Shen Yun Performing Arts
News and Events Around the World
Accounts of Persecution
People's Hearts Determine Their Futures
Practitioners Exchange Insights and Experiences
(Clearwisdom.net) On February 8, 2011, Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company appeared at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, Australia and received a warm reception and enthusiastic applause from the audience.
On February 10, Shen Yun Performing Arts International Company appeared at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, Australia
Recently, the Chinese Consulate in Sydney sent out an announcement defaming Shen Yun Performing Arts to embassies in Australia. The Chinese Consulate also requested Chinese parents to ask school principals and teachers to cancel tickets they had purchased. The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) attempt to use the consulate to interfere with the Shen Yun show in Sydney was not successful. Many teachers and students came to watch the show and said they would introduce Shen Yun to more people and organize more students to watch it.
Teachers watch Shen Yun and praise its educational value
Graeme Frauenfelder is a teacher of teachers in the subject of creativity and learning at the University of Western Sydney. He lives in northern Sydney, and had seen Shen Yun promotions for the past three or four years but had never seen the show. This year he came to Sydney for the Chinese New Year and again saw the posters, and this time, he decided to go. Saturday happened to be his father’s 82nd birthday and so his father and mother joined him in Sydney “for a very special experience.”
“It’s very professional,” Mr. Frauenfelder said of Shen Yun. “They are all so good.” New York-based Shen Yun brings China’s 5,000-year-old traditional culture to the stage with ancient legends and modern tales portrayed through classical Chinese, and folk and ethnic dance.
“I can actually get a sense of the history and the story, and the spirit of it all,” Mr. Frauenfelder said. He was impressed with the precision and ability of the dancers, saying, “The technicality of the dancing … how much they have to remember to do everything at the same time ... It’s perfection.”
“There’s that mystical element too, with the characters coming down from the heavens and the mythology. It becomes more than just Chinese dance, there’s spirit and soul. There’s something really deep and special."
He commented that he felt the dancers have it in “their heart and spirit to make the world a better place,” and that they “touched people’s hearts and spirits” with their performance. “I know there’s really depth of meaning and purpose behind it all.”
He explained that even though some performances can be technically beautiful, Shen Yun was not just technically beautiful, but also had “heart and soul as well.” He found this really profound and rare. Mr. Frauenfelder said Shen Yun was definitely worth seeing, and he was looking forward to seeing it again next year, and was pleased to hear that Shen Yun presents a new program each year.
Terry Lidgard, principal of Georges River Grammar in Bankstown, was thrilled to see Shen Yun at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney on Feb. 10.
“I like the colour, I like the stories. I think it’s very entertaining and I’m enjoying myself,” he said. “It’s very good to get different cultural experiences, and this is a cultural experience that I’m very pleased about.”
As the principal of one of the largest Anglican Schools in Bankstown, Mr. Lidgard could relate to the playful antics of the young monks in the performance The Little Mischievous Monks, saying, “I thought it was very entertaining--the monks’ scene, I thought, was very good.”
There were many aspects of Shen Yun that impressed Mr. Lidgard, including “the range of colours because it’s so eye catching,” and also the “excellent" costumes and the lighting. "That adds to it,” he said. Mr. Lidgard said Shen Yun had been “a very lively experience and very, very entertaining.”
Scholar of Sociology: CCP’s nature determines its need to defame beauty and kindness
Dr. Xiaohui Lin, a scholar of sociology, religions and Qigong at the University of Technology in Sydney, said, “The CCP’s interference to the Shen Yun show is not a surprise, as the CCP is an evil organization that has destroyed many good and righteous things in China. Shen Yun presents traditional Chinese culture. Thus, the CCP fears Shen Yun and uses lies and deception and other means to interfere with the Shen Yun show.”
Dr. Lin continued, “The CCP’s uses indirect but despicable methods to exert pressure on schools and defame the Shen Yun show. I heard feedback from many audience members saying Shen Yun plays an incomparable role in purifying people’s minds, uplifting moral values and promoting Chinese traditional culture. No other shows can have such an effect. Those who saw the show expressed they were deeply touched. On the other hand, the CCP defames beautiful, kind and good things. This is determined by its nature.”
He said the Shen Yun shows let a Western audience experience Eastern culture and the essence of its art and has educational value for students. Shen Yun lets audience know about Chinese traditional culture's profound connotations. Righteous culture and art are common treasure of human beings and should be promoted.
Scholar in Queensland: The CCP’s defamation of Shen Yun is counterproductive
Mr. Chuiliang Qiu, professor of Politics at the University of Queensland and visiting professor at the Southeast Institute of Dan Jiang University, said that the CCP’s defamation is nonsense and absurd. He said, “It is obvious that CCP exerts pressures everywhere and interferes with the Shen Yun show. City council members, provincial parliament members and federal parliament members received letters from the Chinese consulate asking them not to watch Shen Yun. It was political pressure and had nothing to do with the show itself.”
“The Shen Yun show presents the essence of Chinese traditional culture. Watching Shen Yun helps us to understand Chinese culture. Letting students watch Shen Yun is a good thing.”
He thought that the CCP’s pressure stimulated people’s interests to watch Shen Yun. He said, “I have some friends in political circles. They did not have time to watch the show or did not have much interest in Chinese culture. But because of the CCP’s pressure, they wanted to watch the show. The CCP is just stupid. Such acts are always counterproductive. As a result, more people are interested in Shen Yun. The CCP’s behavior in a free country arouses people’s interest in Shen Yun and antipathy to CCP.”
He concluded, “The CCP government is stupid and can only do stupid things.”
The CCP interferes with schools and teachers
With regard to the CCP’s interference with students and their parents, Dr. Lucy Zhao, Director of New South Wales Falun Dafa Association, one of the hosting organizations of the Shen Yun Show in Sydney said, “Some teachers said that they were told not to watch the show. Otherwise their ability to return to China could be affected. Someone even proposed that people get permission from the Chinese Consulate.”
She continued, “Some teachers felt strange after hearing the news. Why do they need to ask the Consulate's permission to do things in Australia? They did not care.” “On the afternoon of February 16, more than 100 students led by teachers from three schools came to watch Shen Yun. After the show, they felt great and came to know more about Chinese traditional culture and history. Teachers said that they would organize more students to watch the show in the future. It is a matter of pride for the Chinese people.”
(Clearwisdom.net)
Shen Yun Performing Arts curtain call at Wang Theatre on Friday evening, Feb. 11.
February 11 through 13, Shen Yun Performing Arts presented four shows at Boston’s Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre. While Shen Yun has appeared in Boston as part of its world tour for five years, these are the first performances at Wang Theatre. Shen Yun Performing Arts, based in New York, is the world’s premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Each year Shen Yun presents an entirely new production, complete with original orchestral arrangements that combine the sounds of traditional Western and Eastern instruments.
Harvard Professor loves the spiritual quality of Shen Yun
Jane and Rebecca Borjas, wife and daughter of Harvard professor George Borjas, enjoy the opening night in Boston
Professor George Borjas, his wife, and daughter attended opening night in Boston on Friday, Feb 11. Dr. Borjas is the Robert W. Scrivner Professor of Economics and Social Policy at Harvard and has an international reputation as a leading scholar on immigration, labor, and economics.
“I loved it,” Dr. Borjas said. “My main surprise was the spirituality of it. The stories that were being told [through dance] were good versus evil, with good being rewarded at the end.”
Dr. Borjas said he loved the beautiful, elaborate costumes and found the music wonderful.
His wife, Jane Borjas, a science teacher, found it interesting to learn about traditional Chinese culture. She had heard about China’s Terracotta Army and the Chinese story of the Monkey King (from the epic novel Journey to the West) and was happy to see these depicted in dances.
“The Terracotta Army is a monumental series of statues made and buried over 2,000 years ago during the Qin dynasty,” according to the program book. In the dance Recalling the Great Qin, an artist visiting the excavation site of the statues suddenly finds himself back in time as a Qin warrior.
Their daughter Rebecca, a high school student, was surprised by the intricacy of classical Chinese dance and the athleticism of the dancers.
Scientist and professor attends with children, all learn from seeing Shen Yun
Anna Mandinova, a scientist and professor at Harvard Medical School, her daughter Joanna and Joanna's friend Clair, enjoy Shen Yun
Anna Mandinova, a scientist and professor at Harvard Medical School, attended Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company's performance at Wang Theatre on Feb. 11, with her daughter, Joanna, and Joanna’s friend, Clair.
Ms. Mandinova said that bringing together the history of China and contrasting some of the contemporary issues concerning China today was one aspect of the show that she enjoyed.
Ethnic and folk dance is performed together with classical Chinese dance in its purest and most beautiful form. Shen Yun also presents story-based dances depicting legends from ancient China all the way through to modern times.
Joanna said that she would tell her friends that Shen Yun is “a great show with dance and culture with a lot of history learning.” Animated backdrops transport the audience to another world. Projected behind the dancers, the hi-tech images lift the stage and takes viewers back through ancient China allowing them to be part of scenes of traditional daily life from the country's 5,000-year history.
Clair said that she would tell her friends that the show is “very inspiring and exciting” and she, “learned a lot about classic dancing.”
“It’s a great performance, it’s amazing,” Ms. Mandinova said.
After seeing several shows, a lawyer seeks to learn more about Falun Gong and "Truth-Compassion-Tolerance."
Melissa White-Pasquale, a lawyer, attended the Feb. 13 performance in Boston with her mother, Beverly White and daughters. Ms. White-Pasquale said Shen Yun was the "best show."
"I think I’m beginning to understand better the issue with the Falun Gong," Ms. White-Pasquale said. "I didn’t quite understand how that factored in initially when I came for the first show, but now—and they [her daughters] were asking me questions about it too, like they didn’t quite understand, so I was explaining to them. So after I saw the show, it made me go read some things about Falun Gong and try to understand a little bit better. So it was good; it was interesting."
Before she left, she and her children agreed that the dance called Manchurian Elegance was "gorgeous." Her daughter, a young girl, said the piece called Our Story stood out to her. Its a dance about a loving teacher who encourages her students to behave in accordance with "Truth, Compassion, Tolerance."
Shen Yun combines Eastern and Western arts says real estate CEO
Founder and Chairman of the Boston Asian Landlord Association, Mr. Pan brought his wife and three children to the February 12 performance
“It's a beautiful, beautiful show,” Jason Pan exclaimed as he emerged from seeing the Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company's performance on Feb. 11.
Founder and Chairman of the Boston Asian Landlord Association, Mr. Pan brought his wife and three children to the show, to celebrate traditional Chinese culture.
“I really enjoyed it. The choreography and the music, it's excellent,” he said.
Mr. Pan was nostalgic upon hearing the erhu performance. A classical Chinese instrument, the erhu is known for its beautiful, melancholy sound produced by only two strings.
“I think some of the erhu [pieces] are better than violin! Maybe because I grew up with the sound, I really enjoyed that,” he said.
The Shen Yun Orchestra, unique in the world, combines traditional instruments from the East and West, producing one unforgettable sound. Mr. Pan thought the orchestra concept was a perfect balance between cultures and delightful to the ear.
“This is what combines Eastern and Western arts and puts it all together. I really enjoyed it,” he said.
A broker CEO at Midtown Properties and active member of the Landlord Association, Mr. Pan was glad he could take some time to experience classical Chinese art forms with his family. He appreciated all the hard work of the artists to present Shen Yun.
“[They] put a lot of effort in as well. I know that. I appreciate the opportunity to come,” he said.
Shen Yun a popular Christmas gift
John Taylor and Susan Forward at the Shen Yun Boston performance February 11.
John Taylor and Susan Forward were in the audience for the first of four shows at the historic Wang Theatre in Boston
“The colors, the costumes, the scenery, the set design—it’s beautiful,” said Ms. Forward during intermission.
Mr. Taylor runs a nonprofit organization, and Ms. Forward is a government worker. They had independently given each other tickets to the show as a Christmas gift.
“We actually saw an advertisement, and we both independently liked what we saw. For Christmas, we actually gave each other, not realizing it, tickets to this show. And when we opened it, we had both [already] purchased tickets,” Mr. Taylor explained. So the two will be coming back on Sunday to see the show again.
“It’s just beautiful,” said Mr. Taylor. “The dance is just so elegant. … I can’t describe it. It’s just pleasant to watch. It’s just awesome.”
(Clearwisdom.net) From February 11 to 13, 2011, Shen Yun Performing Arts New York Company performed at Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre, Boston.
|
On the evening of February 11, 2011, the audience was enchanted by Shen Yun’s premier show in Boston |
|
Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre, Boston |
|
On the evening of February 11, 2011, Shen Yun’s premier show in Boston concluded with a standing ovation and warm applause |
|
|
|
Audience delighted by Shen Yun
Director of Chinese Calligraphy Association: “Shen Yun brings brightness and hope to people.”
Ms. Wenxi Zhou is Chairperson of the Boston Chinese Calligraphy Association and Secretary of the North American Artistic Painters Association. Mr. Jingming Huang is Vice Chairman of the North American Artistic Painters Association, Director of the New England Chinese Writers Association, and a researcher at the Sino-American Cultural Research Center. They came to watch Shen Yun Performing Arts for the third year.
|
Leaders in the Chinese art circle, Ms. Wenxi Zhou and Mr. Jingming Huang, said after watching Shen Yun: Shen Yun brings brightness and hope to people. |
Ms. Zhou said, “I always feel that Shen Yun is authentic and presents the most righteous and purist Chinese traditional culture. The 5000-year Chinese culture is themed with divine culture. Why is China called divine land? Actually it is because of the presence of divine beings. Shen Yun presents the essence of Chinese culture. Shen Yun is righteous and traditional and encapsulates the 5000-year Chinese culture.”
She continued, “Actually, when we write and paint, there is a divine factor. We stress this aspect, so I come to watch Shen Yun every year.”
Mr. Huang admired Shen Yun’s presentation of Chinese culture, “The music of Shen Yun has a lot of pentatonic scales, which are special music of ancient Chinese Han people.”
Ms. Zhou has engaged in Chinese calligraphy and painting for more than 30 years. She thinks that Shen Yun offers high level art enjoyment. She said, “Shen Yun’s costumes and backdrop are exquisitely beautiful. The backdrop and dancers were coordinated perfectly. The show is splendid and creative.”
She said she was moved to tears when watching Shen Yun, especially when she watched the program Our Story, which depicts a teacher brutally persecuted for her belief in Falun Gong. She said, “When that teacher was arrested, I had tears in my eyes. Such things still occur in China. I cannot understand. Why do they [the Chinese Communist regime] treat those with belief in such a way?”
Mr. Huang has been involved in art for more than 40 years. He said, “Music and dance are high level art. Shen Yun depicts stories and characters perfectly, using music and dance, and lets audience understand the stories and their deeper meaning. Shen Yun elevates the mind and promotes high morality.”
Ms. Zhou said, “Every program has a common feature: bringing brightness and hope to people!’ Mr. Huang agreed, “Though there are setbacks and hardships, the results are bright and kind. The tone of the choreography is noble, bright and looking to future.”
Ms. Zhou nodded her head, “In today’s society, people are indulged in the material. Many traditions are lost, especially in China. Many people don’t know China’s 5000-year culture, history and tradition. What is divine culture? Many people don’t even care.”
She said that only Shen Yun, with its mission to restore traditional Chinese culture, can bring people people back to the right direction and that Shen Yun is the hope of humanity.
(Clearwisdom.net) For the traditional Chinese Lantern Festival, many supermarkets in Jakarta, Indonesia hosted all kinds of activities to celebrate the traditional Chinese festival. One day in particular, the Divine Land Marching Band came to Puri Indah shopping center; a special gift for shoppers to enjoy.
|
Divine Land Marching Band invited to perform in Puri Indah shopping center to celebrate the Chinese Lantern Festival. |
|
Divine Land Marching Band invited to perform in Puri Indah shopping center to celebrate the Chinese Lantern Festival.
|
|
General Manager of the shopping center Ms. Cornelia Agnes (center) with band members. |
On the afternoon of February 13, 2011, the Divine Land Marching Band was invited to perform in Puri Indah Shopping Center to celebrate the Lantern Festival. The band is comprised of Falun Dafa practitioners.
In an interview, General Manager of the center Ms. Cornelia Agnes said, “Falun Dafa has correct values, just like the Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance they practice. That is the reason we invited them to perform during Chinese New Year.”
The beautiful music attracted more and more shoppers into the performance hall. They stopped to watch the band play. People took out cell phones and cameras to take photos. They also took fliers from Falun Dafa practitioners. Some asked where they could learn the exercises.
The band performed music composed by Falun Gong practitioners such as “Falun Dafa Is Good” and “The Fa Rectifies Heaven and Earth” as well as famous folk song “Rasa Sayang.” The Divine Land Marching Band continued to perform for the locals over the course of the Lantern Festival celebrations.
(Clearwisdom.net) On February 12, 2011, over ten local Chinese organizations held a Chinese New Year celebration on the grounds of the University of California in Sacramento. Local practitioners were invited to the event as in previous years to promote Falun Dafa.
Many westerners who attended the event said they had heard about Falun Dafa and they wanted to learn more about it. They also expressed sympathy to the practitioners for the ongoing persecution in China. As for Chinese, almost everyone there has come to understand the truth about Falun Dafa. Many talked to the practitioners for a long time and some wanted to donate money in support.
Practitioners who have attended the event for several years remarked that more and more Chinese people are now willing to accept materials about Falun Dafa. They are friendly and sincere. Many of them want to learn the exercises.
A man from Shanghai said, “I know you (Falun Gong) and I also support you (Falun Gong).”
A father and son visited some church booths and later came to the Falun Dafa booth. He said, “You are promoting the genuine Chinese tradition. We all support you.”
A practitioner's friend and his wife came to the event. He asked about the local practice sites because he wanted to learn and experience it. His wife asked eagerly what the essence of Falun Dafa is. A practitioner told her to remember Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
When a Chinese lady who has been in America for three years learned that the so-called Tiananmen self-immolation incident was totally fabricated to frame Falun Gong, she was shocked and took many informational materials.
A girl who just came to America and is in 6th grade asked seriously why the Chinese Communist Party wanted to ban Falun Gong. A practitioner told her that only China bans Falun Gong; that Falun Gong is practiced in some one hundred countries in the world. With encouragement from her mother, the girl took many informational materials.
It seems that more Chinese people are awakening after learning the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution. The Chinese Communist Party's persecution is going nowhere.
(Clearwisdom.net) On February 13, 2011, about 600 Falun Gong practitioners from Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Pingtung gathered together in Pu Primary School and had a one-day cultivation experience sharing.
Falun Gong practitioners in South Taiwan share cultivation experiences
In the morning, experience sharing and discussion were held in 23 small groups with around 20 practitioners in each. Discussion topics included truth clarification, saving sentient beings and promotion of Shen Yun performance. In the afternoon, all practitioners gathered together and had experience sharing.
Ms. Yang from Kaohsiung said, “The skills we each have were arranged long ago in history. For example, I started making clothes when I was 18 years old and worked for a few years. But the skills I learned in those few years were used 40 years later to assist Master Li in Fa-rectification and fulfill my ancient vows.”
A practitioner from Chiayi said he worked for a magazine Chinese Weekly and carried Falun Gong information materials in his car. When he promoted the magazine in schools, he presented bookmarks with Falun Gong information to students. When the students see him again, they often ask, “Uncle Chinese Weekly, do you have the bookmarks?”
A practitioner from Kaohsiung shared experience on promoting Shen Yun shows. When righteous thoughts are in place, people come forward to buy tickets.
A coordinator said, “I hope everyone to keep steadfast righteous thoughts, move forward diligently and encourage more practitioners to join group study and experience sharing.” After the event, they cleaned the venue and promised to meet again in the Fall.
(Clearwisdom.net) The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has employed methods that are both brutal and vicious in its persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Its brutality and wickedness are beyond most people's imagination. One of the widely applied methods of torture on Falun Gong practitioners is the administration of nerve-damaging drugs or drugs that aggravate pain, so as to cause practitioners to suffer in ways that other torture methods fail to achieve. This is part of the CCP's goal of forcing practitioners to be “reformed” or “destroying them physically.” These crimes are committed in the regime's forced labor camps, prisons, mental hospitals, detention centers, and other facilities where Falun Gong practitioners have been illegally detained, and the practice is carried out on a broad scale.
On March 17, 2010, several human rights organizations held a seminar on China issues at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. One topic of discussion was how the CCP uses drugs to destroy Falun Gong practitioners' ability to think, to adhere to their belief, and to maintain their conscience.
Unimaginable Crimes
Between 2002 and 2004, the Minghui website reported the cases of three Falun Gong practitioners— Mr. Ping Chunfeng, former section head at the Logistics Department of Qinghai Normal University, 29-year-old Ms. Fan Lihong, and Ms. Zhang Xuefeng— who suffered nervous breakdowns and died after being injected with or fed with unknown drugs. Qinghai Province Women's Drug Rehabilitation Center head Xiang Jianmei declared, “One shot costs more than 100 yuan.”
Before their deaths, Ms. Fan Lihong and Ms. Zhang Xuefeng told many people about what they had been subjected to, but others had difficulty believing them, as they found the horror and extent of such malice hard to fathom. Even their family members did not pay enough attention, and then regretted this after the two practitioners passed away.
Numerous reports over the past ten-plus years on Minghui confirm that drug poisoning does exist and is widely administered on Falun Gong practitioners in China. According to the Minghui Information Library, since 2004, there have been at least 1378 reported cases of practitioners who have been illegally detained being covertly, and forcibly administered unknown drugs or injected with poisonous drugs. The incidents took place in 29 provinces and cities, the most serious cases were found in provinces of Shandong, Hebei, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Hunan, and Sichuan. There were 621 cases in which the practitioners were taken to mental hospitals and tortured by means of drug poisoning. The cases cover more than 100 mental hospitals in 27 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions. More cases have not been reported due to the CCP's information blockade.
Communist agents secretly inject practitioners with unknown drugs or put poisonous drugs in their food, which results in general malaise, difficulty walking, stunted speech, rapid decline of reaction and memory, and organ damage. Some practitioners suffer from a complete mental breakdown or cannot wake up from comatose sleep and have disordered thinking. In many cases, Falun Gong practitioners are tortured to the point of being paralyzed, suffering nervous breakdowns, and even death.
Prison guards, criminals, and related people's testimonies
Mr. Jiang Guobo used to be an official at the county deputy level of the Weifang City Political and Judiciary Committee in Shandong Province. Mr. Jiang was taken to the Weifang Forced Labor Camp in November 2005, where he held a hunger strike to protest his illegal detention. About a month after he was detained in the labor camp, an unknown drug was mixed into the food that was being force-fed to him, which made him so dizzy that sometimes he was unable to stand up or sit down. He was afraid to close his eyes because he felt as if the earth was spinning. For four months in the labor camp, all kinds of unknown drugs were fed to Mr. Jiang. Some affected his brain, making him dizzy and causing him to have headaches. Others harmed his liver, spleen, and kidneys, causing these organs to swell and causing him extreme pain around the liver area. Some of the drugs made his heart beat unnaturally fast, resulting in chest pains and difficulty breathing. Others gave him extreme stomach pain. Some made his teeth so loose they fell out. The worst ones caused him to lose strength. He felt weak and unsteady on his feet. Both his hands and feet felt like they were paralyzed, with no strength at all. He also experienced other symptoms, including sudden intense sweating, feeling extremely cold, unbearable itchiness all over, high fever, pain in his muscles and joints, diarrhea, inability to urinate or defecate, etc. These symptoms were just the ones that Mr. Jiang was able to identify. Later the unknown drugs were ground up into fine powder and mixed into hot water or into other substances to keep him from knowing when they were being forced upon him.
In mid-December 2005, after being force-fed with unknown drugs in his food, Mr. Jiang had excruciating stomach pain. He was also sweating profusely and he had heart discomfort. Around 11:00 p.m., becoming alarmed by Mr. Jiang's condition, the guard on duty called Zhu Anle (head of the Administration Section of Changle Forced Labor Camp) and the labor camp doctor, Liu, to the solitary cell to look at him. Mr. Jiang told them that he knew that drugs were being added to his food, ones that were harmful to the heart. Zhu Anle repeatedly denied this, saying that there was no drug added that affected the heart. He said, "I'm quite sure that there was no drug given to you that would affect your heart, because the doctor always lets me know what kind of drug he is going to use before he does it. They didn't tell me they were going to use such a drug lately." He suddenly realized what he was saying and stopped talking. He quickly turned around and left the cell.
|
|
During 2008 and 2009, approximately 300 practitioners were illegally detained in the Shandong Province Men's Second Forced Labor Camp's Seventh and Eighth Divisions. The camp guards instructed other inmates to mix unknown drugs into food that was fed to practitioners. The drugs debilitated them mentally, as well as physically.
According to some inmates, the prison guards secretly ordered several criminal prisoners to put unknown drugs into the food given to practitioners. The drugs caused symptoms that included headaches, dizziness, body numbness, and nosebleeds, along with swelling of the face, feet and legs. The prison guards' motives were to destroy the will and spirit of the practitioners and force them to renounce Falun Gong.
The prison guards and prisoners who were involved in drugging the practitioners include the following:
Guards: Li Gongming, Song Nan, Luo Guangrong, Zhang Qin, and Bi
Haitao
Prisoners: Jiang Guocheng, Huang Wei, Cong Peikuan, Cao Ren, Yu
Songliang, and Wang Yong
Ms. Gong Ruiping was an exemplary elementary school teacher. She was detained in 2003 at the Third Division of Beijing Women's Prison. She was put into long-term solitary confinement, where she was beaten and deprived of sleep. She was also brainwashed in an attempt to force her to give up practicing Falun Dafa. The division head has secretly given her a harmful drug for nearly six months. He once said, "She is forced to take the drug every day. It has been six months. Even a healthy person would be harmed."
Ms. Yue Changzhi, 70, was an electronics engineer employed by the China Aerospace Ministry. She was illegally held in Beijing Women's Prison. She has always been a very clear-headed woman, no matter how difficult her life was. When she was in prison, at the beginning of July 2004, she declared her intention to resume practicing Falun Gong. She endured huge suffering over the next four months. Although she went through a lot, her mind was clear, and her determination never wavered. By the end of 2004, she suddenly felt like she was becoming foggy-headed, and her body was in extreme pain. Ms. Yue said, “My unclear mental condition became worse at night, to the degree that I felt strangeness around me, and was unclear where I was. I was in the Tenth Ward on the fourth floor all the time, but I felt like I was in a basement. I could no longer find my way to the restroom although I had been there ten months. The most serious thing was that I had severe pain all over my body. It was like every cell was in pain; I could not bear to stand up.”
|
|
Practitioner Ms. Xian Yuzhen from Yilong County, Nanchong City, Sichuan Province, is still swollen all over her body with leg pain and numbness, and could not walk even five months after she was released from the Nanmusi Forced Labor Camp. She also has headaches, dizziness, and loss of memory. During her detention in the forced labor camp, she was taken to the camp hospital and was administered an unknown solution intravenously for three days. At that time, a concerned camp worker warned Ms. Xian, "The CCP regime developed a toxic drug that is specifically used for Falun Gong practitioners. Any practitioner who they give it to by force gets red rashes and itching all over their bodies, and their legs will ooze pus. They also have symptoms of losing consciousness."
Some labor camps openly torture practitioners with drugs. Division head Ren from the Second Division in the Xi'an Women's Forced Labor Camp (also called Shaanxi Women's Forced Labor Camp) incites drug-addict prisoners to feed an unknown substance to Falun Gong practitioners. Practitioners who are locked in solitary confinement have eaten poisoned vegetables for an extended period of time. Some of them are swollen all over their bodies, and some of them are only skin and bones. Ms. Li Shulian from Yan'an City was once illegally detained here. At each meal, one inmate opened a capsule filled with a powdery substance that the division head gave her and poured the unknown white powder into Ms. Li Shulian's bowl, afterward mixing some broth and vegetables in it. She took the vegetables and some steamed buns to Ms. Li Shulian and the practitioners in the other solitary cells. After practitioners ate the vegetables, their stomachs ended up swelling. They felt weak, and got headaches and nausea.
Once in good health, now tortured to nervous breakdown and disability
When the torture and deception are unable to shake practitioners' firm belief, the regime resorts to using drugs as one of the most insidious means to persecute them. The practitioners have been given a great number of forced drug injections that damage the central nervous system, causing them to become disoriented or to lose their speech within a few hours.
|
|
Mr. Kang Hong graduated from the Pediatrics Department at Chongqing Medical University. Mr. Kang spent eight years in prison for remaining steadfast in his belief in Falun Gong. Mr. Kang's shinbones were fractured at the end of August 2008. To protest this inhumane treatment, Mr. Kang began a hunger strike. Soon after, he was taken to the Xishanping Labor Camp Central Hospital, where doctors gave him injections. Shortly after, Mr. Kang lost consciousness, yelled incoherently and even rubbed feces on his face. He also could no longer recognize his mother. These are symptoms of a drug-induced nervous breakdown.
Mr. Tang Yi received a Master's degree from Southwest Transportation University. He was Bridge Engineer of the Fifth Company under the China Railroad 11th Bureau. Shortly after Mr. Kang Hong was taken to the Xishanping Central Hospital, he was force-fed and received injections. He was soon on the verge of death, and was released on medical parole. Mr. Tang developed symptoms of central nervous system damage. He became paralyzed, and lost bowel and bladder control. He died on September 22, 2009, at the age of 46.
Mr. Zhang Chunlin was an officer on Hongguang Farm in Baiyilaga Township, Qianguo County, Songyuan City, Jilin Province. He was the former head of the first division of Hongguang Farm. He is very honest and was regarded as a good officer. Because he remained steadfast in his belief in Falun Dafa, he was persecuted by the CCP. On September 1, 2008, he was injected with an unknown drug at the Qianguo County Detention Center. He fell into a deep sleep, and slept throughout the entire following day. Upon awakening, he displayed symptoms of being mentally unstable. He spoke incoherently and had a loss of memory.
Ms. Dong Jingzhe, a 32-year-old advertisement designer, was one of the practitioners who helped rescue Ms. Gao Rongrong. Ms. Dong endured brutal physical and mental torture at the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. In March 2005, guards at Masanjia shackled her to a metal bed. They injected her with over 70 vials (five 500 ml. vials per day) of an unknown drug. The drug caused paralysis in her legs. Many practitioners became paralyzed in their limbs after being injected with the drug at Masanjia.
Ms. Dong Jingzhe before becoming paralyzed after being injected
with unknown drugs. She is now unable to take care of herself
In July 2004, guard Wang Lihua from the No. 7 Division at the Heizuizi Women's Forced Labor Camp took practitioner Ms. Zhao Jinling away from her cell. Two hours later when Ms. Zhao was brought back, her eyes looked very dull and teary. She couldn't talk, she drooled uncontrollably, and her limbs were numb. She lost awareness and didn't realize that she should wear clothes. After she went to the bathroom, she forgot that she should pull her trousers back up. Ms. Zhao, 21, was a quiet, beautiful girl. But it only took two hours for the officials in the forced labor camp to put Ms. Zhao into such a horrible condition just because she firmly believed in Falun Gong. Two other practitioners, Ms. Li Wei and Ms. Liu Wenwen, also ended up in the same dreadful state as Ms. Zhao. Both of them were only in their 20s.
Complete disregard for human life
Ms. Zhang Fuzhen was a 38-year-old practitioner from Pingdu City, Shandong Province. She was employed at Xianhe Park in Pingdu City, Shandong Province. In 2001, she was arrested and sent to the 610 Office Brainwashing Center in Pingdu, and she has never returned home. According to an eyewitness, the police stripped Ms. Zhang of her clothes, and shaved her head. They tortured and insulted her. She was tied, spread eagle, on a bed; she had to relieve herself on the bed. Then they injected some unknown poisonous drug into her. As soon as she was injected with the drug, she felt unbearable pain. She struggled as if she was being driven out of her mind, and she died very painfully. 610 Office officals witnessed the entire course of Ms. Zhang's death.
Mr. Ju Yajun, 33 years old, was a farmer in Yuquan Town, Acheng City, Heilongjiang Province. He was healthy and honest, and well-known as a good man in surrounding villages. He was illegally taken to the Changlingzi Forced Labor Camp in Harbin for remaining steadfast in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He was carried into the clinic for force-feeding the afternoon on October 21, 2001, because he went on a hunger strike to protest his illegal sentence. During the force-feeding they injected him with unknown drugs. After he came back, he was in a stupor and could not speak proper sentences. He repeatedly pointed to his arms and said, "Needle injection, needle injection..." To evade responsibility, the forced labor camp sent him home on October 24, 2001. He died two days later, leaving behind his father in his 70s and his young child.
Ms. Zhang Dezhen, 38 years old, was a biology teacher employed by Mengyin County Sixth High School (also called Jiuzhai High School). On September 19, 2002, she was once again arrested and detained in the Mengyin County Detention Center. She went on a hunger strike to protest, and was force-fed in the Mengyin County Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital multiple times. On January 31, 2003, Chinese New Year's Eve, she died after being injected with an unknown drug.
Ms. Zhang Dezhen, high school teacher in Mengyin County. Ms. Zhang
died after an injection of an unknown drug.
On January 31, 2003, Ms. Zhang Dezhen and three other practitioners (including Ms. Zhang Guifeng and Ms. Wang Xiangying) were put in a police vehicle, taken to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital and placed in a room on the first floor. Ms. Zhang Dezhen passed out on the way. No rescue effort was made for her, but all four practitioners were injected with an unknown drug, which caused them to feel hot, have dry mouths, pain throughout their bodies, and weakness in their legs. Ms. Wang Xiangying asked doctor Wang Chun Xiao and Detention Center Head Sun Kehai, "Exactly what kind of drug are you using on us?" Sun did not answer, but instead said happily, "Isn't this good?" The guards and doctors hung four intravenous injection bottles at the four corners of Ms. Zhang Dezhen's bed, and spoke to each other about how they were going to rescue her. Then one of the doctors gave her a shot of an unknown drug, after which Ms. Zhang went completely silent. A guard standing on the side said quietly, "Another one has ended."
(Clearwisdom.net) Below is a Falun Gong practitioner's personal account of the persecution that he suffered. His health had greatly improved from practicing Falun Gong. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Falun Gong, however, he was severely tortured many times. Police agents arrested him in 2001 and physically abused him. Later, he was detained in the Harbin and Daqing Prison, where he was tortured until February 2009. When he was unable to walk because of the torture, he was released, and his family carried him home.
First-hand account of the persecution:
I am an intellectual in Qiqihar City. I used to have high blood pressure, heart disease, and severe rheumatoid arthritis prior to practicing Falun Gong. After practicing Falun Gong, my physical health greatly improved, and I also acquired an improved mindset and a more positive attitude toward work. Then, however, the CCP started the massive persecution against Falun Gong practitioners.
Tortured at the Beidajie Police Station
I went to Gaotou Village to clarify the truth on February 28, 2001. Agents from the Beidajie Police Station in Jianhua District illegally arrested me. Police station head Yu Zhiqiang and some other agents took me to an abandoned room in the Jianhua Construction Development Company. There were several bunk beds in the room. Five agents participated in abusing me. They handcuffed my hands behind my back and onto the upper level of one bed, and stretched my feet to another bunk bed. Yu kicked me hard to make my body swing between the beds. I immediately started to sweat profusely from the pain, and then lost consciousness. They put me down on the floor and used a teacup lid to push hard between my ribs, twisting and rubbing. Then they took electric batons and shocked me in the heart area, chest, penis and armpits. It was very painful and I was sweating. The agents removed all of my clothes except my underwear and pushed me into the freezing snow pile outdoors. Then they poured cold water on me. In the freezing cold, I was trembling and became numb. As a result, my arms could not move for more than 40 days thereafter.
Four limbs chained together at the Qiqihar First Detention Center
Two days later, the agents sent me to the Qiqihar First Detention Center. I had severe pain in my feet, my arms could not move, and my spine was severely injured due to the torture. Eleven months later, the police agents attempted to send me to the Harbin Prison, but I refused to have my picture taken. Then, the agents chained my hands together with my feet for 9 days. This chain was not removed until I was sent to Harbin Prison.
More abuse at the Harbin Prison and the death of Wang Dayuan
I was sent to the Harbin Prison in late January 2002. I was placed in solitary confinement for refusing to wear an inmate badge. Three months later, I was sent to the boiler room in Division 10. Guard Li Zhilong, together with inmates Chen Lijiang and Bai Jinglong, tortured me in many ways. They deprived me of sleep 24 hours a day and forced me to perform manual labor. Per instruction from Li Zhilong, inmate Zhou Saner beat me when nobody was around, breaking my ribs in the process. They prohibited me from talking with others or using the toilet. Zhou and Bai continued to beat me middle of the night and poked the area around my collar bone with a pen. This torture lasted six months.
Officials in Division 6 and Division 10 intensified the torture against practitioners starting on April 4, 2004, in their attempt to force practitioners to abandon their belief. One night, they beat practitioner Wang Dayuan, who was detained in Division 6, to death.
Division 10 guard Liu Chunhai instructed more than 10 inmates to brutally torture me. They shoved me onto the floor face down, stretched my arms as far as they would go and bent my legs backward as far as they could. They repeated this torture many times. In addition, they hit my ankles with a hammer and suffocated me by wrapping plastic bags containing mustard oil around my head. My nostrils and lungs were burning with pain. They tortured me for three hours. My head was deformed, swollen and turned bluish. I lost feeling in my legs, and both of my arms became stiff and numb.
Officials secretly sent practitioners to various prisons to cover up the persecution
To conceal evidence of the persecution, including the death of Wang Dayuan, Harbin Prison officials secretly sent more than 60 detained practitioners on July 1, 2004 to various other locations, such as the Mudanjiang Prison, the Tailai Prison and the Daqing Prison.
Many practitioners and I were sent to the Daqing Prison. It was a shocking scene once the police van stopped inside the Daqing Prison. All of the practitioners were limping out of the van and walking with much difficulty because of the injuries from torture.
I was detained in Section 5 of the Daqing Prison. Because of the severe injuries acquired at the Harbin Prison, plus the lack of sunlight, I developed anemia and my four limbs felt numb. I joined other practitioners to oppose the persecution on August 28, 2004, by refusing to wear the inmate uniforms, have my head shaved bald, or requesting time in the yard daily. Because of that, prison head Wang Yongxiang and guards dragged us to the drill ground and brutally beat us. As a result, I was unable to stand and needed assistance when walking. I was released on February 28, 2009, and my family had to carry me home because I could not walk.
Right now, I am unable to take care of myself or go to work, thereby losing all income. Police agents still harass me from time to time. Many practitioners are still detained in various prisons, labor camps, and brainwashing centers. We are calling on human rights organizations to help these innocent people and to stop the CCP's brutal persecution.
Parties involved in the persecution:
Beidajie Police Station: 86-452-2552224
Yu Zhiqiang, former Beidajie Police Station head
Zhao Ping, Jianhua District 610 Office head: 86-452-2551254
(Office), 86-452-5965262 (Home), 86-13079629533 (Cell)
Zhang Hong, 610 Office deputy head: 86-452-2551254
Name: Li Yifang (李艺芳)
Gender: Female
Age: Unknown
Address: Anju District, Suining City, Sichuan Province
Occupation: Unknown
Date of Most Recent Arrest: February 27, 2008
Most recent place of detention: Nanmusi Women's Forced Labor
Camp, Sichuan ( 四川楠木寺女子劳教所)
City: Suining
Province: Sichuan
Persecution Suffered: Detention, beatings, food deprivation,
home ransacked, forced labor, living under surveillance
(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Li Yifang, from Anju District in Suining City, was illegally arrested by the local police while distributing materials about the persecution of Falun Gong in Dujiangyan City, Sichuan Province, on February 27, 2008. She was visiting her relatives in Dujiangyan at the time.
Ms. Li was beaten, kicked and slapped in the face at the police station. The officers also struck her against the wall, inducing dizziness, bleeding gums, and loss of teeth.
Officers from the Anju District Police Station subsequently brought her back to Suining. They deprived her of food for several days and did not inform her family about the detention. They also ransacked her home. Although they could not find any evidence to incriminate her, Ms. Li was still sentenced to one year of forced labor.
Ms. Li was first detained at the Yongxing Detention Center in Suining for one month. She was forced to perform heavy labor. Then she was transferred to the Baigu Detention Center, and finally she was taken to the Nanmusi Women's Forced Labor Camp in Sichuan, which is notorious for severe persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
The guards ordered drug-addict inmates to closely monitor Ms. Li. She was not allowed to talk at all and had to work very long hours. Most of her days were spent in a workshop, making toys for export. Her imprisonment was extended for one week because she refused to write the three statements renouncing Falun Gong.
When she was released, Ms. Li's hair had turned white and her teeth had fallen out. She lived under surveillance for at least six months thereafter.
Ms. Li and her family have been frequently harassed by police and had their home ransacked by the authorities since the persecution began in 1999, which caused tremendous pressure on them. For example, Ms. Li's daughter had passed the certification exam that ensured her a position in the local government, but she was not allowed to start working until nine months later.
(Clearwisdom.net) Ms. Li Weizhen, an employee of the Bohai Petroleum Company in Tanggu District, Tianjin City, has been persecuted many times because she practices Falun Gong.
In January 2002, Ms Li was arrested and sentenced to three and a half years in Tianjin Women’s Prison. She was tortured both mentally and physically. Due to the beatings that she endured, she only has a few teeth left. She also was fired from her job.
Ms. Li and Ms. Yang Yucui were arrested by the Tanggu police on April 2, 2009, while talking to people about Falun Gong. When they went on a hunger strike in the detention center to protest their persecution, the guards grabbed Ms. Li’s hair and slapped her in the face, causing her to go deaf temporarily. Ms. Yang was tortured by policewoman Xu Yuping. She punched and kicked Ms. Yang with high heeled shoes and savagely force-fed her twice by inserting a thick plastic tube down her throat. Both practitioners were transferred to Banqiao Women’s Forced Labor Camp on April 17, but were refused admittance because they had hepatitis. They were released the same day.
On the morning of January 17, 2011, Ms. Li was arrested again and detained at the Xigu Police Station.
Those responsible for the persecution:
Tanggu District Police Station: 86-22-66889061
Lu Changgui, head of Tanggu District Police Station:
86-22-66880918
Zhang Wenli, Tanggu District 610 Office: 13802171819
Han Yong, Tanggu District 610 Office: 86-22-66889082,
86-22-6688908
Bohai Petroleum Nanjiang Domestic Security Division:
86-22-66889082
Tanggu Detention Center: 86-22-65300763
(Clearwisdom.net) Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wu Shunzhun, 57 years old, from Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, was illegally arrested while she was distributing truth-clarification materials in Jiangning District in December 2010. She was sent to Nanjing Detention Center by police from the Taowu Police Station in the district. She has been sentenced to one and a half years of forced labor.
Since July 20, 1999 when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to persecute Falun Gong practitioners, Wu Shunzhen has been persecuted several times. She was arrested and taken to Nanjing Brain Hospital, Qinglongshan District Mental Hospital, Nanjing Detention Center, Jiangsu Province Women's Forced Labor Center, and Nanjing Women's Prison, as well as other places. Her husband was pressured into divorcing her because he was terrified of also being persecuted by the CCP.
Here is a summary of Wu Shunzhen's ten years of being persecuted.
1. Twice forcibly sent to mental hospitals
In 2000, Ms. Wu went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, but ended up being detained for over 60 days. After she was released from the detention center, she was directly sent to a mental hospital for further persecution. Her company fired her under pressure from the CCP.
In September 2001, Wu Shunzhen was again taken to Qinglongshan Mental Hospital.
2. Brutally tortured in Jiangsu Province Women's Forced Labor Camp
On November 29, 2001, Ms. Wu was sent to a detention center for three years by Guanghua Road Police Station in Baixia District, Nanjing City. In November 2003, she was forcibly sent to the No. 3 Division in Jiangsu Province Women's Prison. For three months the police subjected her to brainwashing.
In order to "transform" Ms. Wu, guards put her into solitary confinement three times: in February, May, and November of 2004. Guards and several prisoners took turns torturing her 24 hours a day using the following methods: Electric shocking, standing still in the same position, squatting for long periods of time, exposure to freezing cold, not being allowed to use the toilet, not being allowed to sleep, and no regular rest for over 30 days at a time. She was threatened with snakes and scorpions, her body was burned with hot candle wax, her hair was yanked out, and her head was shoved into a toilet. Guards Ding Hui and Zhang Yan and some prisoners took turns beating her. She lost a lot of hair and her body was covered with wounds. Her right eye was beaten black and blue.
Ms. Wu remained steadfast, so the guards sent her to a mental hospital for further persecution. But no matter what they did, they couldn't "transform" her. Then they locked her up in solitary confinement on the third floor and ordered two prisoners to monitor her. Ms. Wu was not allowed to have any contact with anyone, nor was she allowed to leave the cell.
In 2006, just before her detention term ended, guards again pressured Ms. Wu Shunzhen to give up her belief and to write a guarantee statement. She refused. Guards started another round of brutal torture. Wu Shenzhen went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution, and her detention term was extended by several months.
3. Persecuted several times after being released
Ms. Wu was sentenced to forced labor for three and a half years. Four months after her initial sentence, on July 12, 2006, police from the Nanjing City 610 Office and Shuangtang Police Station took her and sent her to Nanjing City Detention Center.
In August 2007, Ms. Wu was sentenced to two years of imprisonment by Baixia District Court, and was taken to Nanjing City Women's Prison. She was released before serving the full two years.
On the night of July 23, 2009 when Wu Shunzhen was clarifying the truth to passersby at Xinjiekou, Nanjing City, she was arrested by police from Huaqiao Road Police Station. She was sent to Nanjing City Detention Center the next morning. Police had been following her for three days. On July 29, 2009, she was taken to a detention center by officials from the Huaqiao Road Police Station for a one-year term. Several days later, she was sent to Jiangsu Province Women's Detention Center for further persecution.
In August 2010, Wu Shunzhen was released from Jiangsu Province Women's Detention Center. In December while she was distributing truth-clarifying materials with two other practitioners, they were arrested by police from Taowu Police Station and were detained at Nanjing City Detention Center. Xiao Jingjian, the chief of Nanjing City Domestic Security Team, had Wu Shunzhen taken to a detention center to serve a one and a half year term.
Name: Tao Yuan (陶渊)
Gender: Male
Age: 40s
Address: Hongyun Garden, Wuhou District, Chengdu
Date of Most Recent Arrest: January 28, 2007
Most Recent Place of Detention: Wumaping Forced Labor Camp (五马坪监狱)
City: Leshan
Province: Sichuan
Persecution Suffered: Illegal sentencing, imprisonment,
torture, home ransacked, detention
(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Tao Yuan was taken into custody by police officers from Jinyang Police Station and illegally sentenced to prison on January 28, 2007. He has been imprisoned for four years. Tao’s mother Ms. Zhang Shengrong, who is over seventy years old, tried to hire a lawyer to help her son to obtain medical parole and to investigate his case. At that time, Mr. Tao had a dislocated cervical vertebra. However, officials from the Jinyang neighborhood 610 Office detained Ms. Zhang and took her to a brainwashing center. It has been one year and eight months, and she is still being held at the Jinhua Brainwashing Center in Wuhou District.
Ms. Zhang Shengrong, Tao Yuan’s mother
The condition of both the mother and the son are currently unknown.
Mr. Tao Yuan was a graduate student at Beijing Normal University. He started practicing Falun Dafa in May 1996. In 1997, he moved to Chengdu City and was manager of two companies. He was dedicated to his work and highly praised by his supervisor. He also had a good relationship with his colleagues.
After the persecution started on July 20, 1999, Mr. Tao was repeatedly detained and sent to forced labor camps because of his firm belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. He was brutally mistreated, and during the past eleven years, he has spent a total of about ten years in detention. Even his mother has been detained at the Jinhua Detention Center for over three years total, and was under surveillance for a long time.
On January 28, 2007, Mr. Tao Yuan was arrested on his way to work. Police officers from the Jinyang Police Station searched his home, but refused to tell his family where he was, let alone display any legal documents.
Tao’s father was over eighty years old at the time and very sick. He went to Jinyang Police Station and demanded Tao’s release, but officials from the Public Security Bureau, Procuratorate and courts in Wuhou District threatened him and pushed the responsibility toward each other for over six months. Later, Tao Yuan was sentenced to four years in prison without his family being notified. On September 19, his family received a “Notice of Imprisonment” from Guangyuan Prison.
After Tao Yuan was imprisoned, authorities from the Guangyuan Prison refused to let his mother see him, claiming that the local 610 Office had not sent the certification. Yet the 610 Office in Jinyang refused to provide this certification.
In March 2009, officials from the Guangyuan Prison phoned Tao’s mother, Ms. Zhang Shengrong, asking her to sign a permission form for surgery because Tao had a cervical vertebra dislocation. In order to find out the truth, Ms. Zhang, who was still closely monitored, asked lawyer Chen Hai from Beijing to investigate and help her son be released on bail for medical treatment. When Chen Hai and another lawyer arrived at Ms. Zhang’s home, they were beaten by people from the Comprehensive Administration Office in Jinyang.
Lawyer Chen Hai filed a lawsuit against the people who were responsible for putting Ms. Zhang Shengrong under surveillance but received no reply.
Because Ms. Zhang hired a lawyer for her son, she is being even more closely monitored. She was again sent to the Jinhua Brainwashing Center in May 2009; it’s been one year and eight months now.
Reportedly, Mr. Tao Yuan was transferred to the Wumaping Forced Labor Camp at Leshan last year, and has been at the No. 6 Ward ever since.
One of the perpetrators:
Gong Daoquang, the director of the Jinyang Comprehensive Administration Office: 13981970353 (cell), 86-2887433573 (office)
(Clearwisdom.net) Five Falun Gong practitioners have been taken into custody by Dacun Police Station in Jiaonan City, Shandong Province. Xue Lianxia has returned home, however the other four practitioners are still being detained in Dashan Detention Center in Qingdao.
On the evening of January 15, 2011, a group of practitioners from Jiaonan (Liu Meiqin, Fu Aixian, Xue Lianxia, Zhang Shuhua, Liu Huimin) rented a minivan to go out and distribute truth-clarification materials. They were reported in Maojia Village. Practitioners Fu Aixian, Xue Lianxia, Zhang Shuhua, Liu Huimin and non-practitioner driver Wang Zongli were taken into custody by the Dashan Police Station. Ms. Liu Meiqin escaped.
On January 16, Ms. Liu Meiqin brought family members of the detained practitioners and the wife of the driver to demand their release. As a family member, Liu Meiqin entered the police station, but was recognized by non-practitioner Wang Zongli, who reported her identity to the police. Wang Zongli also handed over to the police all the information he knew about vehicle rentals, times, locations and people involved.
The five practitioners were brutally beaten by police head Dong Qiqiang and Yin Zheng. Their faces were beaten to the point of being unrecognizable. Liu Meiqin's eyes oozed blood.
The police ransacked the practitioners' homes on January 17. The five practitioners were transported to Dashan Detention Center in Qingdao the next day. The detention center refused to admit four practitioners Liu Meiqin, Xue Lianxia, Zhang Shuhua and Fu Aixian due to the unsatisfactory results of their physicals. They were moved back to Dacun Police Station. On January 21, the police again transported the four practitioners to Dashan Detention Center in Qingdao. Xue Lianxia's physical again did not meet the requirement. She was released the same day, after the police extorted money from her family. Zhang Shuhua, Fu Aixian, Liu Meiqin, and Liu Huimin remain detained in Dashan Detention Center in Qingdao.
After the five practitioners were detained, phone calls from overseas reached the Dacun Police Station. Dong Qiqiang and the other policemen lied and told the callers: “Understood. They have all been released.” Nevertheless they continued to brutally beat the practitioners. Since the CCP started the persecution in 1999, Dong Qiqiang has aided it in carrying out the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. He was notorious for brutally beating practitioners when he was a police officer in Jiaonan Railway Police Station. He was promoted to police station head for his performance in persecuting practitioners. Over the past twelve years, many practitioners have tried to clarify the truth to him, but he refused to listen.
(Clearwisdom.net)
Solemn Declaration
Since 1999 when the persecution started, I have twice been illegally sentenced to detention centers. Since I did not study the Fa well, I had a strong attachment of fear and many other attachments. The evil took advantage of my loopholes. I made mistakes that Dafa disciples should not make. In labor camps, during the persecution and under great pressure, I wrote three statements which included the so-called criticizing statement. I obeyed them and followed their orders. When ordered to work I would obey without objection. When ordered to assist on re-education, I would comply with their orders. I even signed on an evil red flag. After I returned home, I also wrote a statement to the police station and provided a self photo. I dishonored Dafa. Whenever I thought about it, I felt regretful that I dishonored Master and Dafa.
I solemnly declare that all my previous words and deeds that were not in accordance with Dafa are void. I totally negate all old force arrangements. I will keep up with Master's Fa-rectification process, study Fa more, look inward, improve in cultivation and save more sentient beings. I want to reach consummation and go home with Master.
Wang Huilan
January 24, 2011
http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/2/8/31人声明从新开始修炼-236010.html
Solemn Declaration
On February 17, 2009, I was on the road heading to another Dafa practitioner's house when I was seized and taken to a police station by police. Several policemen held my hand and forcibly took my fingerprint. Afterwards, they pierced my finger twice with a needle to get blood for a laboratory test. On February 19, after noon, police told me they would let me go home after they were done with the enquiry record. A police wrote the transcript himself, then asked me to sign. I refused. He also wanted me to sign another statement, which I also refused. They then asked my husband to sign on my behalf. During the whole process, I was somewhat passive and did not firmly stop it from happening. Afterward, I looked inward, I recognized that I lacked righteous thoughts and had an attachment of fear. When the evil displayed toughness, I was afraid. I was only concerned about my own physical body and didn't want to suffer. I also just wanted to go home straight away. I forgot my own responsibility. I felt I didn't deserve to be called a Dafa disciple.
I solemnly declare that the fingerprint and signature are void. All signatures by my husband signed on my behalf are all void. From now on I will study the Fa well and do the three things well to save more sentient beings.
Shan Yuqin
February 6, 2011
http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/2/12/31人声明从新开始修炼-236176.html
(Clearwisdom.net) A "Solemn Declaration" is a person's public statement to the world that whatever he or she has done or said under duress or deception that was against Falun Dafa is null and void. These statements have come from Falun Dafa practitioners in China who wish to express regret that, in the face of physical torture and brainwashing, they signed documents renouncing Dafa and guaranteeing not to practice again. Now, they hereby declare their intention to resume practicing Falun Dafa. Here are some examples of the Solemn Declarations: Please click here for more Solemn Declarations.
(Clearwisdom.net)
Solemn Declaration
Late last year, my son wanted to apply to become a doctoral student. The school required information about the candidate's parents. Therefore, I had to go to our local community to obtain a guarantee statement and agree not to practice Falun Gong. My wife found out about it. She told me that I should not write the guarantee statement and she explained to me the reason. She made me understand that the guarantee statement I wrote dishonored Dafa and Master Li. After my son came home, my wife told him the seriousness of the matter.
Therefore, I solemnly declare that my previous words, writing and deeds that were against Dafa are void. I believe Falun Dafa is good. I support Falun Dafa, and I wish to make up for the losses that I created for Dafa. I support my wife to do the three things well to save more sentient beings.
Wang Li Xia, Wei Yu
January 15, 2011
http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/2/9/187名觉醒世人的郑重声明-236011.html
Solemn Declaration
I had been deceived by the wicked Communist Party. Due to not knowing the truth I had slandered Master Li, slandered Dafa, torn up Dafa truth-clarification materials and had written articles that criticize Falun Gong.
Now I finally understand the truth and I regret my previous actions. I solemnly declare that my previous words, deeds and behavior that were against Dafa are void. I firmly believe in Dafa and tell people Falun Dafa is good to remedy the damage I had caused to Dafa. I choose a better future.
Li Hou De
February 7, 2011
http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2011/2/12/82名觉醒世人的郑重声明-236178.html
(Clearwisdom.net) Greetings, Master! Greetings, fellow practitioners!
Recently through studying the Fa, I made some breakthroughs in understanding, especially about opposing the persecution and interference from the old forces. Today I would like to share my understanding with fellow practitioners.
1. Opposing the Persecution Is Not That Difficult
The brutal persecution of Dafa practitioners has continued since 1999. Although Master had asked us to oppose any arrangements by the old forces, deep inside, I always thought it was not that easy to oppose the evil persecution and interference, thinking that only those who cultivated very well were able to do it. However, I recently gained a deeper understanding based on the Fa, I realized the above thoughts were just my excuses, and in fact, it is not difficult to oppose the interference and persecution.
I was surprised to realize that it is the Dafa disciple who can determine whether to be persecuted or be interfered with. Ages ago, the old forces arranged everything for the Fa-rectification today, including the details of practitioners' thoughts and behaviors. Master said,
"Even each Dafa disciple's every move, every action, every word, and even the questions you ponder, none of it is that simple. In the future you'll see that everything was very carefully arranged. But it's not me who arranged this, it's the old forces who did." ("Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.")
I realized that the notions and thought karma existing in practitioners today were formed due to the old forces' arrangements. Since they are the gods of the old universe, everything arranged by them derives from their inherent nature -- "selfishness". Therefore, the fundamental characteristic of notions and thought karma in today's practitioners is to protect their own interests, which also becomes the old forces' excuse to persecute practitioners. Those notions and thought karma are indeed the true persecution of Dafa practitioners. As long as we do not accept any notions, thought karma, or attachments in our minds, the persecution cannot exist. The old forces would be left alone, waiting to be eliminated. If they dare to fight back, Master and the righteous gods in the universe will eliminate them and their arrangements that are based on the current universe's principles. Therefore, how one should handle the variety of thoughts in our minds depends on our choices. When a bad thought occurs in our minds, we cannot be affected by it, and we should refuse to follow it. This way, we are not acknowledging them, and we are opposing the old forces' persecution; thus the old forces' attempt to persecute us will be dissolved. On the contrary, if we agreed with or accepted the bad thought, the persecution would come along. The same principle applies to interference. Here are two examples.
A fellow practitioner is going out to distribute truth-clarifying materials. The old forces interfere with him by making him think about being reported to the police or being arrested. If the practitioner lacks strong righteous thoughts and has accompanying fear to acknowledge the arrangement, the old forces will arrange for him to be reported and arrested. If the fellow practitioner immediately eliminates the bad thought when it occurs in his/her mind and refuses to follow the bad thought, the old forces will have no excuse to persecute him.
Some practitioners are detained in forced labor camps. When unrighteous thoughts occur, such as fear of being tortured or some other such thought, if one can keep calm and negate the bad thought, such persecution will naturally not occur. In fact, many practitioners accepted the initial bad thought, and then they thought about how to face such a situation. This indeed acknowledged the old forces' arrangements. Then they try to counteract the issue from within the old forces' arrangements. This does not "completely oppose everything arranged by the old forces", which Master has taught us many times in his lectures. As long as we oppose the old forces' arrangements, the persecution and interference will not occur. Although many fellow practitioners have been sharing their experiences of how to oppose the old forces' arrangements, many of them are still not clear on how to do so. It is not sufficient just to talk about it, we need to act against the old forces' thoughts and actions.
Since we realize how important this is, we must learn how to solve this problem. We must focus on how to distinguish which thought is from the old forces' arrangements and which is from one's true self. This is the second topic I will talk about.
2. Understanding Cultivation
Through studying the Fa, I have been gaining a greater understanding of the meaning of cultivation. I realize that cultivation is a process of giving up the non-self and cultivating the true-self. Postnatally acquired notions and thought karma have been constantly forming and have gradually replaced our main consciousness to control our thoughts. For some people, their thoughts are completely controlled by postnatal notions and karma. Their main consciousness, just as Master mentioned about mental patients, gives up control and lets other thoughts take over the brain and the body completely. Master said,
"You know that the distracting thought you have is bad, so try your best to repel it. I'll tell you that when human beings live in this world it's often not the person himself that is pondering -- it's not truly that person who is living. If you look at today's people, regardless of which country the person is from, they are busying about all day. How does he live? I'll tell you that with some persons half of the time it's not really that person who is living, to the point that with some people it's really not the person himself in the least."
"With modern people in particular, do they really know how they are living? In his life, from youth to adulthood, a person accumulates many 'experiences,' and these 'experiences' form notions in the person's mind. People think that when they run into a problem that 'as long as I deal with it this way it will work out.' Then after a while, in this fashion fixed notions come to be formed. You think that you have dealt with many things well, but you yourself don't exist anymore; you have entered a slumber. The 'you' living in everyday society --your flesh body--has been dominated by those postnatally-formed notions. Doing this, doing that, all day you are in a daze, and you pass the days like this. But those notions were all produced so as to protect you from harm. But if you aren't harmed, you cannot repay karma; you will gain in ways that you shouldn't have; and you will harm others, thus constantly creating karma. And that karma is alive, for the postnatal notions and the karma form thought-karma in the brain. Then when you cultivate, you have to eliminate it. That's because when you cultivate, you can't cultivate [those things]. You wouldn't want to cultivate [those things] instead of cultivating yourself, and of course I wouldn't want that, either." ("Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Houston")
I realize that our cultivation is about making sure our main consciousness takes control of our brains and bodies. This is what is called "returning to our true self" and "getting back to the original self" in the community of cultivators. Through cultivation, our characteristics change from those of "selfishness and egotism" to those of "selflessness and altruism"-- the nature of the new universe.
Master also encouraged us,
"As a Dafa disciple, everything of yours is formed by Dafa and is the most righteous..." ("Dafa is Indestructible" from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Since the well-cultivated part of us has been formed completely by Dafa, which is selfless and has no bad thoughts or thoughts for matters such as fame, personal gain, qing, or other attachments, then anything in our minds that does not conform to Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance will be the "non-self" that was arranged by the old forces. In this way, we can identify the arrangements by the old forces and oppose them. By opposing them, we can end the persecution by the old forces.
Here, I call for the attention of fellow practitioners! We can no longer regard those attachments or other bad things as part of ourselves. If so, we are just acknowledging the old forces' arrangements. So when we send forth righteous thoughts to eliminate them, it will not be that powerful because we regarded them as part of us and brought them in.
The above are just my shallow understandings. Please point out anything that is improper.
(Clearwisdom.net) I obtained the Fa in May of 1996, and I am 40 years old now. My colleague recommended that I read Zhuan Falun. I was so touched by the book that I felt as if I had been waiting for it for thousands of years and that I had finally received it. I experienced a lot of mental and physical changes. I was no longer a selfish person who only wanted to benefit myself. I began to consider others and be compassionate towards them. Many of my friends said that I became a different person. My colleagues told me that I looked younger. I really cherished the opportunity to cultivate in Falun Dafa.
In July 1999, the Communist regime launched a brutal persecution of Falun Gong. As a Dafa practitioner, I had benefited a lot from the practice and I knew I should tell people that Dafa is good. Therefore, I went to Beijing to appeal. Like many other practitioners, I was sent back to my hometown, and my company kept harassing me and pressuring me. However, I persisted in cultivating Dafa. I was forced to resign from my workplace and was detained in a forced labor camp multiple times.
Eliminate All Interference and Produce Truth-Clarification Materials with Righteous Thoughts
In 2007, I started making truth-clarification materials with some fellow practitioners. During the Olympic Games in Beijing and the World Expo in Shanghai, many practitioners were illegally arrested. So we were not producing enough materials for fellow practitioners to save sentient beings. My activities were being monitored and I was under a lot of pressure. However, as a Dafa practitioner, I knew I should do what Dafa needed us to do. I was committed to fulfilling my vows.
Master said,
“Dafa disciples are walking a divine path. Don't be affected by shifts in the ordinary world, seize the day to clarify the truth, save the world's people, clean out the rotten demons, and keep your thoughts and actions righteous.” (“Greetings,” 2004)
“That's because you are a cultivator: someone who is on a divine path and who is not controlled by the factors of ordinary people or low-level principles.” (“Teaching the Fa in the City of Los Angeles,” 2006)
I studied the Fa well and continued producing truth-clarification materials. Even when the persecution was severe, we did not stop making materials. We always provided fellow practitioners enough materials to save sentient beings. We did so because Master said,
“Carry on with what you would normally do. Whatever you would do, you should still just go about it as usual. That's because your every thought and whim, and each and every action, are affecting major things. No matter what big things are happening, pretend nothing is going on and just go about, as usual, doing what a Dafa disciple should do. This is the path you're taking today, and this is the [legacy of] mighty virtue you are leaving. The path you, the Dafa disciples, take, is how you have to cultivate as dictated by our cultivation way, and it absolutely cannot change with shifts in the ordinary world.” (“Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Washington DC Fa Conference”)
The evil factors do not want to be eliminated and thus often interfered with what we were doing. On October 1, 2009, I shared my experience with fellow practitioners in another area and encouraged them to save more sentient beings. I promised that I would offer them truth-clarification materials. However, when I was producing the materials, my printer encountered a problem, and I felt very uncomfortable, as if I had a heavy cold. I looked inward and discovered that I was not patient and always wanted to control other practitioners. Therefore, the old forces managed to take advantage of my loopholes. I tried to get rid of those attachments, and I bought a new printer. I had a high fever at night. When I was awake, I listened to Master's audio tapes of teaching the Fa. In the morning, I sent forth righteous thoughts and became totally fine. Practitioner A came to pick up the materials. Some interference occurred again. My phone and internet did not work. The fellow practitioner waited for half an hour.
Be Compassionate towards Fellow Practitioners and Save More People
The practitioners with whom I often cooperated had different cultivation states, and I tried to be compassionate towards them. We should not look down on each other, because our attachments will be let go of during Dafa cultivation.
Practitioner B was 77 years old and he lived by himself. He had done a few things to validate the Fa. Other practitioners often gave him Minghui Weekly, but he returned it to the practitioner after he finished reading it once. So practitioners did not want to give it to him anymore. Then I began to offer him Minghui Weekly, and I asked him to give it back to me after he read it. We should help him, even though he did not realize the importance of reading Minghui Weekly. I believed that as long as he wanted to be a practitioner, Dafa had the power to lead him onto a righteous path. Eventually, he did not return it anymore.
I invited him to join the Fa study group. He did not come initially, but later he did. He realized that he was behind in cultivation and was willing to be more diligent. He started to distribute truth-clarification materials and offer sentient beings salvation. He also encountered some physical tribulations, but he passed the tests with righteous thoughts. Although he was 77 years old, he walked really fast. Moreover, he looked younger. He once told me that when he was meditating one day, he felt as if his legs had disappeared and felt very comfortable. I was very happy for him.
Sometimes, practitioner B watched TV and agreed with some points that the Communist Party said about Falun Gong. Then he encountered some physical tribulations. I shared my experience with him, “What we are doing is the best thing in the world. Master asks us to save more sentient beings and there is no excuse for the evil to interfere with us. You'd better study the Fa well.” A few days later, he resumed going out to save sentient beings.
I suggest that we be compassionate to our fellow practitioners and try to help each other. Never look down on other practitioners. We are all practitioners of Falun Dafa and should not force other practitioners to do what we want. We need to be compassionate so that we can cooperate well and save more people.
Please point out anything that is inappropriate.
(Clearwisdom.net) A couple of practitioners in our region recently died due to not understanding the test of sickness karma. When tribulations arise or during personal conflicts, some practitioners still have been unable to differentiate between our own cultivation and the old forces' arrangements. The end of the Fa-rectification is rapidly approaching, yet we have not matured sufficiently, nor have we saved enough sentient beings. This poor state of affairs is caused by not really understanding how to cultivate in our daily lives and this, in turn, causes a lack of cooperation and coordination in our group. The following summary is from our group sharing.
1. We Realized We Were Just Going Through the Motions While Studying the Fa
Master said,
“Don't just go through the motions when you study the Fa. You should study with a concentrated mind, and you must really be studying.” (“To the Australia Fa Conference”)
Our compassionate Master has been teaching us in Fa lectures again and again in order to help us understand and assimilate to the Fa better so that we can walk well the path of cultivation in Fa-rectification. If we don’t enlighten to the high level law through Fa study, we will not reach our predetermined levels of consummation.
Some practitioners in our region simply go through the motions while studying the Fa, regardless of whether they are reading in a group or alone. They can read more than one lecture through very quickly, yet they only pay attention to the surface level of the words and, as such, do not enlighten to the Fa’s higher meanings at each level.
Some practitioners do study Zhuan Falun every day, but cannot recall the general idea of what they have just read. Any practitioner reading the Fa without the required concentration of mind will be unable to understand the Fa’s deeper meanings. Frankly, by reading the Fa this way, the laws of higher levels will not be revealed even one bit.
Group Fa study is a cultivation form given by our Master.
“You can use the format of group discussions, where people learn from each other and share and discuss with one another. We require that you do it that way.” (Zhuan Falun)
After Fa study, instead of talking about our truth clarification projects first, we should follow Master's requirement and share our understandings on the Fa with each other. This way our xinxing has a chance to improve. Only after sharing on the Fa should we proceed to our talk about Dafa work because only then will our cooperation and coordination be much improved, as our one body will have elevated in the Fa.
Some practitioners do not measure themselves according to the Fa but instead look up to practitioners who read the Fa well. Someone said, “Practitioner A can recite Zhuan Falun, so A must know the Fa very well.” In reality Practitioner A mixes personal cultivation into the period of Fa-rectification cultivation. When encountering tribulations, A thinks of outside interference only and does not understand that he/she needs to look inwards first. We study Zhuan Falun, so it will guide us through our cultivation. Being able to recite the words, but not genuinely assimilating to the standards of the Fa, will not produce the right fruit in our cultivation.
The origins of many practitioners are very high; therefore, we have to break through to a very high level to reach the origin. As we study the Fa diligently, we shouldn’t hold the one understanding at the same level for too long. In some study groups, practitioners have become used to not compassionately pointing out shortcomings that they see in practitioners. By always keeping the atmosphere at a comfortable level, the goal of group-Fa-study is lost.
2. Some Problems in Our Region
Master said,
“Study the Fa and gain the Fa, Focus on how you study and cultivate, Let each and every thing be measured against the Fa. Only then, with that, is it actually cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation” in Hong Yin)
It took the death of a fellow practitioner in 2010 from sickness karma to make me understand that, as a group, we had failed in the fundamental requirement of looking inwards at all times. Because we failed to look inwards, whenever something was not right, the tribulations become ever bigger until a fellow practitioner died.
Example 1: Suffering from tremendous pain, Practitioner A died in 2010. This was a new practitioner who began to practice very early in 2010 and had played a great part in making truth clarification materials at our production site. The practitioners around him/her were very sad and looked inward, trying to find understandings based on Fa. They realized that Practitioner A had not studied the Fa according to Master's requirements and sometimes, more often than not, did things with a human mindset rather than as a practitioner based on the Fa principles. Even though A did plenty of work for the site his/her xinxing cultivation was not solid enough. As long as we fail to cultivate ourselves solidly and mix in human notions with cultivation, the law of the cosmos will constantly restrain us and we will head towards the old force arrangements of destruction.
Example 2: Practitioner B put lots effort into Fa study and saving human beings, yet harmonizing his family did not go well. When B was distributing flyers telling the truth about Falun Gong, his neighbor reported him to the police. From then on he was under surveillance and, in order to avoid further persecution, he became homeless. He began to look for jobs in other cities, but as he was suffering under extremely poor living conditions he was unable to find work. Sometimes the local police questioned him about his identity, yet his faith in the Fa and in Master was strong and he kept doing the three things solidly so was not further persecuted. While studying the Fa one day he enlightened to a hint from Master that he ought to walk the path arranged by Master and not the path by the old forces. He just realized then that he should go home. Then, when he returned home with the righteous mind of a practitioner, everything went smoothly.
Master said:
“If a person is completely in the Fa no one can touch him.” (“Teaching the Fa in San Francisco, 2005”)
3. Raising to a Higher Level as One Body
There are quite a few elderly practitioners in our region who are nice at a human level but who don’t keep up with the progress of a Fa Rectification disciple. Since success in their cultivation relates to the extension their lives, staying at the same level could cause some of them imminent danger.
Some of our fellow practitioners are still suffering from sickness karma, as the evil old forces are using our shortcoming to interfere with and destroy us as a group. The practitioners with illnesses shouldn’t lose courage, while the practitioners around them can support them with righteous thoughts instead of blaming them.
Sharing with practitioners from within the Fa and helping them to look inwards for the answers while we also do the same will improve this situation and negate all old force interference.
Master said:
“With a lot of things, when everyone cooperates with each other they'll go better. I hope that you can focus less attention and energy on who has done well and who hasn't, who's good and who's bad, or how this or that person is--focus all of your attention and spend all of your energy on validating the Fa. (Applause) When all of you can cooperate with each other and do well in the things to validate the Fa, that's when you establish your mighty-virtue. When you are commenting on who's good and who's bad, gods won't even look you straight on.” (“Teaching the Fa at the Meeting with Asia-Pacific Students”)
Master's words shocked my heart. Master and the Gods have exposed the human attachments blocking our way. On the path of cultivation, we should support each other, and not hurt each other, otherwise we could be easily dragged down and our cultivations would be destroyed. By carrying these human attachments, the whole body is in a state of separation. These attachments are obstacles keeping us from assisting Master in Fa-rectification. Dear Practitioners, Master’s Fa-rectification is imminent. Please do not be bewildered any more. Genuinely study the Fa and please do not treat the principles Master taught us as everyday human notions.
(Clearwisdom.net) In the past few days, a fellow practitioner and I have been distributing 2011 calendars face-to-face. We feel that people are awakening more and more each day. They are all waiting for us to tell them the facts about Falun Dafa. One elderly man said, “I want the calendar. It is so good. I also read the other materials you distributed. Only Falun Dafa practitioners can do such great things.”
Today, we came across some parents waiting to pick up their kids at a grade school. After the fellow practitioner gave out a few calendars, someone came over and asked: “What are you distributing?” Another lady said, “It's a 2011 calendar that brings peace and serenity.” Many people began saying, “Give me one, I want one.” Quite a few people came over. One person said nastily, “Falun Gong made these calendars.” I said to her, “What’s wrong with Falun Gong? It just teaches people to follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and helps you keep fit. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) does not allow us to practice or to be good people. Isn’t that also persecuting you?” Another man said, “What a wonderful calendar! There was one person who did not want it, so I picked it up. Now I have two. I can give one to someone else.” Then, a young man said, “Falun Dafa. Give me one, I want one.” One girl said, “Lady, you have calendars. Do you have any other materials too? Like VCDs?”
It took us less than three days to give away 900 calendars. People were so excited to get them. My fellow practitioner said, “I only had nine calendars last year. I walked the whole street and only gave out two calendars. This year, I thought that I should clarify the truth face-to-face, and Master arranged for us to work together.”
I learned Falun Dafa in 2005. We went out to discuss the facts about Falun Dafa, distribute Shen Yun VCDs and other materials almost every afternoon from November through today. Previously, I could only distribute 20 to 50 VCDs by myself. Since I began working with this fellow practitioner, I have been able to distribute over 100 VCDs each time. I am especially happy when I see people accepting them so eagerly.
One time, we distributed VCDs in a bus. The other practitioner sent forth righteous thoughts while I found opportunities to chat with others. Two college girls sat beside me, and I said to them, “Merry Christmas! This is a Shen Yun VCD. It's a Christmas gift that I’d like to give to you. You have to spend $100 to watch this show in other countries. You are lucky to see it for free. Please let others watch it after you are done. You can help renew our Chinese traditional culture. It is a very good deed.” The two girls were happy to have the VCD and said, “Thank you.” I then told them that there were some very good songs on the VCD. I sang the song “The Truth is Spreading” by Jiang Min. A little girl sitting in the back seat said, “Wow, so good.” So, I gave her a Shen Yun VCD too. Other passengers also wanted to have VCDs. In a short while, all the VCDs were gone.
When I got home, I realized that Master was helping us again. I often ride the bus and see so many passengers, but I never knew what to tell them or how to give them the Shen Yun VCDs. I can sing, but I never felt that I could just stand there in the bus and sing like that. However, this time, when I had the thought, Master helped me to get started. I want to thank our great Master.
Fellow practitioners, let us all go out and clarify the truth. Now is the last stage of the Fa rectification and the evil is very weak. As long as we have a strong, determined heart to assist Master in Fa rectification, we can save more sentient beings and fulfill our prehistoric vows. As long as we have the heart to save people, Master's Fashen will bring predestined people to come listen to us.
(Clearwisdom.net) My daughter was in the fourth grade when the Epoch Times published the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party. After seeing Master's article “Turning the Wheel Towards the Human World”, I enlightened that our Dafa disciples also need to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its affiliated organizations to better lead others to do the same. I shared my thoughts with my daughter and asked her whether she wanted to quit the Young Pioneers. She agreed, so we declared her intention to quit the Young Pioneers, and we used her real name.
After she quit, she wondered whether she should continue to wear the CCP’s red scarf. My daughter said, “Mom, I don’t want to wear the red scarf anymore.” I then told her, “Well, let’s take it off.”
Several days later, my daughter came home from school and told me that her homeroom class teacher had criticized her for not wearing the red scarf. She asked me to explain it to her teacher. I said, “Just tell your teacher why you don’t wear it.” My daughter said, “I told her. However, she didn’t listen to me at all.” Since the education system in Mainland China trains teachers to use the CCP’s coercive methods to teach students, I decided to talk with the teacher about this red scarf problem.
I explained to the teacher how the CCP persecutes Falun Gong. I told her that my parents had been fired from their jobs because of their belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I let the teacher know that the Epoch Times had called on everyone to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations, and that my daughter had declared her intention to quit the Young Pioneers on the Epoch Times website.
The teacher looked quite perplexed, but when I mentioned Master Li Hongzhi’s name, she shuddered momentarily and she didn't look so confused anymore. She said that actually she didn’t know how to deal with this matter, and she planned to report it to their Young Pioneers Department. I stopped her at once, saying, “My daughter is so young. This is far from a political issue. Everyone with a conscience will understand that while our family members suffer persecution because of practicing Falun Gong, it is intolerable that our daughter still remains a member of that CCP organization.” I continued, “In addition, you teachers are also victims. When you educate your students, you are forbidden to tell them that Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good, and that they are the universal values of all human beings.” Another teacher was nearby at the time and listened to me quietly and intently. In the end, my daughter’s teacher agreed not to ask her to wear the red scarf, and she agreed not to criticize her for it.
When the teacher left, the assistant class teacher came into the office. I greeted her and explained why I was there. She said, “Your daughter dropped the red scarf on the ground and stepped on it. That’s why we criticized her.” I immediately said, “It’s nothing bad to step on the red scarf.” She was shocked by my words. I continued, “Have you read Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party?” She nodded and at once understood. I knew that it was Master helping me at that time.
After my daughter got to fourth grade, the school arranged for another teacher to be her homeroom teacher. I was asked to go to the school again about the red scarf matter because my daughter’s class had points deducted from the class score due to her not wearing the red scarf. This was another method used by the CCP to poison people. I then told my daughter, “Since you already quit the CCP’s Young Pioneers, you do not need to wear the scarf.” She said, “But it affects the honor of the whole class.” I then decided to explain the truth to the director of the Young Pioneers Department.
I told the director explicitly that the Epoch Times had called on people to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations, and that my daughter had quit the Young Pioneers. I explained to her that the CCP persecutes Falun Gong practitioners and staged the Tiananmen Square self-immolation incident. She listened very carefully, and said that she might ask the Education Bureau how to deal with this matter. I said, “This is fully based on my daughter’s own will. When my daughter joined the Young Pioneers, nobody asked her or her guardians if she should join. Actually, my daughter was forcibly enrolled into this organization. Now that she quit it of her own volition; there is no need to report it to the Education Bureau. Moreover, in order to protect the child, we parents don’t want you to report the matter to the Education Bureau.” The director understood and agreed that my daughter didn’t need to wear the red scarf and that points would no longer be deducted from her class because of it. I thanked her, and then returned to find my daughter’s new teacher. I told her that I had explained everything to the director of the Young Pioneers Department, and I told her that points wouldn't be deducted from the class anymore. The new teacher was very happy and treated my daughter very well after that.
My daughter’s classmates thus learned that my daughter had quit the Young Pioneers. Some classmates secretly asked my daughter to help them quit as well. Several of my daughter’s classmates then quit the CCP’s Young Pioneers as a result.
Looking back at this, I realized that the entire process was one of practicing cultivation and saving sentient beings. One thing I didn’t do well is that I was only paying attention to my child's issue at the time. I didn’t persuade the teachers to quit the CCP, but all four of the teachers now know the truth about Falun Gong. Another thing I would like to point out is the power of the one body of Dafa practitioners. My daughter’s school often organized teachers to travel abroad; thus many of the teachers have come to learn that Dafa has spread widely around the world. That made it easier for these teachers to accept the truth.
Since my daughter quit the Young Pioneers, her academic performance has gotten better and better. When she took her graduation pictures, the photographer required that she wear the red scarf. My daughter said she was no longer a member of the Young Pioneers and therefore took the picture without the red scarf. After she enrolled in junior high school, my daughter’s academic performance was still among the best. In addition, she was elected to be the class monitor. The teacher wanted her to join the Youth League, as she considered it a privilege. My daughter told the teacher that she didn’t want to join. However, the teacher still selected her to be a candidate for the Youth League. All the candidates were arranged to take an exam, after which they could be accepted by the Youth League. My daughter was unable to avoid it and had to take the exam per the teacher’s requirement. A question in the exam asked, “If you become a Youth League member, how would you respect your teachers and help others?” My daughter wrote down, “Without being a Youth League member, we should still respect our teachers and help others.” As a result, she didn’t pass the exam and wasn’t selected to join the Youth League.
The reason I mentioned this matter above is to share with fellow practitioners who are parents and facing the problem of their children joining the Youth League. When our children are in elementary school, teachers often don’t accept the children’s own will and just coerce them. At this point in their lives, the children are usually afraid of teachers. Therefore, we parents should explain the facts to the teachers and help the children develop righteous thoughts at the same time. As the children grow up, some matters need to be dealt with by themselves. It is their opportunity to position themselves, and these crucial choices should be made by the children themselves.
I also realized that while discussing the facts about Falun Dafa to school teachers, we should break through and let go of our human notions, explain the facts and save sentient beings.
This is my current understanding. I hope it is helpful to fellow practitioners. Please kindly point out anything improper.
