There are many Falun Dafa practitioners in a district in the City of Chengdu. Since July 1999 the security bureau, police department, and the work places of the practitioners in this district have utilized all their human resources to force practitioners to turn in their hidden (Falun Dafa) books. If practitioners failed to turn in their books before the deadline, those agents would break into and search their homes. In addition to this, they also asked practitioners to write a "guarantee" renouncing their practice of Falun Dafa, and to check in daily with government officials.
Just when they were content and announced that all Falun Dafa practitioners in the district were "reeducated" successfully, practitioners stepped forward to validate Dafa and clarify the truth, one after another. The government officials were outraged: "We must ruin their political reputations, bankrupt them, and destroy them."
Many practitioners in this district went straight to Tiananmen to petition and practice in November 1999. The police searched all practitioners' homes. Anyone who hid Falun Dafa books at home or insisted on practicing Falun Gong was taken to the detention center. There were dozens arrested at one time in the district. All personnel in charge at their related workplaces had to write apology letters, pay fines, leave their jobs or move to lower positions. They also made countless people responsible for practitioners' action.
Several practitioners were taken to the Tiananmen police department and suffered a day's questioning and beating along with hundreds of others from all over the country. Those from Chengdu City were subsequently taken to that city's branch office in Beijing late at night, where the torture continued. They were searched and their personal belongings were taken away. When practitioners insisted on studying the Fa (Buddha Law) and practicing Falun Gong exercises, they were beaten. Two practitioners' were handcuffed with their hands behind them outside for 12 hours, simply because they did not provide the same answer during the interrogation. A couple studying in England was also detained there. The wife was seven months pregnant. She did not, however, get any better treatment.
Several days later dozens of practitioners were escorted back to Chengdu and were immediately taken to a drug rehabilitation center. First they were locked up with drug addicts. Then they were moved to the detention center. The officers in the security bureau responsible for this case, personnel in charge at practitioners' work places, and practitioners' family members came to the center and taunted the practitioners. The practitioners' hearts were not moved. The officials in charge were outraged and changed the detention terms to "criminal" detention and forced the practitioners to work for 16 hours a day. They even made other prisoners beat the practitioners. When the detention terms were up, one practitioner was sent to a forced labor camp and the others were sent back to their work places. Two practitioners were fired from their jobs and the rest were fined from 3,000 to 5,000 Yuan (roughly 6 to 10 months income of an average worker in China). The ones who were fired were fined 10,000 Yuan each by their work places.
During the next 3 months, there was another large group of practitioners who went to Beijing. They were faced with another round of persecution. This time the practitioners started a hunger strike and protested with their lives. Two practitioners were later sent to forced labor camps and many more practitioners were fined and their homes were ransacked.
Despite of all the above, all practitioners know that the day will come and all evils will be eliminated. It is a sacred task of each practitioner to clarify the truth to the world in the present cultivation environment. No one backed down because of the pressure from the authorities. On the contrary, many more are stepping forward to inform all kind-hearted people throughout the world of the truth of their own cultivation and the truth of Falun Dafa.
We all speak firmly from the bottom of our hearts: We will keep validating Dafa one after another until all evils are eliminated.
Falun Dafa practitioners in Mainland China
December 24, 2000
