Looking Back on Those Unforgettable Years: I’m So Glad I Did Not Divorce My Wife

(Minghui.org) There have been so many families torn apart during the more than two decades that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners. In the early days of the persecution, because of my wife’s firm belief in Dafa, the CCP officials pressured me to divorce her and threatened to fire me if I did not. I made the right choice despite the pressure, and we did not divorce. Looking back over the years, I am grateful to Master Li (the founder of Falun Dafa) for his compassionate protection that helped me get through the difficulties. Because of this, I still have a complete family today.

A Harmonious Family After My Wife Begins Practicing

I was not a good husband. I refused to help with housework and had no consideration for others. I had a bad temper, and I often argued with my wife over trivial matters. I was especially hard to deal with when it came to the relationships between family members. I even caused conflicts between my mother and my wife. For a long time my family never felt warm and we just survived every day.

But after my wife began practicing Falun Dafa, she changed completely. Her health improved. She no longer complained and was able to tolerate all my shortcomings. The relationship between her and my mother became very good, and my whole family was very happy. I finally understood what a family was supposed to feel like.

When my mother became seriously ill, I was working on a construction site and I couldn’t take care of her. My wife brought my mother home, cooked delicious meals, and took care of her meticulously. My mother was very moved and told me, “My daughter-in-law did everything my daughter wasn’t able to do.” 

When my father was ill and became bedridden, my wife helped alongside my sister. She even cleaned his stool. I was really touched that she was able to take care of my father like that, because when our child was young, she wanted to vomit when she changed his diaper. If she hadn’t practiced Dafa, she would never be able to do this.

After my parents passed away, there was only my younger sister who wasn’t married. Whenever my wife made something delicious, she would always bring some over to my sister’s home. When my sister got sick, my wife took her to the hospital. When my sister encountered difficulties, my wife would talk to her with a lot patience. I witnessed all this with my own eyes. I felt that Dafa is so great, and Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is so great. I thought, if everyone practiced Falun Dafa, how great that would be! The beauty of Dafa took root in my heart.

The Persecution Begins

On July 20, 1999, the CCP launched the insane persecution against Falun Dafa. The state-run media broadcast propaganda on television and newspapers slandering Master and Dafa continuously, every day. My wife and son went to Beijing to appeal for Dafa many times, and each time they were arrested, detained, fined, and put in forced labor camps. Our home was also ransacked. In the end, my wife was fired from her teaching position by her school. My son was a sophomore in high school and was expelled.

The police came to harass us every few days, and we could no longer live a normal life. I was also suspended from work by the managers, who ordered me to go to Tiananmen Square to find my wife and son. They told me that I was not allowed to return to work unless they came back. My relatives and friends were afraid of being implicated, so they all avoided us. I was alone at home and I couldn’t eat or sleep. When I felt hungry, I just made instant noodles. Sometimes I felt so overwhelmed that I just wanted to kill myself.

At my lowest point, a Falun Dafa practitioner came to see me. He had to leave his home because the police were trying to arrest him. But he disregarded his personal safety in order to come and help me. He gave me some good advice and asked me not to do anything irrational. He explained that it would bring a negative image for Dafa, especially since the CCP was trying to exploit every loophole to discredit Dafa. He reminded me that evil cannot overcome righteousness, dark clouds cannot cover the sun, and the darkness would eventually pass. I believed him because my wife and son were good people who followed Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, and I knew they had done nothing wrong. I was deeply moved by his spiritual encouragement when I was at the most difficult time. He gave me confidence that one day Falun Dafa’s good name would be restored. I was determined to move forward no matter how hard it would get and no matter how much pressure I was under.

I already had high blood pressure. One day I was at home and the symptoms worsened. I felt as if the world was spinning. I barely managed to make a phone call to my manager at work. He was afraid that something would happen to me, so he agreed to let me return to work. But I was moved away from my original position as a driver for the managers, into another position where I did the most tiring work. No one dared to talk to me and they all stayed far away from me. Some people would even take a detour in order not to interact with me.

One day, about seven police officers came to my workplace to find me. One of them said that he was Chief Zhang of the local detective division. Along with the security staff at my workplace, more than twelve people sat around me in a circle. Zhang sat directly in front of me. He questioned me like I was a criminal and demanded to know where my wife was. He also said I would get a reward of 50,000 yuan if I helped them find and arrest my wife.

I said, “I want the 50,000 yuan, but I really can’t help you, because I really don’t know where my wife is.” He became angry and said that I wasn’t cooperating and wasn’t telling the truth. He held up a stack of papers in his hand and said, “We have evidence here. Even if you don’t tell me, I know where she is.” I said, “Okay. If you know, then go and arrest her. How great would it be if you get the 50,000 yuan! Why are you questioning me?”

He was speechless and looked embarrassed. Then he got really mad, slammed the table and shouted, “I’m the detective division chief, what kind of cases haven’t I seen? Even if you don’t tell us, I will find her!” I wasn’t sure where my courage came from, but for some reason I was not afraid. I also slammed my hand on the table and said, “Have I broken the law?!” “No.” “Then why do you treat me like this? You said you wanted to invite me to cooperate with you in handling the case. But what kind of attitude is this? You act like you are interrogating a prisoner!” When they saw that I would not cooperate or fall into their trap, they let me go.

In fact, my personality is very timid and submissive. I was always afraid to speak in front of people. At work, many of my managers and coworkers looked down on me. But every time I encountered this kind of situation, whether it was facing the police or the managers at my workplace, I was always able to stay calm, and not feel afraid. The words coming out of my mouth were all well said. It wasn’t until I studied the Fa that I realized Master was giving me all this courage and wisdom!

Pressured to Divorce My Wife

One time when my wife and son were released from the detention center and came home they felt very sad seeing that I was under so much pressure. They tried to comfort me. But Dafa was still being persecuted and Master was still being slandered. So they still planned to go out, clarify the truth, and appeal for justice. I really broke down and shouted, “I can’t live like this anymore. When will this end! I can’t take any more!” My wife and son didn’t know what to say to me. 

In the end we calmly discussed the situation, and we agreed that in order to not have me suffer so, we would divorce temporarily and we would remarry when the persecution ended. My wife and son would leave our home without taking anything. Under the intense persecution, my family could no longer live normally. I felt that I had reached the limit and I was on brink of collapse, so I really felt I had no choice but to agree to this. The divorce agreement clearly stated that we were divorcing because my wife was persecuted for practicing Dafa and I could not bear the pressure. 

After my wife and son left, I took the divorce agreement and went to my workplace and my wife’s work to get it stamped. Then I went to the Department of Civil Affairs. However, when applying, I was told that I must have the marriage certificate, and if I didn’t have it, I would have to pay 200 yuan to get one. Our marriage certificate was long gone. At this time, I suddenly awakened. “Why would I divorce? I didn’t want to get divorced in the first place. It was forced by the evil CCP. I’ll just wait and let’s see what else it dares to do to me!”

I didn’t know why, but as soon as this thought came out, my heart was suddenly at ease. When I first got to the Department of Civil Affairs, I was very sad. Although it was not a true divorce, it felt like I was losing something. But now, my mood was totally different. I felt that my decision was the right one.

Not long after, in the summer of 2001, the managers at my workplace tried to force me to divorce my wife. They explained that they were pressured by their upper authorities. They approached this as a political task that they must complete. They divided it up and assigned the responsibility to various individuals. The director’s assistant and the union president came to convince me, and two union staff members were looking for another woman for me to marry. 

The director’s assistant and the union president spoke very bluntly to me and told me I had to divorce. When I asked why they said, “If you are divorced, your wife who practices Falun Dafa won’t have anything to do with our workplace.” I was very angry and firmly said, “No. My wife hasn’t done anything wrong. After she began practicing Falun Dafa she treated my parents and relatives really well. Why would I divorce her? The Chinese Constitution guarantees freedom of belief. She is not wrong. She did not break the law. We will not divorce!”

They became angry immediately. The assistant talked loudly and threatened, “If the CCP doesn’t allow her to practice it, she can’t practice it! If you don’t divorce her, you will be fired!” I said, “Okay, if you fire me, I will also go to Tiananmen Square.” The assistant panicked and asked with his eyes wide open, “What are you going to do there?” “I’ll go appeal! On my chest I’ll wear a sign ‘Falun Dafa is good,’ and on my head I’ll write the company’s name.” He was frightened and sounded as if he was begging for mercy, “Oh my goodness. You are the boss. Please don’t go there no matter what! You will not be fired!” They quickly left.

The next day, the two union personnel came to me and said, “We found a very nice girl for you. She is the head nurse in a hospital, 34 years old and never married. Let’s go meet her in the afternoon!” I was angry but felt that the situation was humorous. I knew that the two persons were just staff members, and they were just completing the tasks assigned to them by the managers. So I couldn’t really be angry with them. I just smiled and said, “No, I have my wife and a son. I can’t let go of them.” One of them said, “Why not? You have suffered so much because of her, and it has also brought such big trouble to the workplace.” I thought to myself, “This is not for my good. They are doing everything for their own benefit. I won’t be fooled by them.” 

I told them, “If I divorce my wife, she and our son would have no place to stay. There is no way I would do such an immoral thing.”

When my colleagues heard about this some admired me, but others said I was stupid. They said, “Nowadays, people are looking for opportunities to swap their wives. But he didn’t take the opportunity when they gave it to him.”

Supporting Each Other

During those dark days, I was under a lot of pressure but in the end, we did not divorce. Although I have endured a lot, it was nothing compared to what Dafa practitioners have endured. In Tiananmen Square, I observed those Falun Dafa practitioners, men, women and children, who were not afraid of violence and were able to let go of life and death. They bravely stood up and shouted, “Falun Dafa is good! Master is innocent!” I was very moved, and I witnessed the greatness of Dafa practitioners. It also made me finally understand what my wife and son were doing. I made up my mind: I will support them and stay close to them.

In the days that followed, when my wife, son, and sister-in-law were arrested, and when my brother-in-law was persecuted to death, I stood up each time to defend them. No matter how the police harassed or threatened me, I stood by Dafa’s side. I talked to the police about the beauty of Dafa, and how my wife changed so much and took great care of my parents. They really couldn’t say anything but gave up their plan to cause a rift between my wife and me.

In those darkest days, I parted with my wife and son again and again, as they left to validate Dafa; each time we did not know whether we would see each other again. When they were leaving, I tearfully said farewell to them. Each time they were released from jail I was always happy to welcome them home. I always stood by them and supported them. I drove to Beijing in the middle of the night to pick up my wife who was on a hunger strike in a police station. I carried my dying son out of the forced labor camp with tears in my eyes. When my brother-in-law was persecuted to death, I represented our family at his funeral with a broken heart. When my sister-in-law was released from prison after being detained for ten years, I drove practitioners to the prison to bring her back home. From practitioners’ behavior I saw the power of faith and witnessed the mighty virtue of Dafa. I admired and respected them, and my heart and soul were washed clean. 

The last time my wife was detained and then released early, I picked her up from a forced labor camp in another province. Within a week, I also picked up my son from another forced labor camp. It was rare for the three of us to be together as a family. I was so happy, it felt like Chinese New Year. As I listened to their stories and the shocking things they had gone through in the forced labor camps, as well as the magnificent things done by the other Dafa practitioners there, I was repeatedly moved to tears. I felt fortunate that my son and wife survived. They said that they were only able to to make it through with Master’s compassionate protection and the power of Dafa.

I felt that I only did things that any person with a conscience would do. I never thought that Dafa’s Master would give me infinitely more in return. I would probably not be alive today without his protection. A few times I was involved in potentially deadly car accidents, but I only had minor injures. When my wife was in the brainwashing center, I went to ask for her release with practitioners every day. At that time, I had my blood pressure checked in the hospital, and it was over 200. The doctor was frightened and said I needed to be hospitalized right away, but I didn’t feel that anything was wrong. I knew some people whose blood pressure was this high. Some were paralyzed, and others passed away.

When my son married I didn’t need to spend a penny. Their home was bought by his wife’s family and they also renovated it. Everything in the house, as well as the wedding, was arranged by the wife’s family. Later, my little grandson was born and he stayed with the wife’s parents. My grandson is very smart and handsome. All my relatives, friends, and colleagues are envious and say that I am so blessed. I always proudly tell them, “All this was given by Dafa.”

I am so glad that I didn’t divorce my wife. My friends praised me, “You endured the difficult times. Because you didn’t divorce your wife your family is intact.” I’ve decided to practice Falun Dafa. I don’t quite know how to cultivate yet, but I feel incredibly lucky and proud to be part of this cultivation group.

The reason I wrote down these unforgettable experiences is to show my gratitude for Master’s compassionate protection, a well as to tell the world the beauty of Falun Dafa and the evil nature of the CCP. I hope all people are able to distinguish between good and bad, not believe the CCP’s lies, withdraw from the CCP and its affiliated organizations, and choose a bright future for themselves!