(Minghui.org) We were told in March 2020 that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had launched a nationwide “Zero-Out” campaign, which was a new round of persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The CCP ordered all levels of government to carry out this campaign.
The CCP still had the energy to persecute Dafa practitioners during such a serious pandemic! I realized that the Fa-rectification was approaching the end and the elimination of some sentient beings had begun. Sentient beings came to hear us clarify the truth about Dafa, and we as practitioners are given the opportunity to save them.
Perhaps because of my wish to save all sentient beings, officers in charge of the Zero-Out campaign in my area came to see me five times. Nine of them listened to what I had to say. Some practitioners asked me, “Do you think they really come to listen to you clarify the truth?”
The implication was that I incurred the harassment as a result of my pursuit and that those people came to persecute me instead of out of a need to hear the truth. I maintained my righteous thoughts, believing that all the people came to be saved.
After they visited me for a third time, I had a dream. I clearly saw a pile of schoolbooks on a cabinet, and mine was on the top. I opened it and saw the teacher, had written “Good” on my English homework. On page after page, I saw many good comments, supporting my contention that I was on the right path. This dream encouraged my righteous thoughts.
Four officials came to my store one morning. One of them said, “We are from the county government. We want to talk to you.” I knew why they were there and said, “OK, say whatever you want to say.” He said, “We just want to say, don’t go out to do anything harmful to society. The situation is complex now, the foreign countries...” I interrupted him and said, “Don’t say that – I never do anything that harms society.”
When he asked me if I practiced Falun Gong, I said, “I don’t want to answer you. As the Constitution clearly says, we were granted freedom of belief. I have a right to practice or not to practice.” He said, “Yes, you were granted freedom of belief, so you can choose not to answer.”
Then I asked them what harm Falun Gong had done and to please give me an example. He waved his hand and said, “Nothing, nothing,” so I asked why they were in my store. Another official who was on the village Party committee said, “Not only you. We have to visit every Falun Gong practitioner in our village.” When I asked him to tell the others what harmful things I had ever done in the village, he said, “None.”
I said, “Falun Gong has been treated unfairly. Please do not follow the CCP to persecute it.” They said, “We have not nor will we ever persecute Falun Gong.”
I said, “You are committing a crime. Do you know that?” One of them asked why, and I said, “You are harassing me, because I was identified by the government as practicing Falun Gong.”
Another official held up the socket wrench he’d just bought and said, “We didn’t come to harass you, we just came to buy something.” Then, they left the store in a rush. One of them turned around and said to me politely before they got into their car, “Ma’am, we are leaving now.”
I had planned to clarify the truth to them but didn’t expect them to leave in such a rush. Looking at their backs, I felt pity for them but also thought that it was laughable.
The second time, three people came into my store. One of them bought something and then said, “Ma’am, we are from the county government. My name is Wang Ming (pseudonym).” I then realized why they were there but thought it was another good chance to save people, so I asked what they wanted. He said, “Well, nothing special, I just want to talk to you. I also practice a qigong and know that it truly helps one’s health.” He began to talk about how he practiced and how he felt when he did. Then he asked me to talk about how I felt when I practiced Falun Gong.
I told him that Falun Gong isn’t only about physical movements, that it also has strict xinxing requirements, that practitioners must improve their moral standards and improve physically and mentally. He said, “I think no matter what qigong you practice, you can’t be opposed to the CCP. If you are, how can it not suppress you?” I said, “It is not us who oppose the CCP, it is the CCP that is persecuting us. We are just opposing the persecution. Did Confucius oppose the CCP? He lived over 2000 years ago, but the CCP still maligns him. Not everyone affected by the CCP opposes it, and not everyone who opposes it is bad. Please look back: which of the CCP’s campaigns hasn’t, in the end, been proven to be wrongful? The sins the CCP has committed are too numerous to be counted.”
I also told him that only when everyone has a righteous belief and knows to watch their behavior can society be truly stable. He said there have been many religious wars in foreign countries, and those countries are not stable. I said, “In China, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism were passed down at the same time. They constitute the brilliance of traditional Chinese culture.” We also talked about religion, history, traditions, and books used by different cultivation schools. He was truly quite knowledgeable.
He seemed to regard me as a confidant. No matter what subject we talked about, he responded with great interest. I said, “You indeed have read a lot of books, you are also very smart, but all your understandings have been confined in a cage, which makes you not rational enough.” He asked with a confused look on his face, “A cage?” I said, “Yes, a cage built by the CCP. Your understanding of history and tradition has been distorted by the CCP.” He appeared to be deep in thought.
The other two said nothing. Apparently Wang Ming was the one in charge. One of the two just said one thing, “It seems that these two are having a great discussion.”
As they left, Wang Ming said, “Ma’am, we have to wrap up here. When I have more time, I will come back and discuss it with you further.”
This time, Wang Ming came by himself. He visited me claiming to be shopping. He bought a lot of things and told other customers the quality of my goods was very good, that the lamp he’d bought from me a long time ago was still working very well. I continued to clarify the truth to him.
He said, “I know that you people are good. The CCP indeed has done something bad, but its overall behavior is still good. The people still support it. See how strong our country is now.” I said, “People are not supporting it in their hearts.” He said, “Hasn’t your Master escaped to America? Don’t be used by the anti-China forces—how can we let them interfere with our internal affairs?”
I said, “That is not correct. The reason why those countries approve of Falun Gong is because the CCP is persecuting it. They are aiding humanity. Let’s make an analogy: If you see your neighbor's husband beating his wife, wouldn’t you stop him? Is that interfering with the internal affairs of another family? Or can you be assumed to be having an affair with his wife because you did that? Another analogy: If a son kills his father, doesn't the law intervene? Is that interference? Master Li didn’t go abroad when the persecution began in 1999. He went abroad in 1995 because Falun Gong aims to save people worldwide, not only in China.
“Don’t be deceived by the CCP and participate in the persecution anymore. There are two sides even at the highest levels. The list of 14 cults put out by the State Council and the Ministry of Public Security in 2000 didn’t include Falun Gong. The 99th and 100th Amendments under Amendment 50 issued by the National Press and Publication Administration on March 1, 2011, abolished the ban on the publication of Falun Gong books. You are a clever man. You should see the situation and leave a way out for yourself.”
This time Wang Ming showed up with a woman. Wang Ming said, “Ma’am, my superiors told me that the upper-level authorities were going to set up a brainwashing center and all Falun Gong practitioners who refuse to be ‘transformed’ will be put in it. We don’t want you to be hurt, so we are here to advise you. When those people visit you and tell you not to practice anymore, you can simply say, ‘Yes,’ then continue to practice once they leave.”
I said, “I can’t do that. First, I can’t betray my master. Second, I can’t lie, because I live by the Dafa principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.”
The woman said, “You are sticking to Falun Gong with such determination. Can you tell me the benefits of practicing Falun Gong?” That’s exactly what I wanted to tell her.
I said, “Practicing Falun Gong makes you healthy physically and mentally. I used to feel really dizzy. I visited many hospitals but none of them could find the problem. After I practiced Falun Gong, my dizziness never recurred. I haven’t taken any medication for over 10 years. Before, I had a bad temper and treated my parents-in-law badly. Now I no longer have a temper, and my parents-in-law think more highly of me than of their own son and daughter. They are recognizing me, but more so recognizing Falun Gong.”
The woman said, “After hearing all this, I have almost been transformed by you.”
Wang Ming said, “Actually we are afraid that you will be hurt. When the people from the Political and Legal Affairs Committee come, they won’t treat you like we do.” I said, “No matter who they are, they must be reasonable. It is not wrong for me to be a good person.” He said, “If the CCP just wants to be unreasonable, how will you deal with it?”
He asked me nervously, “You are not recording this, are you?” I said, “See, you know the CCP is unreasonable, and you are still trying to persuade me to go against my conscience. If all of you officials were more righteous, the situation in China wouldn’t have been like this.” He lowed his head resignedly. The woman said my reasoning made good sense.
Wang Ming said, “Practicing Falun Gong can indeed increase our knowledge. Please think about it again. We will leave for now.”
Wang Ming came again with a young man in his 20s. The young man wanted to take photos of me as soon as they entered. I said, “What are you doing? Do you know you are committing a crime?” Wang Ming stopped him. I said, “You must give me your names and phone numbers before we can talk today.” Wang Ming readily agreed, “Okay, here’s mine. He is only a kid, let him go.” Then, the young man neatly wrote down his name and number.
Wang Ming said, “Ma’am, can we do this? The police are going to visit you. Before they come, I will call you in advance. You can leave and let your husband deal with them.” I said, “I won’t do that. I need to protect my family and not let the police commit a crime. I also need to protect you.” Wang Ming said, “Don’t be so stubborn. If you do things like that, your business will be affected and so will your son’s job. It is meaningless.”
I said, “Just because I practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I can’t run my business and my son’s job will be affected. Do you think that’s right?” He said, “Not, it’s not. But isn’t it because I am afraid you will be hurt? I just want to do things fairly—I can do my job and you can be safe.”
When I heard that, I understood his thinking. Although he had understood the truth to some degree, he was still hovering at the crossroads, wondering if he would benefit or not.
Since I knew from our repeated talks that he was from the district government instead of the county government and was therefore the main person in charge of the “Zero-Out” Campaign on my area, I said firmly, “Wang Ming, I have explained the truth to you, you have understood it, and I can see you are a smart man. Do not do wrong for the sake of a little current benefit. I also want to tell you that you have also been put on my list of names. The severity of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in our area is directly related to you. Please make a choice between good and evil.” Then they left.
No one visited me anymore, and the persecution eased up in the area. I also didn’t hear that other practitioners were harassed again.