(Minghui.org) Greetings, esteemed Master and fellow practitioners!
Obtaining the Fa
I obtained the Fa on March 30, 1999 in mainland China after watching the video of Master’s nine-session lecture, and I immigrated to Hong Kong in 2013.
A practitioner told me that if I could endure pain when meditating, karma would be eliminated. Thus, as I listened to Master’s Fa, I remained sitting in the full lotus position for 45 minutes. My feet ached and became numb. The pain grated on my mind, and I sweat profusely. A practitioner told me that Master was already looking after me.
As I listened to Master’s Fa throughout the evening, I was impressed by the Dafa principles of “Zhen-Shan-Ren” (Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance). This was something that I wanted to follow. I thus borrowed Zhuan Falun and finished reading it within a week.
Master said,
“This characteristic, Zhen-Shan-Ren, is the criterion for measuring good and bad in the universe. ” (Lecture One, Zhuan Falun)
It seemed to me as if Master was a family member. When I first saw Master’s photo, I felt that he was someone I had seen before. While reading Zhuan Falun, I learned that the purpose of life is to cultivate and return to one's true self. I also learned that Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) is a cultivation practice of mind and body that can help raise human morality and restore health–it is a very good cultivation path. At that time, I had diarrhea for a month, and I knew I was eliminating karma and being cleansed.
Arrested, Detained and Fired from My Workplace
Before the persecution began on July 20, 1999, I joined the group exercises in the park every morning at four a.m. and in the evening. I also participated in a Fa-study group and activities to promote Dafa. I went to work every morning after the exercises. I felt content, and my temper improved. All of my chronic physical problems had disappeared. I looked inward whenever a problem arose. After the onset of the persecution on July 20 however, we heard nothing but lies about Falun Gong on television, radio, and in the newspapers. Thanks to fellow practitioners’ encouragement, I remained steadfast in my faith.
I also wanted to introduce Falun Gong to my family. I said to my sister, “Zhuan Falun is a precious book—truly valuable and priceless." Out of curiosity, my sister finished reading Zhuan Falun and also became a cultivator. The Falun Gong book is such a priceless treasure that even billions in gold cannot be compared to it.
Facing Persecution
Staff from the 610 Office asked my sister and me to come to the police station for a brief conversation on July 19, 2000. When we arrived, the police threatened us, saying that if we continued to cultivate, we would be detained, and we would only be released if we gave up cultivation. My sister and I said, “We will continue cultivating with a steadfast heart. Falun Gong teaches people to be good, and the exercises keep us healthy.” That night, my sister and I were imprisoned in different cells for practicing Falun Gong. We were illegally detained for 15 days.
To escape plainclothes police officers in October 2000, a few practitioners and I transferred to many buses, detoured through many cities, and eventually arrived at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, where I held up a banner reading “Falun Dafa is Good” and shouted out loud, “Clear our name!”
Many practitioners from throughout China were in the square, some exercising, some holding banners. Voices shouting “Falun Dafa is good!” resounded throughout the square. Police then started to arrest us. Being inexperienced, I didn’t leave but waited for the police to arrest me.
The police took me to the Pinggu County Detention Center in Beijing, where I was held for ten days. I didn’t give my name or my address, so I was beaten a few times. I was photographed, fingerprinted, and went on a nine-day hunger strike. I was force-fed through a nasogastric tube with white rice water and experienced bleeding. I was released after ten days. After arriving home, I was fired by my employer because of my belief.
I went to Beijing again on December 31, 2000, but was stopped by police at the Guangzhou train station. I was then taken back by local police. They accused me of disturbing public order under the pretext of enforcing the “Public Security Administration Punishment Law of the People’s Republic of China.” I was detained for 15 days.
Staff from the 610 Office arrested my sister and me again on February 14, 2001. We were sitting in full lotus position and were dragged downstairs from the 5th floor. We kept shouting, “Falun Dafa is good," "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” and “The police are arresting good people!” We attracted many passersby.
The 610 Office staff paused briefly but then pushed us into the vehicle. We were taken to the police station, then to Heshan Detention Center that evening with the excuse of “illegally doing a group exercise.” I was detained for 15 days. I refused to give up cultivation, so I was detained for a total of 30 days. My sister was detained for one year at the Sanshui Women’s Forced Labor Camp. She was tortured for holding a hunger strike. She became emaciated. They put heavy iron bars on her.
After I returned home on March 16, 2001, I heard that more than ten practitioners were arrested on February 14 and taken to a labor camp. I thus left my hometown. From then on, I wrote to local residents and made them aware of the persecution.
Imprisoned and Tortured
For writing truth-clarification letters and upholding my belief in Falun Gong, I was arrested and taken to the Jiangmen Drug Rehabilitation Center–a brainwashing center. Staff from the 610 Office tried to “transform” me and demanded that I write a guarantee statement.
“Falun Gong is the most righteous,” I wrote, “the best, greatest and most glorious. It benefits society and brings no harm. I will defend Dafa with my life, which is the highest honor. I will uphold my belief in Falun Dafa.”
I wasn’t scared and didn’t even care how long I was detained. The only thought in my mind was that I had freedom of belief and no guilt for cultivating and that Master would arrange everything. I was released a month later, after which I left my home and wandered about.
When I returned home on August 13, 2002, I was arrested by staff from the 610 Office and taken to the Heshan City Detention Center, where I was detained for a month. I was then transferred to the Sanshui Women’s Forced Labor Camp and imprisoned for a year and a half. Because I refused to give up Falun Gong and my belief in Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, I was put on a blacklist as an activist and prohibited from leaving the country.
While imprisoned, the persecutors tried to brainwash me and force me to perform hard labor. I was given multiple physical checkups, and my blood was drawn twice. The person in charge said that practitioners who were not “transformed” would be taken to the Northwest.
I was locked up in the “transformation base,” also known as the “water prison” or the “team for transforming the steadfast” for nine out of ten days. I was deprived of sleep, use of the toilet, and walking around. I was forced to squat on the floor with both hands cuffed behind my back, with one arm over the shoulder and the other pulled back at the waist. Every time I moved, I was shocked with an electric baton. I sometimes had only one restroom break per day, and I was forced to watch brainwashing videos and read brainwashing documents, as well as listen to slanderous audio recordings at high volume.
Four guards and two inmates took turns torturing me around the clock. I smashed my head against the wall in protest because I was truly hurt by what they had done to me spiritually and physically.
Heshan Detention Center charged a mandatory fee of 120 yuan for meals. I persisted in practicing Falun Gong but did not comply with the rules or perform labor during my detention.
I was put in heavy metal shackles, and my neck, hands, and feet were chained together. The shackles were removed only every 7 or 8 days. After the 20-minute shower break, they were put right back on me. I had difficulty using the toilet and could only squat on the concrete floor beside the restroom. Some kind prisoners helped wash my face and assisted me when using the toilet. During my time in the detention center, I clarified the truth, so most inmates learned the truth of Falun Gong.
Ordeals of My Husband Mr. Wang Bin for Practicing Falun Gong
My husband, Mr. Wang Bin, is in China. He started cultivating in 1996. He was followed, harassed, and monitored numerous times. He was arrested on December 20, 2000, for distributing fliers about the persecution. He was taken to the Sanshui Forced Labor Camp for three years, where he was tortured.
My husband was reported to police for talking to people about Falun Gong on November 1, 2006. Police from the Jiangmen 610 Office and Huayuan Police Station ransacked our home and confiscated our personal belongings. My husband was violently beaten, arrested, and taken to the Sanshui Brainwashing Center. Our daughter was only five months old at the time. Carrying my daughter on my back, I went with my sister-in-law to the police station and the brainwashing center, where I demanded that they release my husband. With the help of righteous people from all walks of life, as well as practitioners, he was set free six months later.
My husband was arrested again on May 22, 2017, and taken to the Jiangmen Detention Center. After over a year and seven months, the criminal verdict from Pengjiang District Court of Jiangmen city arrived. The court claimed that my husband set up WeChat groups on two mobile phones to spread information about Falun Gong. My husband was sentenced to 8 years in prison and fined 30,000 yuan. Earlier this month, I learned indirectly that my husband was just transferred to Shaoguan Prison.
My daughter is 12 years old, living in China with a relative and waiting desperately to be reunited with her parents. She misses us every day, and I’m worried about her safety.
After my husband was imprisoned, the 610 Office threatened our landlord. We thus had to move within two months. At the time, I felt pressure from all the hardships, countless tests, and adversities. I recited “Tempering One’s Heart and Will” and “Mighty Virtue” from Hong Yin and eventually overcame these tribulations.
Daughter Blessed by Dafa
My daughter is blessed by Dafa. She grows up in peace and health. When she first learned how to speak, the first sentence I taught her was “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” Every time she was sick, I read Zhuan Falun to her and had her listen to Master’s Fa, and she would recover in a day or two.
When my daughter was in first grade, all the students were forced to join the Young Pioneers, a youth organization of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), without prior notice. That day my daughter came home with a red scarf, but she knew that the red scarf carried a bad message, so she wanted to renounce her membership in the Young Pioneers.
The next day, I called the teacher and informed her that as a parent I didn’t want my girl to participate in politics and wanted her to withdraw from it. The teacher said that after withdrawing, my daughter would be prohibited from joining Young Pioneers activities. I said no problem. We also had to return the red scarf.
Every week during the flag-raising ceremony, my daughter was the only one who did not wear a red scarf and the only one who didn’t need to salute the Communist Party's flag. Once, my daughter was asked to salute, but she explained that she had quit the Young Pioneers, so she didn’t need to do so. The teacher accepted her explanation. When all the students sang the Party anthem, my daughter sang "Falun Dafa is Good" and wished that the evil Party's flag would not rise.
My daughter had symptoms of measles at age eight, with painful and itchy red bumps all over her body. I took a leave and went to China from Hong Kong to look after her. I sent forth righteous thoughts for a long time for her and had her listen to Master’s Fa. I told her we are cultivators, that Master and Dafa are with us, so we’d be fine. She wholeheartedly recited “Falun Dafa is good" and "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good,” and she recovered in about three days.
I worked as a construction worker from 2013 to April 2018. I slipped a few times, and my feet were bruised. My first thought was “as a Dafa disciple, I will be fine.” Thank you, Master, for protecting me.
Countering the Persecution from Hong Kong
With the help of other practitioners, I went back to China on June 15, 2015, and successfully filed a criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime who ordered the persecution of Falun Gong. One copy was mailed to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate}, and the other was sent to the Beijing Supreme People's Court. While I was filling out the form in the post office, my heart was pounding and my hands were shaking. I realized this resulted from fear, so I pleaded with Master to reinforce me and to stop shaking my hand. I recited “What’s to Fear?” from Hong Yin Vol. II.
After I left the post office, my hands stopped shaking. The attachment to fear was eliminated.
I joined a protest march to the Liaison office–the CCP's office in Hong Kong–on May 30, 2017, along with other practitioners. We called upon people from all walks of life to rescue my husband from the Chinese prison and let my daughter come to Hong Kong for a family reunion.
A few days before the march, I began to hold fear, worried about being arrested by the 610 Office if I held a banner. What would happen to my daughter? All sorts of human feelings came up. I sent forth righteous thoughts to dissolve the fear and eliminated all the deviant beings and substances. I also pleaded with Master for help. My husband was being persecuted, so as his wife and a fellow practitioner, I was obliged to rescue him. As I came to this understanding, the fear disappeared.
After the imprisonment of my husband gained attention from others, practitioners from all over the world participated in rescuing him. I also hired a lawyer for him.
Master said,
“Beyond time and space I vigorously rectify the FaDespite the huge ordeals my will never bendsAmidst crazed evil, I never lose my wayI regard eliminating the evil as whisking dust awayWhen disciples walk righteously the path of DafaTheir light illumines the world, purging evil completelyDiligent disciples—plum blossoms in winter’s chillThe eons of hardship were all for this day”(“All For This Day,” Hong Yin III)
I believe this is the path on which Dafa disciples have to walk.
In Hong Kong, I also joined the mobile paper distribution. I say to passersby, “Mister, Miss, please take a copy of {{Minghui Weekly, a publication that tells the facts of Falun Dafa. Falun Dafa teaches people to be compassionate, cultivate to become better people, and do the exercises to keep fit and healthy. Whoever reads the paper will greatly benefit, as knowing the truth is the hope of salvation." Many people like my words and gladly took the paper. Some didn’t take it but came back later to get one.
One day, as I was distributing near a downtown market (Sham Shui Po), a lady took a copy and said that what she had read in the Falun Dafa paper was good and that she supported us. I thanked her and felt happy for her. I felt Master was encouraging us.
Dealing With Persecutors
Another day, at a suburban MTR station (Sheung Shui), two members of the CCP came to harass me. They took photos, swore at me, and played defamatory audio attacking Falun Dafa with a loudspeaker at high volume. One member closely followed me and stopped people from taking my papers. I kept sending forth righteous thoughts and held no resentment towards her. I only pitied her. She sinned against Dafa because she was blinded by lies.
One day, I was giving out papers outside a market (Tsuen Wan) when a woman yelled at me for 15 minutes and left. Not long after, she returned and yelled for another 15 minutes. I kept sending forth righteous thoughts. She was making a scene that attracted many onlookers. Many people came over and took papers from me. I wasn’t intimidated by her at all, as spreading the truth is something I must do. I learned from the Fa that spreading the truth is our great mission.
Master said,
“In the magnificent, grand feats of validating the Fa with rationality, clarifying the truth with wisdom, and spreading the Fa and saving people with mercy, each Dafa disciple’s path of Consummation is being perfected.” (“The Disciples’ Magnificence,” Essentials for Further Advancement II)
Thank you, Master and fellow practitioners!
(Presented at the 2019 Hong Kong Fa Conference)
