husband tells them, "Oh, yes. Falun Gong is pretty good. She hasn't taken any medication for over ten years. It saved me enough money to buy a house."

On September 1, 2004, Teacher published the article "Let Go of Human Attachments and Save the World's People." How could I clarify the truth even better? I came up with an idea. I bought some small items wholesale, and every day I packed a lunch and rode around on a tricycle to sell them. That way I was able to clarify the truth street by street. At the time, the had not yet been published, so I just told everyone the facts of Falun Dafa. After the Nine Commentaries was published, I started to help people withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. I sometimes traveled through a dozen villages, and I met many people who didn't want to hear the truth about Falun Gong. I encountered all sorts of reactions. One time, I ran into a person I knew was a judge. He said, "You are not short of money. Don't you feel shamed selling things on the street?" I replied, "I am not stealing things, so why should I be ashamed? Communist officials who drink, see prostitutes, and gamble every day, they should be ashamed."

One time I saw an older lady collecting garbage on my way home. She was over seventy years old. She parked her tricycle on the road and walked down into a ditch to collect garbage. A black car drove up and was blocked by the tricycle. The car stopped and an overweight man jumped out. One could tell he was a communist official. He scolded and kicked the old lady's tricycle into the ditch, and then drove away. The old lady tried everything to get her tricycle out of the ditch, but couldn't. She was very upset and started cursing the communist party. I helped her get her tricycle out and told her not to get too upset because a peasant can't afford to go to the hospital if she falls sick due to being upset. The old lady was moved, and said, "You are such a nice person, you must practice Falun Gong." I knew that this was the result of Dafa practitioners clarifying the truth. Dafa has established deep roots in people's hearts.

After a while, many people in the villages became familiar with me. More and more people have heard me talking about the truth of Falun Dafa, and many say "Falun Dafa is good" when they see me. After a few years, I lost count of how many people I have clarified the truth to, among them over a thousand have withdrawn from the CCP and its affiliated organizations.

I am grateful to Teacher for saving me, I am grateful to fellow practitioners' selfless help. There isn't much longer on the road of Fa validation. I will follow Teacher's words, "The Closer to the End, the More Diligent You Should Be." I will walk the last leg with my fellow practitioners steadfastly and reach consummation.

(Clearwisdom.net) During the period of time when I was detained at the Laiwu City Detention Center, in Shandong Province, I met two Falun Gong practitioners. One of them was Ms. Liu Aifang; the other practitioner was her sister-in-law.

As soon as I came to know that they were Falun Gong practitioners, I became scared and dared not to look straight at them, fearing that they might do harm to me in their pursuit of consummation. There was so much propaganda in the TV news and newspapers, in the first few years since the crackdown, about horrible incidents that the Falun Gong practitioners were accused of, that I felt scared whenever someone mentioned Falun Gong. I thought to myself, "How can I deal with it now that I am living with them?"

After some time, I realized that they were not like what the propaganda portrayed of them. I then asked others in private, "Falun Gong practitioners are said to 'immolate themselves' and 'kill others'. How come you are not afraid of them?" When they saw my scared face, they laughed and said, "Falun Gong practitioners are very kind-hearted and they are good people." Confused, I said, "Do you really think that the Chinese Communist Party would really make up and fabricate evidence against the Falun Gong?" They all thought I was too naive, saying "The toxic milk powder is exempt from governmental testing. So many college students were killed during the June 4th crackdown on the democratic demonstration in 1989, yet they said nobody was killed in Tiananmen Square. Is there really anything true on TV nowadays?"

The women's ward I was in had about 20 inmates who committed all kinds of crimes including murder, drug dealing, prostitution, etc. Among all of the inmates, the two practitioners stood out. They were very sympathetic toward others and often encouraged us to be good people if we could get out. They told us about the principle, "Good rewarded by good and evil rewarded by evil." Every day they volunteered to help senior or ill inmates wash clothes and do cleaning. They would wash the dirty bed sheets that nobody else wanted to wash. Whenever someone was in low spirits or had a fight with others, they would pro-actively mediate and make peace.

What was most praiseworthy of the two practitioners was how they dealt with the extremely limited space for sleeping in the cell. Sometimes it was hard to arrange sleeping space everyone in the cell even if lying down on our sides. Every night other inmates would quarrel with each other to get a little more space and comfort. Only the two practitioners would not complain at all. Sometimes they would overlap their legs on top of each other's to go to sleep. Sometimes they would even take turns being up doing the Falun Gong exercises just so others could have enough space to go to sleep. Even so, the guards would still often curse them for no reason.

Ms. Liu Aifang and her sister-in-law often shed tears when they thought about the fact that four of their family members were detained, leaving seniors and children at home unattended. Ms. Liu's sister-in-law sometimes could not fall asleep at night and was not accustomed to the food. Sometimes when she did the Falun Gong exercises she had to remain alert so as not to be caught by the guards. Sometimes she had to face irrational interrogations. One time she was handcuffed and shackled. All of these maltreatments took their toll on her and she fell ill. Some of her symptoms included heart palpitations and dizziness. Later, the hospital staff diagnosed her of multiple diseases. They told me that they had practiced Falun Gong for over ten years and did not need to take even a single pill of medicine; however their health had deteriorated after about twenty days of constant abuse in the detention center.

One time Ms. Liu's sister-in-law had tears in her eyes after an interrogation session. It turned out that during the interrogation she saw her husband. A guard had ordered him to practice reporting to the guards facing the door. Upon his refusal, the guard slapped his face.

The history of the detention centers beating Falun Gong practitioners goes back a long way, and it does not just involve one or two practitioners. In 2008, a practitioner who was a retired teacher in his/her sixties, and who was in perfect health died from being beaten after twenty some days in the detention center. Another practitioner named Lu Changming was handcuffed and shackled during his detention. The guards prodded the criminal inmates to brutally beat him and said, "You can be out there killing people, committing arson, and raping women and we don't care a bit. However, you cannot practice Falun Gong." On January 13, 2009, a practitioner named Wang Hui was arrested while walking on the street. In the detention center, Wang Hui resisted an irrational order from the guards. Based on the decision of the detention center chief Chen Fayong, Wang Hui was detained for only two days and then illegally sent to forced labor camp.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s reign and so-called "stability" are totally supported by violence and lies. Their theory of governing is based on the philosophy of struggling and battling. In plain words, their policies indulge and encourage people's wrongdoing, causing people to deviate farther and farther away from their original kind nature; in turn the whole society becomes more violent. Nowadays medical expenses are very high-priced. Everyday people cannot afford the medical care when they have illnesses. Isn't the purpose of practicing Falun Gong to get a healthier body? How come it is okay for the CCP to persecute Falun Gong practitioners, and not allow the Falun Gong practitioners to speak out and appeal for justice?

(Clearwisdom.net) This message was sent from a military officer from Shandong to his girlfriend. It reflects the inner world of the CCP military officers in service:

"To tell you the truth, I don't believe in the Communist Party at all. Ninety percent of the students from military school must join the CCP. The director talked with me twice, asking me to join the party, but I insisted on not joining because this organization doesn't do anything good. However, I had to join the party when I graduated, because the requirement is that 100 percent of the military graduates must be party members. Although I joined it, I myself know that I don't believe in so-called 'Communism.' I really don't have any belief. However, I don't want to be a person without a belief and I don't want to just believe in money and power like other people. I have been empty and hesitant, and sometimes I even tried to use alcohol. 'What's happened to this world?' 'What's happened to me?' I often ask myself.

"The reality is so cruel. It is so painful to say something is good, but inside you really feel disgusted. When I met your parents it was the first time I had met people who really have a true belief. I was totally moved... Their spiritual energy was so powerful that I believe it can give people a second chance at life... I have never believed in any qigong exercise, but I am wavering now. Maybe it's time to have a true belief..."

After the military officer understood the truth, he quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations using a pen name on the Epoch Times website.

(Clearwisdom.net) At noon on July 21, 1999, I suddenly heard the news that a large number of fellow practitioners were being arrested all around the county, among whom were several practitioners whom I was very familiar with.

We practitioners conduct ourselves based on the principles of Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance. I wondered why being a good person is not allowed by the government? I felt I should step up and tell the government the true situation of Falun Gong practitioners. I had no appetite for lunch and got on the bus to the Hubei Provincial Appeals Office, located near Hongshan Square. The Hubei Provincial Appeals Office is located right next door to the Provincial Government Building and is the two-story building with a placard saying "Hubei Provincial Appeals Office." When I arrived I saw many military vehicles parked on the street. The officers were speaking loudly and giving orders to the soldiers in the vehicles. There were also scattered armed police cars on the street. The front gate to the appeals office was already filled with practitioners, who were standing quietly on the sidewalk, leaving a path for people to pass by. The weather was hot and no one was walking around or moving. Looking from afar, I saw practitioners looking calm and composed.

The street in front of the provincial government was locked down and guarded by the police, who were not allowing anyone to enter the building. More practitioners could not stand further away from the government building. These practitioners came from all over the province and their purpose was simply to voice their support for Falun Gong.

I could feel that the atmosphere was grave. Suddenly a sense of solemnity and tragedy came to my heart, as I knew very well about the brutality and inhuman nature of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I wanted to join the fellow practitioners who were already in the street, but the police would stop anyone, even residents who lived immediately adjacent to the provincial government building. I was familiar with a small lane in the back of the street where the guard would be more lax, so I was finally able to join follow practitioners standing in the street.

The speaker vehicle was driving up and down the street, broadcasting warnings such as "This is an illegal appeal" and telling people to leave. Seeing that their tactics were not working, the speaker vehicle drove away. People from a nearby tall building, the Science and Technology Building near Hongshan Square, opened their windows and looked down curiously at what was happening.

At around 5 o'clock in the afternoon, a large number of armed police officers equipped with shields and batons came to the street where the appeals office was located. They were all shouting slogans.

It was gradually getting dark when several officials from the Appeals Office came out with their portfolio under arms. Seeing they were officials, practitioners approached them to tell them the purpose of our coming here and standing in the street. The officials replied that their appeals would be in vain and they could not help at all with resolving the issue. Then the officials left.

At this time many armed police surrounded us. The street was lined with public transit buses. We were divided and separated by the police until only a narrow path was left open that led to the buses. The police pushed us onto the buses. While I resisted, my hands were immediately forced toward my back by two armed policemen. At the same, my head was pushed down and I was forced onto the bus. At the time, elementary and middle schools were on vacation, so we were taken and detained in various schools. At around one o'clock there were still a large number of practitioners waiting in the park by the street where the provincial government building was located.

The five practitioners who went into the appeals office to negotiate were taken by the authorities to a place in the rural area and dropped off in the middle of nowhere. Some practitioners were detained in police stations, where they were forced to go through repeated overnight interrogations and were released on the evening of the following day.

On July 22, the practitioners from outside of Wuhan City were taken back by their local police and detained until July 23. There were also some practitioners who were released after their names were registered by the authorities.

Based on what I learned from the police, around 7,000 practitioners from all over the province went to the appeals office on July 21.

On July 21, 1999, and later on, practitioners from all the provinces, in addition to Hubei Province, came out to clarify the truth about Falun Gong and to save people from the poison of the government's propaganda.

Coming through ten years of harsh conditions and persecution, Falun Gong practitioners will be even more steadfast in their beliefs and practice of Falun Gong, no matter how frenzied the CCP is. The truth of the brutal persecution will be revealed to the world soon!

(Clearwisdom.net) Editors' note: Each time we publish news of this nature, we do so with heavy hearts. These people started off as public servants, but under the intense pressure applied by the Jiang regime, they were pushed into persecuting Dafa disciples. In the process of destroying the lives of kind, law-abiding citizens, they have sealed their own fates and inevitably faced karmic retribution as punishment. If it weren't for Jiang's wicked orders, perhaps their fates would have been different.

Li Guoqing, 45, was a police officer with the Tuanjie Police Station in Tonghua City, Jilin Province. He was active in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners and often went to their homes to harass them. He actively took part in arresting them as well. The last time he harassed practitioners was a few days before his death,

At 6:57 p.m. June 14, 2008, Li Guoqing fell on the floor in the bathroom at work, turned purple, and his face swelled up. The doctor declared he had died of a stroke.

Two policemen under the age of forty from the same police station died sudden deaths last year.

In 2008, I was illegally detained in a labor camp. In November, the police in my division asked us to sign and put our fingerprints on several documents that they had prepared. They prepared handcuffs and forced each of us to the office one by one. Four policewomen together forcefully put the pen in my hand. One of them pressed my head to the table. They forced me to sign and put my fingerprint on the documents. Here I solemnly declare - all of my words and deeds that didn't comply with Dafa during my detention are invalid. I completely reject all the arrangements of the old forces, and will cultivate in Dafa to the end and do the "three things" well.

(Clearwisdom.net) A "Solemn Declaration" is a person's public statement to the world that whatever he or she has done or said under duress or deception that was against Falun Dafa is null and void. These statements have come from Falun Dafa practitioners in China who wish to express regret that, in the face of physical torture and brainwashing, they signed documents renouncing Dafa and guaranteeing not to practice again. Now, they hereby declare their intention to resume practicing Falun Dafa.