(Minghui.org) We heard that some practitioners went to Tiananmen Square to display banners shortly after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched its persecution of Falun Dafa in July 1999. I decided to appeal after I heard that practitioners had been killed in the persecution.
Two family members and I went to the Office of Appeals of the State Department. We bypassed authorities on the lookout and entered the appeals office. We filled out the form with our real names and addresses and attached a printed letter titled “Innocent People Were Killed.” No officials talked to us, and we were directly locked in a detention center.
I was shown a “Criminal Detention Notice” when two policemen interrogated me. They had probably already interrogated many Falun Gong practitioners, so they appeared relaxed. I told them the merits of Falun Gong and how it teaches people to be kind and considerate. They asked me to give them an example.
I told them about my elder brother who was hit by a truck while riding his bike. He was bleeding and his clothes were torn. The truck driver wanted to take him to a hospital, but my brother insisted that he was fine and declined. The driver offered to give him some money to buy new clothes and repair his bike. My brother said it was not necessary and declined again.
“Our teacher told us to handle a situation like this with kindness and consideration. We are good people, aren’t we?” I asked. One officer replied, “It is not about being good or bad. You are simply stupid to refuse the money.”
I smiled and said that they might think we were stupid, but the truck driver thought differently. He hit someone who didn’t want any compensation. He definitely knew that he’d met a good person.
They thought about this and nodded in agreement. They asked me about my profession, and I told them what I did. They appeared surprised and one of them asked, “What will you do if you lose a good job like that?” I said I would find another one. “What if the government doesn’t allow you to work again?” he asked. I said I might pick up scrap metal from the trash to sell. “What if the government won’t let you do that?” he continued. “Well, I would have to find food in dumpsters,” I replied.
The one who had been asking the questions blurted out, “I really admire you Falun Gong practitioners!”
I was released after a week in detention. I knew these police officers had learned the truth about Falun Gong and had made the right decision.
In 2000 I unfurled a banner that read “Falun Dafa” on Tiananmen Square but was quickly arrested and detained in the Tiananmen Square police substation. This was the second time I was detained here. When I gave my name and address to the police the first time, they got my family and relatives involved, so I didn’t give tell them who I was this time. Many detained practitioners did the same. To try to force us to give our identities, the police slapped us over the ears, shackled some of us, and whipped us with a belt.
By nightfall, group after group of practitioners who had given their names were taken away in vehicles. Several unidentified practitioners, including me, were still being held in a metal-gated cell. I asked to talk to the police.
I was taken to an interrogation room with only one policeman inside. He wanted to know why I refused to give my name and address. I told him the merits of Falun Gong and what had happened the last time I appealed to the government.
I said that I saw him beating an old woman who looked older than his parents. “What would your mother think if she saw you doing that?” I asked him. He didn’t say a word.
I said that he should report to his superiors that Falun Gong practitioners are good people. He said they had done so repeatedly, but they were reprimanded every time they did.
“Police have a duty to uphold justice. I understand that you have tried your best. Have you heard that some police officers have taken unidentified Falun Gong [practitioners] out of the city and just let them go?” I gave him a hint.
I was released alone near midnight that day. I later learned that all the practitioners who had refused to provide their identities were released that same night.
Policemen who had learned the truth were again able to do the right thing. I went home overnight and went to work as usual the next day. I originally thought that I might never return home alive, but with Master’s protection, I left the Tiananmen Police Substation in a few hours.