(Minghui.org) I'm a Falun Gong practitioner from Shandong Province who has experienced firsthand being protected by people who are not practitioners.
My company's leaders and my colleagues have looked out for me, despite the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) policy of persecution. They not only protected me, they promoted me!
Promoted While in Detention
After I graduated from college, I got a job in a sales department. My attitude, honesty, and outstanding performance won the admiration of the company leaders and my colleagues.
After the regime launched the persecution, I went to Beijing to protest peacefully for the right to practice Falun Gong in 2000. I was illegally arrested, transferred to a local detention center, and detained for 45 days.
My employer was not aware that I was detained and promoted me to an assistant manager position in the supply department. This position was coveted by many of my colleagues, and only those with good connections were assigned to it.
The detention center did not notify my company about my detention until after I was released. The CEO criticized the human resources manager for hiring a Falun Gong practitioner. The manager ignored the comment and told his assistant that, if the police harassed us again, "Tell them that everyone in our company practices Falun Gong."
Courage in the Face of Adversity
When I returned to work, I was told to go see the CEO. The CEO looked haggard, and I could only imagine how much pressure he was under because of the repeated harassment. He was another victim of the persecution and had thereby earned my compassion.
He told me not to count on keeping my job. I replied gently but firmly, “There is nothing wrong with practicing Falun Gong. The CCP is wrong. I think I still work for you.”
These few simple words made him change his mind. He got up, smiled, and said, “You Falun Gong practitioners are brave! You went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Falun Gong! You aren't afraid of the CCP! But Jiang Zemin is scared to death! I bet he can't sleep every night” and laughed.
Promoted Instead of Fired
The CEO asked, “Which department would you like to work in? You choose! Since you majored in accounting, would you like to be an assistant manager in the accounting department?”
I told him that I was already familiar with the work in the sales department and did not mind working there. He called my manager and told him that I would be his assistant manager, which came with a higher salary.
My company CEO called me once in while to make sure that everything was going well with me.
Taking No Chances
When I was about to leave in a business trip, I received a court summons. I told the CEO about it. He told me not to worry, to go ahead and leave. He said, “I'll take care of it. I will tell them you are the best person in our company!” He even approved an airline ticket, so I could get out of town quickly.
A fellow Falun Gong practitioner came to pick me up at work. I was in a rush and hadn't asked to leave early. Just as we were going to leave the company compound, I saw that the gate was closed. The security guard and my manager ran over to stop the car. My manager asked me, “Are you O.K.? Was someone trying to arrest you? We are here to help.”
It turned out that the security director had seen me get into a strange car. He thought that the CCP had arrested me. He closed the gate and told my manager about it.
After I told the manager of the International Trade Department the facts about Falun Gong, he said, “We absolutely won't allow them to persecute you. They will never have their way here.”
During my three years in this company, no one ever attempted to stop me from practicing Falun Gong, even when the persecution was at its worst. It's extraordinary for people to side with practitioners under the Communist regime.
