On Signing Renunciation Statements in the “Zero-Out” Harassment Campaign

(Minghui.org) The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been carrying out its so-called “zero-out campaign” since last year. The campaign aims to force every Falun Dafa practitioner on the government's blacklist to renounce Falun Dafa.

When practitioners refused to sign the required statements to renounce their faith, the police and/or street committee staff members would often pull out a piece of paper with unknown content or even nothing on it for them to sign. Many practitioners have signed these documents in confusion, including those who had been cultivating for over 20 years. Some had also attended Master's Fa lectures in person. It is such a pity.

Master told us:

“No matter what the situation, do not cooperate with the evil’s demands, orders, or what it instigates.” (“Dafa Disciples’ Righteous Thoughts are Powerful,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)

As Dafa disciples, we should firmly resist the persecution and save the world’s people. How can we give any guarantee to the evil? Even if it is a blank piece of paper, isn't that a form of compromise? Isn't that putting ourselves under the evil’s control? Even as an ordinary person, being treated this way would be regarded as an insult. How could we be so subservient?

In the early stages of the persecution, some practitioners did not understand this issue clearly and did some regrettable things, which resulted in great obstacles to their own cultivation.

For example, a fellow practitioner told me that the local police station pressured him to write the “three statements” to renounce Falun Dafa, but he refused and stayed in a stalemate for several days. The police came to harass him every day and threatened to take him to a brainwashing center. He felt a lot of pressure. Then a policeman said to him a few days later, “Didn't you say you would never do anything illegal in practicing Dafa? Then you should write something like that and sign it.” He did as he was told and felt relieved that he had finally passed the test.

I told him: “You are using cunning to cover up your fear. The evil sees this clearly. What they want is your compromise.” This practitioner's unclear understanding on this issue resulted in repeated persecution in the past two decades. He was taken to brainwashing classes several times, and each time he failed to keep up his righteous thoughts.

The requirements of Dafa cultivation are the purest. We cannot meet the standard by putting on a show or relying on luck. The Dafa disciples who came through the craziest persecution in the early days learned Dafa rationally and passed through the tough tests and eliminated the evil with the purest heart. At that time, there was a lot of sharing in this aspect, so most practitioners understood it clearly.

I remember when I went to Beijing to appeal for the right to practice Dafa for the third time in early 2001. I had just been released from the previous detention, and it was almost Chinese New Year. The police asked me to promise that I would not go to Beijing during the Chinese New Year. I refused. They pressured my family, who said that I had been to Beijing several times and would definitely not go back. The police took a step back and said it was okay for me to make a verbal commitment not to go.

I replied directly, “I will not make any verbal commitments. Where I go is my right and freedom, and you can’t take it away.”

They said they would call me once a week to find out how I was doing, and I sternly refused. “I practice Dafa righteously and in a dignified way. I don't need you to call me. That will only cause a disturbance. I won't answer your calls.” And they didn't call again.

Master taught us,

“the appearance stems from the mind.” (“Fa Teaching Given at the Epoch Times Meeting,” Collected Fa Teachings, Vol. X)

The persecution has been going on for almost 22 years now. If Dafa disciples become more rational and mature in the process, this “zero-out” campaign may not exist. Even if the evil had been unwilling to back down, it would not have lasted for such a long time on such a large scale. It has exhausted all kinds of despicable means, and it should have been wiped out long ago.

Cultivation in Dafa is the most sacred, and it is Master’s compassion that has given us the greatest blessing and glory in this universe. Just remember this: making any compromise to the evil is a disgrace and the greatest disrespect and betrayal of Master and Dafa. If one doesn’t even understand this most fundamental problem because one hasn’t cultivated well over the years, then there is really a big problem that one must take seriously.

[Editor's note: Views expressed in this article represent the author's own opinions, for which the author is solely responsible. Readers should evaluate the article's merits on their own.]