MY TRIP TO CHINA -- DAYS WITH FALUN DAFA PRACTITIONERS IN CHINA

On November 22, after I got two weeks of vacation, I said good-bye to my daughter and left my husband a letter, then I went to Denver Airport. Ive thought about this China trip for a long time; but my final decision was made 3 days ago --- Because I knew that maybe itll be more than 2 weeks, maybe itll be several months or even several years before I returned.

Everyday I followed the situation in China from the Internet. Chinese governments persecution against Falun Gong has been escalating. Thousands of practitioners had risked their lives to appeal to the government. They were asking the government to retrieve its wrong policy to avoid more suffering of people. Everyday I could not help crying when reading these stories about the practitioners. I had that growing feeling that I should be with them, and I should tell their stories to more people, and to let all of the kind-hearted people in the world learn about Falun Dafa.

The first time I read Master Lis Zhuan Falun was from the Internet at the beginning of 1997. I felt I had found the ultimate treasure. Zhuan Falun answered all of my questions regarding the universe and the human life. I have studied Philosophy and supernormal abilities; I have practiced Qigong; and Ive wondered in religions. Ive been searching so hard, but could never find the key to solve all of my confusions. I seemed to have lost my destiny in this puzzling world. While practicing Dafa, the improvement in my mind and my body have strengthened my faith on Falun Dafa. I believe it is true cultivation to allow human beings to become unselfish and enlightened. It is the Universal Principles that had never been taught before.

Just as my plane landed in Beijing airport, heavy fog suddenly appeared, and my plane had to halt in the middle of the runway. The fly-attendant told us if we were 3 minutes later we would be diverted to Shanghai. I thought it was not a coincidence, its not easy for me to come here. A practitioner who came back to China 3 weeks ago was waiting for me. She told me that there would be an experience sharing meeting in Guang-Zhou and many practitioners from all over China would be there. Therefore, we took the train to Guang-Zhou the next day.

It was in a suburban resident-home that I met over 30 practitioners. Its an apartment on the fifth floor with 3 bedrooms and a living room. Theres no furniture. Practitioners sat on cotton quilts that covered the floor. As we entered the door, they all got up and greeted us. The serenity and modesty from the practitioners brought a special warm feeling upon me. From conversation I noticed that all of them had come here after overcoming many barriers. There were practitioners from Australia and Sweden as well. They started to assemble in here on November 18. Everyone had written down their cultivation experience. They exchanged their experiences and helped each other to make progress. They have not stepped out of the door for several days to avoid outside attention and any disturbance to neighbors.

A practitioner from Shi-Jia-Zhuang came to sit in front of me and started a conversation. Her voice was calm; and I could feel her heart was very pure. It seemed that she had cultivated herself quite well. She said: The Master had suggested group practice and study, as well as experience sharing meetings as the ways to spread Dafa; we need to maintain that; and hopefully this meeting can bring along more practitioners in other parts of China to resume such ways. The Swedish practitioner have practiced for over 5 years. She told me that some Swedish practitioners have been visiting China once a year to exchange experiences with Chinese practitioners. They called that return to mothers home. The Swedish practitioners went to Chang-Chun particularly since it is the place where the Master started his teaching. Therere more and more Swedish people practicing Dafa, and there are more Swedish practitioners than Chinese practitioners in Sweden.

After midnight, we turned off lights and went to sleep. I slept with several girls in a bedroom. The room was tiny and could barely fit us. Men slept in the living room. Less than an hour after we laid down, we heard shouting and fierce knocking on the door. A practitioner said calmly: Must be police. We didnt panic. We all came to the living room as the police rushed in, shouting Dont move! Sit down! Practitioners asked: Which law have we broken? How can you just break in? Police gave no answer and showed no warrant for arresting or searching. They started to hit practitioners on their head and body. A practitioner was beaten by four or five policemen at the same time. One practitioner was beaten to the ground; her body rolled up; and she was sweating from the pain. As the police started to beat on an Australian practitioner, two Chinese practitioners tried to protect her with their own bodies. Two practitioners were dragged downstairs by the police. From the beginning to the end, no one fought back, displaying the great forbearance. I saw tears came down several male practitioners cheeks --- They feel sorry for not finishing the meeting and not be able to warn practitioners in other locations.

The police handcuffed every two of us together and then took us downstairs. I happened to be handcuffed with a short old man from Si-Chuan. I told him I was also from Si-Chuan, and he said that it must be predestined. Police then started to search through our luggage. Anything related to Dafa were confiscated. Books brought by Australian practitioners were all taken away. They even took some of our personal belongings. When a police found two Dafa books in my bag, he took them away, too. I asked him to return them to me, he said hell talk to me about that later. When we were in the police car, he returned the books to me. I was so happy to see that he still had a kind heart. Si-Chuan practitioners books were taken away so I gave him my Essentials for Further Advances. He smiled at me and hid it in his cloth. Practitioners all treasure Dafa books, and they know these books contain the Universal Principles. The Si-Chuan practitioner told me that his last name is Pan. He came from A-Ba county of Si-Chuan and was 62 years old. His family consisted of 5 members and all of them are practitioners. His experience paper reads: Master told us to be good people. I have 2 grandchildren, one of them is 6 and the other is 7. They both conduct themselves to the standard of Dafa. They never fight with classmates, even if others take away their belongings. Dafa can change and temper people. Dafa is good! Simple words, true touching.

Police took us to Tian-He Detention Center. They ordered us to sit on the floor of the dining hall, then took us one by one for questioning. From time to time, I heard noises of beating. Later I was told that the noise were caused by the beating of the practitioners. There was one practitioner who got slapped on the face every time he was asked a question. He was also forced to squat half way down for one and a half hours. I was taken for questioning before dawn. Police asked me why I still practice Falun Gong after it was banned. I told him: Falun Dafa helped millions of people become free of painful illnesses, this is a fact witnessed by the whole society; Falun Dafa taught people to be better, and helped millions to improve their morality, that is also witnessed by the whole society. For such a precious Dafa, no matter who bans it, I will still practice it. He asked why I came to China. I said because I saw the Chinese government couldnt tell right from wrong; and they are defaming Dafa; as a Chinese citizen, I have the obligation to come and clear the facts on Falun Gong; and I cared about practitioners in China; I came to see their situation. I told him that when a person see the true meaning of life, he will not change no matter how you abuse him. The police sighed and told me that they had to do those things because they were ordered to do so. At last he asked me: Can a person like me practice Falun Gong? I said sure. Master Li is compassionate to everyone, and you should treasure this opportunity. I suggested that he should read Zhuan Falun first.

After all 36 of us were questioned, we were locked up in 3 rooms on a second floor. We decided to carry out a hunger strike. We also demanded them to return our books and release us since we havent broken any laws. I felt lucky that we were not locked up separately so we still had chances to exchange experience. I heard many touching stories from the fellow practitioners. They have been striving to improve their realm of mind and enlighten to the teaching of Zhen-Shan-Ren (Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance). They treasure Dafa. When they saw Dafa was facing the current tribulation, Master Li was slandered and the practitioners were arrested, they stand out and use their own experience to tell the world the greatness of Dafa. They are using their own lives to safeguard Dafa.

A practitioner from Shang-Dong told us a story she heard in Beijing regarding a medical doctor from An-hui. The An-hui practitioner was in her 40s. She planned to appeal to the government in Beijing. Right after she purchased her train ticket to Beijing, her luggage and ticket were stolen. She has no money with her and decided to walk to Beijing along the railway. It was over 1000 kilometers, and most of the area she crossed were deserted lands. She drank from ponds, slept by rail-tracks, and almost ate nothing. When she saw a household, she would ask for some food. After much tribulation she came to Beijing. She had walked for 24 days, about 50 kilometers a day. She met other practitioners in Beijing and told them about her traveling experience. Then she was arrested along with the other practitioners.

A practitioner from Da-Lian told her story and it truly moved me. Once, without knowing what she looked like, the police came to her house to arrest her. As she heard the police asked her parents regarding her whereabouts, she calmly walked pass the police and out of the house. Unfortunately, she was arrested in Beijing. The wardens use electric-stick to shock her and other practitioners for over 2 hours. They didnt complain. There were only the sound of electric shocks and the smell of burned flesh. Even though the practitioners were shocked by the wardens, they dont hate the wardens at all. On the contrary, they helped the wardens with their laundries and also helped them to understand Dafa. Wardens said all Falun Gong practitioners are good people. She was on a hunger strike for 9 days. Right after she was released she came to the experience sharing in Guang-Zhou.

Most of us felt all right after 2 days of no food and no water. I heard from the Da-Lian practitioner that she knew someone who starved for 13 days and walked out of the jail like nothing happened. Someone even starved for 19 days. Those extraordinary phenomena from true practitioners are plenty to amaze the world. Only a slim girl in her 20s said she didnt feel well. She sat there with her eyes closed. In the afternoon, she already felt better. We all knew that we are in the process of eliminating karma.

The doctor in the detention center visited us once in a while. She could not believe Falun Gongs magical effects to treat illnesses. A practitioner from He-Nan told the doctor that three years ago she was famous for her bad health. She had heart problems, arthritis and hepatitis B. She tried western treatment, Chinese medicine and many alternative treatments but her condition only got wore. There was even time that she took medical leave for half of a year. After she practiced Falun Gong, all of her illnesses were gone. Many practitioners had different illnesses before, and now we are all healthy. That was our own personal experience. How can it be possible to ask us not to believe in Falun Gong?

In the afternoon, the guards ordered us to have our photos taken for records. We told them that we were not criminals, so we would not take photos. Then they came over to drag us. A guard dragged that slim girl out and shouted, "I will beat you to death." The girl screamed. We then encircled the guard, and asked him to let her go. He then loosed his hands. In order not to let them deal with us separately, we sat together in one detention room. Later they had to give up the intention of taking our photos. At night, the guard told us that they would transfer us to another place and ordered us to get out. We knew that they were going to punish us. Then the practitioners from Australia requested to see the Australia Consulate in Guang-Zhou, saying that they would not move before their request was granted because they felt that their personal safety was in danger. The officer who was responsible for foreign affairs came and after some negotiations he agreed to call the Australia Consulate. But he never came back. Later the guards dragged all of us out while beating and kicking us madly. They dragged us to the yard downstairs and ordered us to squat down. Then they ordered us one by one into a room and conducted thorough body search. Later we were separately detained in different cells with criminals.

I was assigned to the sixth cell. I found a practitioner from Jiang-xi in that cell, plus six criminals. One of the criminals immediately came over with a bowl of cereal and persuaded me to eat. She said that this was the task assigned to them and they would be punished if they could not succeed in persuading me to eat. I said that I would tell the guards that it had nothing to do with them. After a short while, the officer in charge of female prisoners came over and asked whether I had eaten or not, and threatened to fill me with salt water if I would refuse to eat. The inmates all told me that it was a very terrible thing to be filled with salt water. Meanwhile, I heard someone screaming in another cell. They told me that it must be that someone was being filled with salt water. The officer then ordered 4 to 5 male criminals to come over. One of them carried a tool for filling salt water, which is a long glass tube attached with a soft and thin tube and some other stuff. I sat on the ground and was close to the wall. The officer approached me and asked whether I still refused to eat. I asked him why I was arrested since I had not committed any crime; and up to now I had not seen the arrest certificate. He became extremely angry and kicked my right breast heavily, yelling "Who do you think you are?". He then said to the criminals "Fill her with salt water."

Several male criminals came over and dragged me on the ground to the door, pushed me down and put shackles on me. I felt that somebody squeezed my nose and I could not breathe. Then something big was squeezed into my mouth. My mouth was immediately full of salt water. Since I could not breathe I had to swallow them. It was high-density salt water. My throat felt that what I swallowed were all grains of salt, or a lot of salt plus tiny bit of water. I wanted to struggle but my hands and feet were forcefully held. I could not move at all. After a long time, I still heard that the officer ordered, "Fill more." I thought that I would suffocate to death if they continued to do that. After another 3 to 4 minutes, they let me go. But I could not breath freely for a long time. I felt like I would be suffocated to death. Then my stomach felt terrible. I wanted to drink water. I could not speak. My inmates held a bowl of cereal and fed me. But after a short while, all the cereals were thrown out. I had to constantly drink water and throw out. My clothes were full of water and dirty stuff. Ms. Ye could not help crying upon seeing me like that.

After throwing out for a long time, I started to felt a little better. My inmates held me to the water pool to clean my body. They tried to take off my pants. However, it was very difficult since I had shackles on me. At last, they had to tear off my pants. After they washed me, one of them offered her skirt to me kindly. It was already 3AM in the morning after they cleaned me. They told me that they had to work during the day. They went to sleep. I also went to sleep after throwing out a few more times.

At 8AM on the next morning, everyone must get up according to the prisons regulation. My stomach felt much better, but I had to drink water constantly. I could only speak in a low voice. Somebody sent in raw materials for the forced labors. We were forced to work to make plastic flowers. I then started to chat with my inmates. They said that they also would like to learn Falun Gong but they could not get a book. Some other Falun Gong practitioners had been detained together with them and introduced them Falun Gong. They felt very good about it. They have changed themselves after they got to know the teachings of Falun Gong. They used to beat and swear at each other; now they get along with each other very well because they know that they should be good people and should purify their hearts. Last night, I already felt their kind hearts when they took good care of me and lent me the skirt. They had practiced Falun Gong exercises secretly in the cell. One time, however, they were caught by the guards while practicing the exercises, and were beaten up. The head-criminal had a swollen bottom resulted from the beating. These criminals said that the practitioners who had been detained with them often told them stories of Falun Gong practitioners, which moved them to tears. Anyone would be moved by Falun Dafa as long as he still have some kindness remaining in his heart.

It was dark when someone came to take off my shackles. I felt much more comfortable. After a short while, the guard ordered Ms. Ye and me out. We got on a police car, not knowing where the car was heading for. Ms. Ye felt very calm. She is only 24 years old and has practiced Falun Gong for three years. I had read about her experience. She had had many illnesses before practicing Falun Gong. At such a young age, she had severe stomach illness and piles, which were all disappeared after practicing Falun Gong. She had been arrested for several times. One time she was arrested in Beijing. The police found out the place where she and other practitioners stayed. She thought that she should not be taken away like this and jumped out of the building without thinking about how high the building was. She said that she just felt that she got on the ground softly. Later someone told her that the building was about 12 feet (4 meters) high. But she did not have any bruises. She was not talkative and she looked very quiet. But she had been so courageous. Facing those abusive police officers, she always had a serene countenance and a kind heart.

It turned out that they were going to question us again. We were taken to the Police Station in Yuexiu District. After 2- or 3-hour interrogation, they finally convicted us as participating in illegal Falun Gong activities and we were given 15-day detention. I asked to use telephone, but was refused. They completely ignored citizens rights and even deprived us of the rights to appeal. Afterwards we were sent to Yuexiu Detention Center. I was separated from Ms. Ye. I was put in a big barn where wind can blow inside from two directions. I was locked up with some thieves and drug users. I had been asking to use a telephone to at least inform my family members, but they disallow me to do so. Other detainees can make phone calls; only Falun Gong practitioners cannot.

On the 10th day in Yuexiu Detention Center, police from Chengdu (my hometown) came to take me to Chengdu. I was taken to a police office in western suburban Chengdu. They had me sit on a chair waiting for their verdict because they wanted to re-investigate my case. I didnt know what other evidence they could collect. Did I violate the laws and deserve to be detained and to have heavier punishment simply because Im a Falun Gong practitioner and visited other Falun Gong practitioners? After having sat on a chair for two days, finally the news came -- they decided to release me. They said they really could not let me go back to the US, but they decided to release me due to other factors.

After I came back to the US, I learned that many friends gave me great help, and even the senators of Colorado were involved. However, Im concerned about the fate of other practitioners. If they were sent back to their hometowns, whats waiting for them would not be as easy as detention. That female practitioner from Shandong told me that if she were sent back to her hometown, she would be sentenced for at least a 2-year labor camp (which had already happened to many practitioners in her hometown). On my way back to the US, I stopped by Beijing. I wanted to check whether the practitioner detained in the room next to mine was released or not. I knew his cellular phone number and his phone was confiscated. If he had been released, he would answer the phone. I dialed his number from a public phone, no one answered. The strange thing was that as soon as I hung up, someone called back and asked who I was. Less than half an hour later, from distance I saw a police car come to the place where I made the phone call. Obviously he was still under detention.

Although Ive returned to the US, Im still thinking of our fellow practitioners in China. Their spirit, their courage, and their tolerance can move everything. With their own conducts, they are showing to the world that Falun Dafa practitioners faith is rock solid. They are showing Falun Dafas sacredness and solemnity to the humankind.