Clarifying the Truth While Getting My Pension Back

(Minghui.org) I did not receive my retirement pension in March 2021, so I inquired about it at our local office for retirees. After presenting the issue to the staff, I told them about the goodness of Falun Dafa and how our faith is wrongfully persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

A staff member made some phone calls and told me to go to the Pension Office. Personnel at the Pension Office informed me that according to records at the provincial level, I was imprisoned from 2016 to 2018, and was therefore not entitled to any pension payments during that time, and they had to deduct that amount from my account.

When I asked what law this was based upon, they claimed to be following orders from the Office of Labor and Social Security. I told them that it was illegal to stop paying out a retirement pension while someone is imprisoned, and that I was being financially punished for my faith and what they were doing was unconstitutional. I told the staff about the brutal torture I had been subjected to in prison. They were sympathetic, but couldn’t do anything to help me.

I refused to accept this financial persecution and was determined to get my pension back. I shared my predicament with other practitioners. Ms. Wang firmly believed I should receive the pension I was entitled to, and Ms. Liu commented that it was actually a good opportunity to clarify the truth to government personnel. The three of us agreed that we would use this opportunity to save more people by bringing the truth of the persecution to them.

Ms. Wang found some news articles about withholding people’s pensions being unlawful. Ms. Liu organized those articles along with truth clarification materials and put them into envelopes. These envelopes were then mailed to officials in relevant government agencies.

With truth clarification letters in hand, I went to the Pension Office. After registering at the gate, two guards escorted me inside. The guards knew about my case and did not want me to start trouble. I believe they were pre-arranged by Master Li to meet me so they could hear the facts. I told them about Dafa as we walked to the office. I had been persecuted many times, so they all knew about me. In the end, they quit the CCP and its youth organizations using their real names.

I handed over my letter to the deputy section chief at the Pension Office. My ultimate goal was to save more people, not to get my pension back. He listened to what I had gone through in prison. He was sympathetic and agreed to quit the CCP.

A few days later, I wanted to visit the Party secretary of my former employer. The secretary was in a meeting, and I was not allowed to go inside. I waited at the security office. The secretary arrived sometime later, and many others followed him inside. One of them commented, “You’re almost 70 years old, but you look so young!”

I turned to the secretary and said, “My pension got withheld. I worked here for a long time. I rely on my employer to help me first. If my employer cannot help, then I will appeal to higher ups.”

The secretary began preaching about how great the CCP is. I pointed out that I endured cruel torture in prison because I refused to give up my faith. He listened attentively, stood up, and said, “We will let you have this month’s pension. Don’t file a lawsuit.” He then left the room. The regretful part was that I did not give him the truth clarifying letter because I worried he might refuse to accept it in front of a room full of people.

A month later, my pension did not show up in my bank account, so I went back to the Pension Office. I was shown a letter and told, “This came from the Provincial Social Security Office. Nobody can help you now.” I told them I would go visit that office, but they informed me that it would be useless.

Other practitioners and I discussed the situation and came to the conclusion that there are still people who should be saved, so we ought to continue telling them the truth about Dafa. A practitioner helped me write five letters to clarify the truth. I gave one to the deputy chief at the Pension Office, and there were four letters left. However, it was getting more difficult for me to get past the guards. Security stopped me at the gate. I asked a guard to deliver the letters to the section chief and the Party secretary, but they were afraid to take them because the letters contained information about Falun Dafa.

The security department chief came over and said, “Give them to me, and I’ll deliver them.” I informed him that one of the letters was meant for him. He hesitated. So I told him to take a look, as it was truly good for him. He then agreed to deliver them. I told him that I also had one more letter for the pension office chief, and he allowed me to deliver it myself.

Ms. Liu took days off from work to write those letters. She said that Master gave her the opportunity to save people. Practitioners helped me as if they were completing their own missions. We were working together as one body.

We decided to meet the administration officials at the Social Security Office. We believed people at this agency must know the truth, as the reason they withheld my pension was that they had been deceived by the CCP’s lies. Only by knowing Falun Dafa is good and Dafa practitioners are being wrongly persecuted, would they stand on the righteous side and make correct choices.

Using names listed on a letter from the Social Security Office, we sent letters to officials working directly with this office. We did research on proper legal procedures for pension disputes and submitted the “Government Information Disclosure Application Form.” The office soon responded.

We also sent letters and truth clarifying materials to officials at the Provincial Social Security Center and the Provincial Department of Human Resources. The process of getting my pension back was also a process of working together as one body, which was what Master wants. Other practitioners helped by sending forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil spirits manipulating people to act against Falun Dafa practitioners.

A few days later, we heard back from both places, stating that my case had been taken over by the Department of Justice. Upon hearing this, Ms. Liu and I hesitated. Did we want to get the court involved? If we write to them, wouldn’t they inform the National Security Office?

I lost my righteous thoughts for a moment, and my family began to worry about my safety. Just when Ms. Liu and I were about to give up, Ms. Wang came and said firmly, “We must continue to send letters.” Upon hearing this, our righteous thoughts returned. We knew Master sent Ms. Wang to give us support.

We sent letters and applications to the Justice Department and continued to follow up with the Provincial Social Security Center and the Provincial Department of Human Resources. We sent righteous thoughts every day. Over a month passed with no response. “It is still in process,” we were told when we inquired by phone. To us, “in process” meant they took our case, which gave us confidence.

In July, all my withheld pension, along with the payment for that month, was sent to my bank account. That afternoon, the Pension Office of my former employer asked me to stop by. They informed me that the Social Security Office returned my pension under the condition that I withdraw my complaint. The office staff was quite surprised that I was able to get my pension back, as they thought it would be impossible. The officials at the Social Security Office must have read and accepted our truth clarifying letter.

Under Master’s support and other practitioners’ efforts, it took us four months to get my pension back. The practitioners in our area were excited for me. We know that Master did everything. We worked as one body, and Master helped us because our xinxing improved.

Thank you, Master, for your compassionate salvation and painstaking arrangements. We’re able to become more steady on our path of cultivation to save more sentient beings.