(Clearwisdom.net) Jiang's regime began its evil persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. Since then, practitioners have been going to Beijing one after another to appeal to the government, even though they are often arrested, detained and tortured. In the meantime, Jiang's regime began to operate brainwashing classes all over the country to further persecute practitioners and attempt to force them to renounce Falun Gong.
The Political and Judiciary Department and the district "610 Office" [an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems] in the Chuanying District of Jilin City, Jilin Province began its first phase of brainwashing classes at Yongsheng Hotel in the Shahezi area of the city on September 10, 1999. There were as many as 70 practitioners abducted and brought to the class at different times.
On October 5, 1999, husband and wife practitioners Wang Wenxi and Wang Xiufen (who was later persecuted to death on January 1, 2002 by the Police Department in Jiutai City, Jilin Province) were abducted and brought to the brainwashing class, which had over 30 practitioners at the time. On the same day of her arrival, Wang Xiufen suggested to the group that they should begin to practice the exercises in the morning and study the teachings of Falun Gong together during the day. After a general discussion, the practitioners unanimously agreed.
The next day, all the practitioners came to the yard at five o'clock in the morning. They formed four columns, males on one side and females on the other. Wang Xiufen called out the movements, and everyone began to practice the first set of Dafa exercises all the way through to the fourth set. The scene shocked the people on guard. No one dared to stop it or report to their higher authorities. They just watched helplessly. Three days in a row, all the practitioners did the exercises in the morning and studied Zhuan Falun during the day [the book, Zhuan Falun, comprises the principal teachings of Falun Gong]. In the evening, each practitioner did the fifth exercise (the meditation) by him or herself. Afterwards, Wang Xiufen and some other practitioners decided that rather than being confined in the class by the evil, they should walk out of the class and go to Beijing to continue their appeals for Falun Gong. Subsequently Wang Xiufen successfully left the brainwashing class with righteous thoughts in her mind.
After Wang Xiufen left, Ms. Yang Huixia took over the job of calling out the movements, and the practitioners continued with their morning exercises. During the day they also gathered in a room to study the Fa. Finally the evil could not stand it any longer. The district Political and Judiciary secretary and the deputy police chief came to the class in person to "negotiate" with the practitioners. Practitioners Liu Mingwei and another practitioner served as representatives for the others and raised the following requests and statements: 1) The brainwashing class should unconditionally release all practitioners who had been illegally abducted; 2) The practitioners should be given back their legal environment to exercise; and 3) Practitioners shall continue to appeal to the government to stop the illegal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners; as long as the persecution continues, practitioners will go to Beijing to appeal at every opportunity.
The officials could not come up with a good counter response, but could not comply with the practitioners' requests either. So they decided to send those practitioners who refused to write letters pledging to stop the practice to the detention center for 15 days. In the meantime, they were forced to close the brainwashing class.
At the time, the practitioners who took part in this action did not feel it was a big deal. But looking back today, the concerted efforts of all those practitioners indeed shook the earth.
2004-5-17