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(Clearwisdom.net) The present state of today's humankind is formed by countless tragic but magnificent historic stories that are little known to humankind.
In an era a long time ago, in the immense colossal firmament, the lords and kings of cosmic systems at different levels -- out of compassion for sentient beings and in order to attain the Fa at this moment in time when the Fa rectifies the cosmos and thereby save the beings that they represent -- fully experienced the hardships of history and endured disgrace and dishonor by coming down to the human world. Upon entering the three realms they became lost in the mortal world, and exhaustively suffered the mistreatment of low-level beings in the three realms, and in order to survive, they also created innumerable quantities of karma. Many were high lords, divine and holy Fa kings that confronted danger in the three realms and the human world, hoping to attain the Fa. Finally in this lifetime, they reincarnated in the eastern land of China at a time when Dafa is being widely spread. Their lives and futures directly affect many cosmic systems and the future of those sentient beings in the universe.
Nevertheless, from a long time ago, the old forces of the universe, out of only consideration for themselves, made plans at each level. From May of 1992 to the beginning of 1999, in these seven short years, cultivators of Falun Dafa reached one hundred million, and because the numbers were continuing to increase rapidly, in July of 1999 the evil forces began a comprehensive persecution targeting Falun Dafa. The destiny of those new students that just began practicing and many people with great inborn quality that had not yet attained the Fa took a serious turn.
"People haven't come to this human world for nothing," "Actually, people have been waiting for the Fa." (Reference 1) "All those sentient beings" that have thoroughly suffered the hardships of history and reincarnated in the land of China, from July 1999, not only because the evil old forces have obstructed them and they are not able to become Fa-rectification disciples, but due to serous poisoning from the lies spread by the evil forces, they have become hostile towards the truth of the universe, and even look upon Dafa and Dafa disciples with hatred. In Mainland China, more than a billion sentient beings have been placed in an extremely dangerous situation.
In Fa-rectification, Master treasures every single life, and silently bears the karma created from the degeneration of human beings in the course of history, painfully saving everyone that can be saved.
This time the Fa rectifies the cosmos, and it is a great event that has never occurred before in the entire history of the immense firmament. During this special period in history, the standards for measuring good and bad lives are also very unique. All lives in the cosmos are originated and created by the Fa. For an individual life, no matter how good or bad this life has been in ordinary human society, and no matter how enormous the karma it has generated, as long as this life does not damage Dafa or is able to have clear minded righteous thoughts towards Dafa in a timely manner, then this life can be rescued and in the future may even have the opportunity to be saved. But, "In the midst of the overwhelming, vicious propaganda, what those people have committed are no longer ordinary sins. Some of them are fated for destruction--regardless of where they came from, and regardless of what kind of predestined relationship they have or how high their levels were. Isn't it truly a pity for this to happen to a being?" (Reference 2)
Because of this, make the best use of time, and through every channel at various levels, use every effective method to deeply and meticulously clarify the truth to Chinese people and help Chinese people come to understand Dafa in a positive way. The significance of this is unparalleled. For all of the Fa-rectification disciples who have already been fortunate enough to attain the Fa, this has become an urgent responsibility to which we are duty-bound in our mission of helping Master in Fa-rectification.
At the same time, it is extremely important to do all of this well by rationally and wisely using methods that can be easily understood and accepted by others. This is not just an expression of Dafa disciples' compassion towards sentient beings and pure benevolent thoughts, but it also affects whether or not that life will truly be able to be saved or not.
November 27, 2001
References 1 and 2 are from "Lecture on the Fa at the Washington, D.C. International Conference" on July 21, 2001.
(Clearwisdom.net)
12/05/2001
BBC Monitoring
International media watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) has asked the [Jiang Zemin's] government to stop intimidating foreign journalists attempting to report on the Falun Gong spiritual movement, which is banned in China. Since China has promised to let journalists work freely during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, RSF Secretary-General Robert Menard said the authorities should stop arresting foreign correspondents. Before the next session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, RSF said it will appeal to the special rapporteur for free expression to denounce the Chinese authorities' attitude towards foreign journalists. Following is text of a press release in English by RSF, dated 4 December; subheadings as carried:
On 20 November 2001, Jutta Lietsch, correspondent of the German newspaper Leipziger Volkszeitung and contributor to the daily Tageszeitung, Wen-chun Fan, cameraman of the American TV channel CNN, Stefan Niemann, correspondent of the German TV channel ARD in Beijing and her assistant were detained and questioned by the police while they were covering the demonstration of 35 Western followers of the spiritual movement Falun Gong on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The cameramen's equipment was seized. The authorities accused the three journalists of not having requested authorization for doing this report. They were released two hours later but their equipment, particularly their films, press cards and residence permits were not returned to them. Jutta Lietsch had been invited to the Foreign Ministry in the afternoon, where she was told that the authorities would not take into account their offence if the journalists did not report the events which they had witnessed. Further to the articles published in the German press, the authorities qualified the ARD correspondent as a "troublemaker" and threatened to confiscate his press card for two months, therefore preventing him from working. The authorities also seized the press card of the CNN reporter Wen-chun Fan, for two months. They may also take similar measures against Stefan Niemann.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF - Reporters sans Frontieres) protested against this questioning and these threats, and the way the Chinese authorities are trying to prevent foreign journalists from reporting on Falun Gong activities.
For the past two years the Chinese authorities have harassed foreign journalists who investigate this organization criminalized by the government. On 22 July 1999, the Beijing authorities banned the spiritual movement after charging it with being a [Jiang Zemin Regime's slanderous term omitted]. In twenty-eight months, the repression launched by the authorities has caused, according to Falun Gong, the death of at least two hundred and fifty people and the arrest and detention of five hundred thousand people, for varying periods of time. Since the beginning of 1999, foreign press correspondents in China have been interested by the Falun Gong phenomenon, a movement inspired by Taoism, Buddhism and also by traditional Chinese meditation, qigong. Full attention of the media has been focused on it since the 25 April 1999 demonstration, when thousands of Falun Gong followers surrounded the central government's seat in Beijing.
Since the eradication campaign against Falun Gong was launched by the authorities, foreign journalists have systematically been hindered in their work on this topic. Foreign photographers and cameramen are prevented from working on and around Tiananmen Square where hundreds of Falun Gong followers have demonstrated for the passed years. According to Reporters Without Borders' estimations, at least 50 representatives of international media have been questioned. Some of them have been beaten by the police. The correspondents who have tried to cover the banned movement's activities have been harassed by the security services. Finally, many Falun Gong followers have been jailed for being interviewed by foreign journalists.
The police is always present around Tiananmen Square, ready to question any photographer or cameraman who may try to capture some pictures of followers peacefully demonstrating against the ban on their movement.
The testimonies obtained by RSF from foreign press correspondents are overwhelming for the Chinese authorities.
Threats and tailing
On 28 October 1999, Falun Gong managed to organize an underground press conference for some international media. A dozen journalists were present, among them foreign press agencies. The Falun Gong speakers had enough time to explain the nature of their movement and to denounce the repression to which they were subjected. The following day, world-wide media reported this press conference - a real humiliation for the Chinese security services which wanted their revenge. The Chinese police detained five correspondents of the foreign press and seized their press cards. During long interrogations, punctuated by threats, the journalists were accused of producing "illegal reports". They were forced to sign a letter in which they recognized having worked illegally. During the following months, the majority of the foreign journalists interested in Falun Gong were followed, questioned and often threatened. An American daily's correspondent remembers: "I was constantly followed. Sometimes far, sometimes near. The policemen were very aggressive. I could not even work or visit friends because I feared causing them problems. My contacts were constantly watched and it was impossible for me to meet Falun Gong members for fear of their arrest." Another journalist based in Beijing denounced these practices which still force him to "leave home by the back door, to hide in the taxi, and to check a thousand times if we are not being followed before meeting someone".
Transmitting information, particularly to foreign journalists working in Beijing, also caused several followers to be jailed. Zhan Xueling, quoted in a series of articles by Ian Johnson, the Wall Street Journal correspondent in Beijing, was arrested by the police on 24 April 2001. She was sentenced to three years in a labour camp a few weeks later. The American daily's journalist had reported in an article, awarded with the Pulitzer Prize, that the young woman accused the police of Shandong Province (east of the country) of beating to death her mother, also a Falun Gong member. Ian Johnson did not confirm that Zhan Xueling's arrest was linked to his article, but he is sure that after receiving the Pulitzer Prize for his articles about Falun Gong, the "Chinese police are likely to make my life impossible in Beijing". He is now a correspondent in Berlin.
Gu Linna, a Falun Gong member, was sentenced to four years in jail for transmitting information to foreign journalists about hundreds of members forced to undergo psychiatric internment. This former presenter of Hebei province TV channel also took part in the organization of press conferences for foreign journalists.
Questioning and violence
During the last two years dozens of journalists, among them photographers and press agency cameramen, have been questioned by the police while trying to cover Falun Gong activities in Beijing. About twenty reporters of Agence France-Presse [AFP] have been arrested by the police. AFP, Reuters, AP and CNN have all been ejected from the square more or less violently or subjected to processing through police vans converted into mobile police stations. The foreign press is therefore "persona non grata" on and around Tiananmen Square.
A photographer of a foreign press agency in Beijing who is a native of China is systematically chased away from Tiananmen Square. A French reporter of a press agency, questioned in 2000 on Tiananmen Square, was deprived of his press card for more than ten days.
A photographer for a press agency reports: "For the first demonstrations we decided to be permanently present on the spot. We took turns. As soon as a Falun Gong group started a demonstration, the policemen were looking for any person with cameras or video cameras. You had to be fast to avoid the questioning. When they catch you, they first open your equipment and then take your press card. If you are lucky, it can last a few hours, or several weeks. In any case, they prevent you from working." In June 2001, Stephen Shaver, an AFP photographer, was questioned and hit by policemen during the concert of "The Three Tenors" in favour of the Beijing bid for the 2008 Olympics while he was photographing the arrest of a person by the police. As usual, the Chinese authorities charged the photographer with "illegal work".
In the same way, Teresa Bergada, journalist of the Spanish radio station Radio Catalunya, was detained and hit by the police in 2000, after taking pictures of the arrest of Falun Gong members in Beijing. The Spanish embassy had to intervene to secure the journalist's release.
Foreign television teams which manage to take pictures of the repression against Falun Gong face another problem. The government television channel Central Television of China [CCTV], the only channel able to send pictures abroad by satellite, has blocked the broadcasting of pictures concerning Falun Gong, on order from the authorities.
Repression against Falun Gong
Since 1999 Falun Gong has used modern techniques to communicate. Meetings and demonstrations have been organized through mobile phones and e-mails. Falun Gong has launched web sites and radio stations from abroad. The authorities have reacted very violently by trying to take punitive measures against those who transmit information and by preventing followers from contacting others groups abroad. For about two years the Falun Gong web sites have been banned in China and visiting them is liable to a jail sentence.
The bad treatment attributed to the security forces has caused the death of at least two Falun Gong members who took part in the diffusion or the copying of information about the group drawn from the Internet. On 27 June 2001, Li Changjun died after being tortured in police custody. He was arrested on 16 May for having downloaded and printed Internet documents about Falun Gong. According to the Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, based in Hong Kong, Li Changjun, 33, worked for the Wuhan tax centre, in Hubei Province (central China), and had already been arrested several times for maintaining his membership with the [group], as the authorities call it. Li Changjun's mother said that her son was covered with scars and nasty bruises, that his neck and his ears were purplish and that he was abnormally thin. On 1 August 2001, Chen Qiulan, 47, member of Falun Gong, died of a heart attack in the detention centre of Daging (province of Heilongjiang, north-east of the country). He had been arrested in July 2001 for spreading information on the Internet about the movement. Otherwise, the professor Chang was sentenced to three years in jail for having sent information to a Falun Gong radio station based abroad. He was found guilty of "diffusing state secrets". He actually reported the repression on the movement.
Conclusions
These violations of press freedom are unacceptable. China's determination to prevent the foreign press from covering the activities and government repression of the Falun Gong clearly illustrates its rejection of independent news gathering. In that way, the Chinese [party's name omitted] party denies the foreign press the right to cover difference of opinion, corruption, AIDS in Henan Province, natural disasters, Tibetan and Uighur separatism and, finally, Falun Gong.
Reporters Without Borders has asked the Chinese government to stop intimidation against foreign journalists who attempt to inform international public opinion about the Falun Gong situation in China. "China committed itself vis-a-vis the international community to let journalists work freely during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The authorities should anticipate this generous promise and stop hindering foreign press correspondents", Robert Menard, RSF general secretary, declared. Before the next session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Reporters Without Borders will appeal to the special rapporteur for free expression to denounce the Chinese authorities' attitude towards foreign journalists.
Between October 23rd and 25th the human rights meeting between the European Parliament and China was held in Beijing. Prior to the meeting the Falun Gong practitioners in Europe had contacted the ambassadors of their respective countries in Beijing and provided them with the latest information of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners by the Chinese government. Practitioners in Europe also called the European ambassadors in Beijing to appeal for the release of Falun Gong practitioners held in Chinese prisons, in particular, Zhao Ming from Ireland and Teng Chunyan from the USA.
A total of 15 European countries' ambassadors and MEPs heard from Falun Gong practitioners in their countries. It was hoped that they would develop a good understanding of Falun Gong and the brutal persecution by the Chinese authorities, and that they would call for human rights and justice to help end the persecution.
The above 15 officials and ambassadors told the Falun Gong practitioners that they were aware of Falun Gong and their belief in "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance," and that the persecution by the Chinese authorities was a terrible human rights violation that must be stopped by the joint efforts of all kind people, governments, and non-governmental organizations. They also expressed that they had been trying many methods to develop a positive human rights dialogue with Beijing, that they were calling for a peaceful way to resolve the Falun Gong issue, and would in the future continue to support Falun Gong practitioners until the end of the persecution. The European officials also exposed the odd attitude of the Chinese delegates. It seemed that the Chinese delegates were able to keep fairly decent attitudes with all issues discussed except for those related to Falun Gong. Whenever Falun Gong was mentioned, they would turn anxious and nervous, and sometimes even hit the table with force, throwing back all Falun Gong related materials that had been given to them by the European officials. The European officials told the Falun Gong practitioners, "The way in which the Chinese delegates reacted told us of the terrible attitude they hold when dealing with Falun Gong issues and Falun Gong practitioners. Their strange reactions only proved to us Europeans that they were afraid of our mentioning Falun Gong issues, and that they were afraid of explaining the persecution of Falun Gong."
They know that the more they try to cover up, the more loopholes they expose, and therefore the more truth of the persecution is exposed. However, we Falun Gong practitioners are not afraid of anything, because what we do is truly righteous and totally open to the public. All we want is to let people all over the world know about us, to know about "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance," and to live a happy life both mentally and physically.
The European officials' significant support of Falun Gong has touched every practitioner. We know that the kind-hearted people are awakening, and that the kind nature of the whole human race is awakening.
During the human rights meeting, all European officials expressed to the Chinese delegates on behalf of the Falun Gong practitioners, that the European Parliament urges the Chinese government to stop the persecution immediately and resolve Falun Gong issues peacefully. However the Chinese delegates reacted with bad attitudes, stating that they have been using "educational methods" to "reform" the Falun Gong practitioners, and that they will continue to do this until Falun Gong disappears someday. The European officials told us that despite the terribly rude attitude of China, they would not give up and they hoped that their constant efforts may at some point change the situation. We expressed to them our gratitude, and that we Falun Gong practitioners would not give up either.
2001-10-30
Reported by a Falun Dafa practitioner
Source: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/1999.html
http://search.minghui.org/mh/articles/2001/11/5/19132.html
(Clearwisdom.net)
As a practitioner following the teachings of Falun Dafa, an elementary school teacher was careful to always do her best while working at her job. She had been awarded the honorary title of "Excellent Teacher" many times. Despite this, government authorities obedient to Jiang Zemin's regime, and its persecution of Falun Dafa, threatened two of the schools she had worked for, forcing them to fire her using the so-called "excuse" that she "spread Falun Dafa to students" and "practices Falun Gong." Finally, she found a job in another school. Her boyfriend is also a practitioner, and he too has faced persecution. To avoid the authorities relentless interference in his life, he had no choice but to leave his home. Authorities from his workplace became angry when they heard that he had left, looking for him everywhere. At the same time, they targeted his girlfriend and began to harass her, accusing her of "encouraging and supporting her boyfriend to practice Falun Gong." Facing sudden mistreatment yet again, she refused to remain silent and put up with any further harassment. She intended to say "no" to these people and lead them to realize what they had done to persecute Falun Dafa practitioners was wrong.
The authorities responsible came to the school she was working at. Once again, they threatened to close the school if she was not fired. The administrators of the school believed that they had no choice but to accept the ridiculous order and fired her. She thought over her situation and looked within herself. Finding that she had done nothing wrong, she made a phone call to those who had given the order to dismiss her, saying, "Without any investigation, you threatened and forced the school to fire me. Why? You coerced my employers and abused the power that has been entrusted to you. I have treated you kindly, yet you even go so far as to persecute me. But am I afraid of you? No. Once you mistreated me. Twice you mistreated me. This time, however, I will not keep silent. Today, I will show you!" They immediately told her that persecuting her was not their idea. She said, "Come, now. You have the power to force me out of my job. Certainly you must also have the ability to take care of me. For the next four months I cannot work, plus a month of winter holidays. The salary for the five months is 7,500 Yuan. Please compensate me with 7,500 Yuan. Otherwise, go back to the school and take back the false words you said about me and Falun Dafa. Tell the school administrators to bring me back, to restore my job." Twenty minutes later, they apologized and drove her back to school, apologizing to the administrators and arranging for her to get her job back.
She also told them, "My boyfriend was forced to leave home because some people abused their power and beat him. He has the right to return as well. Why force him to be homeless? If such a thing is to again happen in the future, I will not be silent about it." They had nothing to say but "yes." Since that time, when they come to her home to inquire about her boyfriend, they are not as rude as before.
"Forbearance (Ren) is not cowardice, much less is it resigning oneself to adversity. Dafa disciples' Forbearance is noble; is the manifestation of beings' extraordinary, indestructible, and diamond-like solidity; is tolerance for the purpose of upholding the truth; and is benevolence toward and salvation of beings who still have human nature and righteous thoughts. Forbearance is absolutely not the limitless giving of free rein, which enables those evil beings who no longer have any human nature or righteous thoughts to do evil without limit. With Forbearance, one can give up everything for Truth. But Forbearance does not mean tolerating evil beings--that no longer have human nature or righteous thoughts--defying both human and divine laws as they corrupt living beings and Dafa's existence at different levels, much less is it ignoring terrible crimes." (Beyond the Limits of Forbearance)
This practitioner understood that during the Fa-rectification period, the persecution of the kindhearted practitioners of Falun Dafa defies Dafa. As Fa-rectification practitioners, we should openly say "no" to them. It serves as a warning to and helps to clear out the evil forces.
(Clearwisdom.net) An elderly woman who lives somewhere in the central plains (comprising the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River) still has Teacher's poster, Falun posters, materials introducing Falun Dafa and various Dafa banners and Fa-promoting flags in her home. She still has a perfect collection of Dafa books and materials. Ten different times this woman's determination safeguarded Dafa. She courageously used her life to shake the evil and to further promote Dafa.
According to her own oral account:
The first time I safeguarded Dafa was on June 10, 1999 (Lunar Calendar). The television was playing programs that slandered Dafa. Six production brigade leaders came to my house to get the books. I told them, "There are no books here."
The second time, the production brigade and the police knocked at my door. I ignored them and they left. Two hours later they came back for the books, and I still refused them. One of them is a vice head of the township. He stayed at my house and read from the beginning until chapter 4 in Zhuan Falun. Before coming to my house, he was ill. After reading Zhuan Falun, his sickness was cured.
The third time, the production brigade and the police came again. They shouted, "Ren XX, you have committed a felony!" I replied, "I didn't commit any crime!" The evil couldn't do anything and left.
The fourth time, the evil came and said, "You have the books, give them to us." I responded, "I won't turn them over to you."
The fifth time, February 4, 2000 (Lunar Calendar), three people from the township government and the police station came to my house. I was listening to Teacher's lectures, so I said, "Why don't you come in, sit down and listen? You can learn why what CCTV said about Falun Gong is different from what our Teacher said?"
The sixth time, which was half a month later, the township police station sent three people again. They said, "You should come to the township office and talk with us." On the way, they asked me, "How come you don't turn in your books?" I replied, "I didn't do anything wrong. I will never give them up. If anyone dares to take my books and tapes I will resist with my life."
The seventh time, the township sent three people to my house. They asked me, "What do you know about Falun Gong?" I patiently explained to them that 11 different illnesses that I had developed during the last 20 to 30 years were all cured. Falun Gong is very good.
The eighth time, on the day of the national anniversary, the police station sent three people again. They were afraid that I would go to Beijing to ask the government to stop persecuting Falun Gong, so they wanted me to go to the police station. I told them, "I don't have the time, so I am not going."
The ninth time, around May 1, 2001, around 2 or 3 p.m., some townsfolk asked me, "Are you still practicing Falun Gong?" They started reading the newspaper to me. When they reached the point where it slandered Dafa, I said, "Stop! You can't read it! My Teacher tells us to be good people; you should remember that!"
The tenth time, May 10, 2001, the township police came to my house again and asked, "Are you going to Beijing anytime soon?" I responded, "Go away, I don't have time right now." After that, no one came to persecute me again.
Whenever the nearby villages have any gatherings or when there are a lot of people getting together, I go there and tell them about how Falun Gong teaches everyone to be a good person and how the practitioners have been tortured. I talk freely and openly wherever I happen to be at the moment.
(Clearwisdom.net) Xiao Zhao was sentenced to three years in a forced labor camp due to his practice of Falun Dafa. Because of his detention, Xiao Zhao's mother expressed strong resistance towards Falun Dafa.
I visited Xiao Zhao' hometown on a business trip. After I finished my business, I went to say goodbye to Xiao Zhao's mother, and noticed that she was reading Zhuan Falun. She also told me that she was doing the exercises occasionally. I was very surprised and asked her, "Aunt, can you tell me what made you change so dramatically?" She answered, "I couldn't sleep at night because I was trying to understand why my son refused to give up Falun Dafa. I also asked him this question when I visited him in the forced labor camp. He told me, 'Mom, look at me. I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't play Majong [a traditional gambling game] and I don't fool around with women, what type of person do you want me to 'transform' into? A person who smokes, drinks, plays Majong, and fools around with women?' I thought about what he said and came to understand that he was right. Just look at those Falun Gong practitioners, they don't steal, they don't kill and they don't set fires, but rather, they are trying to be decent people. What type of people does Jiang Zemin's regime want them to 'transform' into?"
"Your uncle [the aunt's husband] also tried to convince me that our son was right. [He explained that] Jiang Zemin's regime is torturing our son, so we cannot bring him more suffering, otherwise it will be too difficult for him to survive. In fact, I was not against Dafa, I just didn't want my son to suffer. When we visited him in the jail, he said, 'Dad, Mom, the only thing I worry about is your health because you're not strong.' He held back his tears while he spoke to us so that we wouldn't feel bad."
Xiao Zhao's mother's eyes turned red at this time. After a while, fascinated, she told me, "I received my menstrual period a few days after I began practicing the exercises. I haven't had it for half a year. I've also felt very energetic recently, while I hated to carry my handbag in the past since I believed it was too heavy. Are all of these changes because of practicing Falun Gong?" I told her what she was experiencing were indeed the results of practicing Falun Dafa.
Her positive attitude toward Dafa correctly positioned her life in the Universe.
For a while now I have been doing all kinds of things on a computer that are of no use for the Fa, like chatting, playing games etc.
I knew this was not good, and not the work I should be doing in Fa-Rectification. Excuses like "that can't harm me, I'm a Dafa Disciple," or "Just a little longer," made me follow my attachments and desires, and believe that it was not that bad. With Master's help, I realized and made up my mind to only do things for Dafa again. That night I had a dream I would like to share with you. I saw a beautiful paradise with people living in it, and I thought about the story of "Adam and Eve" as I saw a man and woman beside a small river there. I don't know if the male person was me, a friend of mine or a caricature, but he suddenly wanted to go into the small river for a swim or something. The river was not at all big, but rather looked like an innocent little stream. When he was in the water, the river suddenly got bigger, and he turned to go up to the shore again. When he turned around there were some small but ugly demons between him and the shore. He then went a little further out in the river, maybe to get away from them. As he did this, the river got even much bigger and a lot more demons appeared between him and the shore. He then went further out, and the further away he went, the more demons and monsters came up out of what had now become a sea. He then decided to swim to the other side, just to get onto hard ground, and as soon as he had this thought, the other side was right in front of him. He got up on land, looked back, and saw that he was standing on a huge cliff, with a large sea under him. The sea was full of big monsters, ugly demons and weird life forms, so he decided to look around there. As he looked at the place, it was all grey and black. It was full of unhappy people hanging from three big columns by ropes around their necks. It was awful there, and a kind of weird silence hung over the place. The people didn't know that other lighter and brighter places existed. I think that if they came down from where they were hanging, some demons would come and scare them up again, so they just kept hanging there, saying nothing.
Maybe the man jumped off of the cliff into the water again. I can't remember much more except that I fought many demons that night. Either way I realized something. That is, it is really important to get rid of all self-interests that blind us to the pure and bright place we were born into. We cannot waste our time doing whatever we would like to do; we are Dafa disciples and must do what we should do according to Dafa. We must be upright at all times, and not go the slightest bit astray, even in small matters. Only Dafa can take us home to where we belong, and truly save us from this blackness and blindness people live in today. We should also tell others about the Truth that can make them see their real homes once again, so that they too can turn away from suffering towards real happiness, and get back to where the flowers grow.
(Clearwisdom.net) The reality of the bloody persecution toward Dafa practitioners at the hands of guards in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in Shenyang City, Liaonong Province is in stark contrast to their lies broadcast on the television. We hereby expose to the world the tortures that Dafa practitioners had endured during their illegal detention, because of their firm belief in "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance." Due to the news blackout, the truth of what went on in that camp has been completely blocked. Very few people know about the brutality viciousness of the guards at the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp.
Li Ping is a resident of Linghai City. In November 1999, a debased camp team leader shocked her with three electric batons. She was handcuffed onto a basketball pole. It snowed and the wind blew. A thick layer of snow fell over her body. The authorities carried her back when she was frozen. Once a policeman forced her to keep standing for a long period of time in the bathroom. The leader of a criminal group dumped a bucket of pig slop, which was made of decomposed food scraps, leftover vegetable soups and Wowotou [a kind of steamed buns made of corn meal or other cheap cereals that was eaten by the poor in northern China] on her head and left trash all over her body. As long as she practiced the exercises, refused to recite or obey the labor camp rules, the corrupt team leader would order the leader of the common prisoners to brutally beat her. These beatings resulted in her legs always being swollen bruised. The prison warden kicked her constantly with the tip of his leather boot. One day, some brutal policemen lifted her up and then dropped her on the ground, making fun of her, saying, "You go ahead and practice!"
Chen Li, about 40 years-old, was from Xingcheng City, and had been illegally sent into that labor camp in November 1999. She had been on the hunger strike for over 80 days to protest the injustice. Daily, the prison personnel force-fed her and injected her with an IV infusion. She was often handcuffed and, once she would practice the Falun Dafa exercises, the guards would brutally beat her. On one occasion during the winter, a violent police officer asked a "criminal leader" to force-feed her with water. As a result, the "criminal head" poured the whole bottle of water on her, from her neck down, and soaking her entire body. They also asked her family to bear the medical expenses of the forced IV infusion. She was tortured so severely that she was only skin and bones.
He Guiqin, nearly 60 years-old, was from Xingcheng City. As she protested with a hunger strike, the law breaking police force-fed her and injected her with medicines. Sometimes her mouth was torn, because they pried her mouth open. Once, a security guard pushed her down on the ground, knelt on her ribs and compressed them severely. She fainted. When she woke up she was covered in a cold sweat. The criminal prisoners stole all of her money. When her money had all been stolen she had to clean up the trash for other criminal prisoners to earn money to buy daily necessities.
Zhang Huishuang, about 40 years-old, was from Benxi City. She was illegally detained at the Benxi Forced Labor Camp at first and was later transferred to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. In 1999, in order to go to Beijing to clarify the truth, she walked for 11 days to get there, but was caught on the way. She was often brutally beaten in Bengxi because she practiced the exercises. In the winter the depraved police forced her to stand outside in the freezing weather and her fingers became frostbitten. The brutal police also put her on a bed, using a torture device to cuff her arms and legs, then pulled her limbs outward, like "using five horses separating a person's body" [a very cruel method to treat criminals in ancient China also known as to be "drawn and quartered" in the dark ages in Europe]. They tortured her for 2 hours. She almost fainted from the severe pain and was bathed in sweat, soaking her clothes. After the torture she couldn't walk for a very long time. Since she was sent to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp, she additionally suffered inhuman treatments that most human beings can hardly endure. May and June of 2000 were the periods of time when the labor camp authorities strictly forced practitioners to give up practicing Dafa to achieve their "brainwashed quota"[the percentage of those practitioners who were forced to give up.]. She was in the team assigned to prison guard Zhang Yan who beat her and kicked her everyday. She was also forced to stand in her cell alone, from morning until night. Those who betrayed Dafa as a result of the brutal tortures were allowed some freedom. Everyday, she was surrounded and attacked by groups of traitors who kept trying to instill her with evil theories and understandings. She refused to listen to them and only firmly believed in Teacher and Dafa. After she was forced to stand for one month, they started using electric batons to shock her. She was continuously shocked for 5 days. Sometimes, the duration at each session was very long. The longest such session lasted from about 6:00 p.m., until around 11:00 p.m. She was beaten for a while and continued to be shocked for a while. Everyday, they ordered her to remove her clothes when being shocked. She kept silent for more than one month, enduring all kinds of tortures. She looked very haggard due to the severe abuse. As she recalled it herself, "Finally, I went through all of those. I really felt like 'Hundreds of hardships drop at once'"[Teacher's poem collection "Hongyin"]. Even when she was beaten, electrically shocked and being attacked by the traitors, the barbarous police team leader called her husband and told him to "persuade" her. Her husband called her and threatened her with divorce if she would not give up cultivation. Her husband wrote many letters, one to persuade her to give up Dafa, the other one was to divorce her. She was very frugal with her money in the camp. Except for toilet paper, she didn't buy anything else. In the summer she wore only one set of clothes. She washed it at night and wore it during the day when it was dried. In winter, she wore a pair of old cotton-quilted shoes that she picked up. Fortunately a practitioner gave her an old cotton-padded coat, and it helped her through the winter. She has always been generous to others and strict with herself. She had never attended school and was illiterate. Whenever her family wrote her a letter, the team leader read to it to her. She told me, "I only recognized the characters in Zhuan Falun [the major book of Falun Gong.] Whenever I encounter tribulations, I thought of the words Teacher has said."
A practitioner about 30 years-old from Chaoyang City was illegally sentenced to forced labor for three years. She had been running a restaurant for 13 years and was an entrepreneur who had a fortune of over 2 million Yuan [the average salary of ordinary Chinese people is 500 Yuan per month]. Before she obtained the Fa she had many illnesses. Her mind was filled with how to make more money. After she obtained the Fa, all her illnesses disappeared. She no longer lived for money, as if she changed into another person. She was righteous, and her ability to take hardship and show endurance was beyond that of everyday people. Her heart towards Dafa was steadfast like solid stone, and she never complied with the authorities' persecution. Once the camp team leader shocked her mouth with an electric baton when she recited Teacher's articles. She continued reciting and didn't stop until the electric baton was removed from her mouth. In her local detention center, because of practicing the exercises, she had been brutally beaten, handcuffed, forced to wear shackles and locked up in a "small cell" [The detainee is locked up in a very small cell individually. The guards handcuff practitioners behind their back in a fixed position, in which the practitioners can neither move nor lie down. The small cell is very damp and no natural light comes in. Detainees have to urinate and defecate in the cell. Only half of a regular meal is served to detainees locked up in a small cell during the daytime. During the night the rats are running around. The stench in the small cell is so bad that it is difficult to breathe]. When she was sent to the labor camp, she had just come out from the solitary compartment. Her feet were badly swollen from the shackles. She couldn't get her shoes on and wore slippers when she arrived. In the labor camp, because she led the practice of the exercises, recited Teacher's articles, and staged a hunger strike many times, she was brutally beaten, shocked, and physically abused. In the first month of her stay at the camp, she went through her days being electrically shocked, beaten, otherwise physically abused and being on a hunger strike. She never stopped her hunger strike protesting the outrageous abuse for a single day. Later, she was transferred to Female Camp No. 1 and was put in the criminal section. Everyday she endured an overload of hard labor. During the hard labor she had additionally faced the hardships other prisoners deliberately made for her, and endured extreme pressures from all other sources.
Cui Yaning, about 30 years-old, from Jinzhou City, was a college graduate. In November 1999 she was illegally sent to the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. Right after she entered the camp, team leader Ji Li shocked her with an electric baton because she refused to read the prison rules. Later she was brutally beaten and physically abused because she practiced the Dafa exercises. In November 1999, she went on a hunger strike for over 20 days, and spent the whole month enduring extreme suffering. In June 2000, she was physically tortured and shocked with electric batons because she didn't give up cultivation and refused to write letters to promise to give up her belief.
Practitioner Lin Yan from Huanggu District, Shengyang City and Liu Fengmei from JinZhou City were also physically abused and shocked with electric batons, together with her. The lawless police forced her to stand up for 4 or 5 days. After that they started to use electric batons to shock her. Everyday practitioners were forced to stand from 6:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. or to keep squatting for 18 hours without moving. Then the three were shocked, one by one, with electric batons. Other practitioners were forced to sit on a wooden stool from 6:30 am until 12:30 a.m. At that time, there were over 70 people in the team. Prison police officer Zhou Qian was the team leader. Wang Yanping was the division chief, Gu Quanyi was the political Instructor, Zhou Qin and Su Jing were the camp directors. They were the police officers that directly participated in persecuting practitioner Cui Yaning and many other practitioners.
Practitioner Liu Fengmei, female, about 30 years-old, from Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, was illegally put into Masanjia Forced Labor Camp in November 1999. As she practiced the exercises, staged a hunger strike and recited Teacher's articles, the vicious policemen often beat her, shocked her with an electric baton, physically abused her, forced her to stand in a snow field and to sit in the snow field while being electrically shocked. In November 1999, she was on a hunger strike over 20 days to protest the persecution. Once she was locked up and brutally beaten in a small room with the windows covered with newspaper. Hearing the screaming there, practitioners in our cell staged a hunger strike to request the release of the beaten practitioner. After a while evil director Su Jing dragged her out of the small room. She was emaciated and extremely weak. After undergoing a physical examination, her blood pressure was only 20mmHg [normal is 65 to 85mmHg]. Her bed was the upper berth. She could not even manage to get onto her bed and fainted in her attempt. Afterwards, she was still beaten up, even when she was force-fed and receiving an intravenous infusion. Then she was transferred to the "extensive labor" brainwashing sub-unit.
In June 2000, she was brutally tortured again. In order to achieve the "brainwashed rate" quota, the vicious officials in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp made her and some other practitioners their "examples." Initially they physically abused them by forcing them to stand 18 hours everyday. Later they shocked them with an electric baton for a long time. The skin on her neck was black from being electrically shocked and blisters appeared on both her neck and hands. On the second day, the police shocked her with two high-voltage electric batons. They stripped off her clothes, tied her two legs together and shocked her for a very long time. The skin on her neck was burnt darker, and large area of blisters appeared all over her neck. She had big blisters on her hands as well. It took a long time for the blisters to disappear. When we asked her whether she was in pain she shook her head, her eyes full of tears. After she was electrically shocked she was confined in a solitary compartment. Several days later when she came out, she had turned into an extremely emaciated state. When she was forced to work, she did not know how to do the work distributed to her by the team leader and thus could not finish, the team leader abused her everyday. As her family was poor, she would not spend even one cent more than absolutely necessary. Because she worked slightly slower, the head of the common criminals often abused her. Her situation now is unknown. The vicious police who had electrically shocked her were Zhang X [middle name unknown] Rong (team leader), Wang Haimin (division chief), Zhou Qian (team leader), Wang Yanping (division chief), Gu Quanyi (political instructor). Director Zhou Qin and Su Jing supported and approved this criminal activity against the practitioner.
There are still many practitioners in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp who firmly believe in Falun Dafa. Some of them had walked out of the labor camp openly and dignifiedly, and some have not yet done so. Among them are school principals, university lecturers, lawyers, university students, college students, those that are illiterate, entrepreneurs with assets of millions of Yuan and owners of factories. One of the incarcerated practitioners is a hairdresser who spent tens of thousands of Yuan to build a public bridge over a nearby river after she studied Falun Gong. In order to validate Dafa, they all came together and had spent two full years in Masanjia. Everyday, they eat bread made of maize (corn flour) with plain vegetable soup, enduring humiliation to their human dignity, physical tortures, mental abuses and the emotional pains of being separated from their families. But they firmly believe in the truth of universe, "Truth, Compassion and Tolerance," from the beginning to the end. Their righteous hearts were indestructible, rock-solid like Vajra. No force, no menace could change their hearts.
The Masanjia Forced Labor Camp is a living hell. We practitioners illegally detained there were forced to work over 16 hours everyday. Sometimes we had to work 18 or 19 hours, and even up to 36 hours in a row. That was from March 7 to 12, 2000, when we were forced to make some products for export. That batch of products was waiting to be shipped overseas right away because the customer needed them in a hurry. The director ordered us to work overtime. So from 6:30 a.m. on March 11 to 4 p.m. on March 12, we worked nearly 36 hours and were not given a meal for overtime, but were still served bread made of maize. On the contrary, at noon on March 12, they did not even distribute meals to those practitioners who had not finished their work. As the schedule was tight, they did not deliver meals and we did not have time to go for a meal, either. The team leaders often shocked practitioners with electrical batons who did not finish their work and otherwise abused them. The "traitors" only worked half of the day and "studied" half of the day. They did not have a fixed workload.
Practitioners who firmly believe in "Truth, Compassion and Tolerance" were forced to endure long overtime work loads in the extensive labor brainwashing sub-unit and also the mental pains of not being allowed to be visited by their families. What's more, they had to endure the 24 hours "closely monitoring" everyday. Some common criminals were specially assigned to watch practitioners, meaning we were watched all the time, anywhere; whenever we were having meals, sleeping or going to the bathroom. Practitioners were not allowed to talk with each other, write anything or spread "Truth, Compassion and Tolerance." If any common criminals did not work hard in monitoring to achieve what the authorities required, the vicious team leaders would extend the common criminals' detention term. Therefore, the common criminals monitored us very tightly, and the atmosphere was both horrible and depressing.
I was the one who came out from this labor camp. Many of my neighbors and acquaintances asked me about the situation there; whether I was beaten, electrically shocked or tortured, and whether there were female practitioners being thrown into male cells, which was exposed in our Dafa truth-clarifying flyers. To these questions, let me give some comments. Any practitioner who firmly practices Dafa and "Truth, Compassion and Tolerance" would have suffered a lot in the labor camp. This is definitely true. As long as we practiced the exercise, studied the Fa or refused to write the "three statements," to promise to give up Falun Dafa, we would be tortured and given a lot of mental pressure. I was in the first group of practitioners illegally sent into the labor camp, and that was on October 29, 1999. I was beaten up, electrically shocked, confined in a solitary compartment, and physically tortured. We had no rights to speak of. The vicious team leader forced us to give up the belief in "Truth, Compassion and Tolerance," otherwise he would torture us. As long as I went on a hunger strike, these vicious police forced me to sit on a chair and step my foot on two electric batons. Two persons sat on my two legs to push down. They would not stop shocking me unless I would agree to write the "guarantee" to give up my belief in Falun Dafa. When I was beaten and shocked with electric batons because I practiced the exercises, the vicious police would drag me to an empty cell first and keep beating and electrically shocking me and would not let any one know. But even after we practitioners were beaten and shocked, we had no place to speak out. If I told the director and division chief, they would say, "You deserve it. Why did you practice the Falun Dafa exercises?" When I told them I would invite a lawyer to sue them of violating the law, they laughed at me, "Who saw you being beaten and electrically shocked? Where is the violation of the law? Power is the law!"
I spent two years in that labor camp. Some vicious policemen wanted to be promoted by persecuting Falun Gong and get an "award." Some wanted to get an increased bonus with the higher "brainwashed rate." The team leaders also intrigued against each other. They applied all kinds of means to force practitioners to write the "three statements" to give up Falun Dafa in order to show their "contribution" in the persecution. They did not casually tell other guards, team leaders or directors and labor camp head what methods they had used to torture practitioners. The higher level officials claimed that secret orders were issued by top government entities to persecute practitioners, which had been forwarded to all the lower level authorities. Whatever contemptible methods the vicious guards used, as long as practitioners gave up their beliefs or wrote the "three statements," the higher authorities would reward the officers for their contribution. Though I did not witness the tragedy of the 18 female practitioners thrown into male criminal cells to be abused at will, I am absolutely certain that some guards at Masanjia were capable of doing it.
In present-day history, Dafa is enduring injustices that never happened before. When kind-hearted people are being persecuted, please keep in mind Teacher's words, "Mankind! Wake up! The vows of gods throughout the ages are being fulfilled. Dafa is evaluating all lives. The path of life is under one's own feet. A person's own single thought will also determine his future. Treasure and cherish it: The Fa and the principles of the universe are right in front of you." (Further Comments on Superstition; 'Essentials for Further Advancement')
Good must be rewarded with good and evil must meet with evil.
(Clearwisdon.net) The notorious Wanjia Labor Camp in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province followed secret orders from "higher authorities" telling them to dispatch male guards to work in cells used to detain female practitioners with the excuse of "enforcing rules." They tortured and humiliated female practitioners using various cruel and inhuman measures.
The Wanjia Labor Camp created a local "610" office, which is headed by Wei Xueying. The office gathered male thugs, led by Xiao Lin, and female guards, Yang Libin, Wang Yali, Wang Xiaoli, and Cui Hong, and used state terrorism to launch a new wave of persecution towards female Dafa practitioners. They were doing everything they could to persecute Dafa practitioners, regardless of the consequences. They are very evil and very vicious. They arranged for five criminals to monitor one Dafa practitioner and allowed the criminals to use any form of punishment to torture the practitioner. For those practitioners who didn't yield, the criminals sent them directly to the guards for further harassment. Policemen and bullies in the cells formed an "alliance" where the criminals became the guards assistants and were named "secondary guards." In the Wanjia Labor Camp, guards, policemen, and dregs of society join forces to torture and humiliate Dafa practitioners. Practitioners who insisted on studying the Fa and practicing were the first ones beaten by the criminals. They were then forcibly confined in a cold and damp "solitary cell" by police. Practitioners who were confined in the "solitary cell" were Miao Chunyan and Yang Shuhua who's terms were illegally extended, and those who obtained Dafa in the labor camp, such as Zheng Guiqin, Li Changyun, Zhang Guiqin, Wang Ying, Zhang Yanfang, Feng Shurong etc. These practitioners endured the cold and wet cell, as well as torment such as forced deprivation of meals. They were only provided a small amount of gruel each day but were often beaten, shocked with electric batons, and tortured with the "Tying the Ropes" (please visit http://clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2001/11/24/16156.html for an explanation of this torture method).
Since the formation of the "610" office at Wanjia Labor Camp, the evil forces have intensified their persecution towards female Falun Dafa practitioners imprisoned there. The situation for practitioners there has been getting worse. The evil forces have acted even more uncontrollable, and the means they use to torture practitioners are crueler. However, their inhuman performance can never shake the great determination of Falun Dafa practitioners towards Dafa and our Teacher.
Let's join our strength together to eradicate the evil forces behind the Wanjia Labor Camp and welcome the arrival of great triumph.
(Clearwisdom.net)
On January 1, 2001, dozens of practitioners from all over China together held up a huge banner measuring ninety-nine meters long, on the west lawn of Tiananmen Square. The banner was inscribed with eighteen of the Teacher's poems. Each poem took a space of five and a half meters in length. The practitioners walked slowly, holding up the banner. It was a magnificent scene that showed the world the dignity and majesty of the Fa. The evil force was scared to death and the followers of Jiang and Luo labeled this event as a national "big case." They mobilized a large police force to illegally search for and arrest those practitioners who participated in this event. Finally, they arrested fifty-six practitioners around the country, including some practitioners that held up their own small banners. Then the police illegally detained and secretly interrogated the practitioners at Division Seven of the Ministry of Public Security. After eight months of illegal detention and interrogation, on August 17, 2001, the Beijing City Dongcheng District Law Court illegally and secretly sentenced these practitioners. The number of the Sentence Statement was 1458. Among the practitioners, Beijing practitioner Shao Jun and Shandong Province practitioner Qiu Xiuxin were illegally sentenced to ten years of imprisonment. Shandong Province practitioner Suo Zhenjiang and another practitioner were illegally sentenced to eight years of imprisonment. Shandong Province practitioner Wang Jian and another two practitioners were illegally sentenced to seven years of imprisonment and two years of attainder [deprivation of political rights, i.e., the rights to vote or be voted to public office, etc.] The other forty-nine practitioners were illegally sentenced to four years and three and a half years of imprisonment, respectively. Qi Kun and his brother, the employees of an art gallery that helped make the banner, were illegally sentenced to one year of imprisonment even though they are not Falun Gong practitioners.
The practitioners refused to accept the sentence because it violated the Constitution and the Criminal Law. The Law Courts didn't follow the judicial procedures nor did they have a judicial basis [for the sentence]. So the practitioners appealed to the Beijing City Secondary Law Court. However, nobody dared to uphold justice or appeal the unfairness under the political gang of Jiang Zemin and Luo Gan's power hungry dictatorship and heavy handed policies. Their appeal was denied on September 27, 2001. The Secondary Law Court changed the number of the Sentence Statement from 1458 to 1473, but didn't carry out any further investigations. It is obvious that Jiang and his associates can simply do whatever they want, in whatever way they like when persecuting Falun Gong.
Now, most of the practitioners are illegally detained in the Beijing City Qinghe County Dongcheng District Police Custodial Center. The Beijing police are planning to send the practitioners to labor camps in different parts of the country. We are calling upon kind-hearted people for immediate help.
(Clearwisdom.net)
[Mid-southern China] An Over 80-Year-Old Practitioner Rectifies the Fa in Beijing: His story
In mid-southern China, with the firm belief in Dafa and Teacher, an over 80-year-old practitioner went to rectify the Fa in Tiananmen Square. He unfurled a banner and spoke loudly the words from the bottom of his heart, "Falun Dafa is Good. Restore the Reputation of Teacher. Restore the Reputation of Dafa." At that moment a group of foreign tourists saw him and took his picture. He put away the banner and thought, "The Fa is still not rectified. Teacher is still being slandered. I need to go back home. There are a lot of Fa-rectification tasks waiting for me." Therefore he calmly walked away, returned home and melted into the mighty current of Fa-rectification.
[Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province] Three Elderly Practitioners Go to Rectify the Fa in Beijing. One of Them Takes off the Handcuffs and Walks Away.
Several days ago, Dr. Luu, her sister and an elderly practitioner from Daqing City went together to rectify the Fa in Beijing. Shortly after the train passed Harbin City, policemen checked citizen's identification cards of all the passengers through a laptop computer. They found Dr. Luu was a Falun Gong practitioner on the "wanted list," issued by the police department. The three practitioners were promptly arrested and handcuffed. Dr. Luu managed to take off the handcuffs and walk away, under the eyes of several policemen. She went back into the mighty current of Fa-rectification. The other two were illegally detained in the Daqing City Detention Center.
Dr. Luu, an over 60-year- old woman, the former deputy contact person of Falun Gong in Daqing City, was also the former director of Jingxia's Sanitation Center in the Petroleum Administration Bureau. She was illegally detained several times for practicing Falun Gong. In order to avoid more arrests, she has been forced to live away from home for the last few months.
[China] The Power of Righteous Thoughts
Practitioner Xiao Wang was arrested when he was distributing Dafa truth-clarifying materials and was handcuffed in a detention room. Xiao Wang sent forth righteous thoughts, "This is not the place I should stay. I must walk out. I should ask the police to loosen the handcuffs." So he shouted, "The handcuff is too tight. Loosen it." The police immediately did as he requested. When the police turned around and walked out of room, Xiao Wang sent forth righteous thoughts again: "Do not close the door." As a result, the police did not lock the door. After the police left, Xiao Wang easily took off the handcuffs, opened the door and jumped over a podium. When he got outside he stopped a taxi on the street. Xiao Wang told the driver, "I practice Falun Gong. Police arrested me because I distributed flyers. I just escaped from the police station and I don't have any money. Could you take me back home? I will pay you when I get home." When the driver knew he was a Falun Gong practitioner, he said without any hesitation, "I will take you anywhere you want and you don't need to pay me."
[Changchun City, Jilin Province] Please Rescue Practitioner Wang Ying Who is Being Brutally Tortured in Changchun City
In March 2000, practitioner Wang Ying was sentenced to one year of forced labor in Changchun City's Heizuizi Female Labor Camp due to exposing the evil and practicing Falun Gong. Her detention term had expired 8 months ago. Wang Ying requested her unconditional release as her detention term had expired. Consequently, instead of being freed, she was tied to a "dead person's bed." (The four limbs of the practitioner are stretched out and tied to the four corners of an icy-cold metal bed. The practitioner cannot move at all. ) She was brutally tortured. Except for meals and using the bathroom, she was tied to the metal bed the whole time. It has been 20 days now. We call on all kind-hearted people in the world to help her and give her your righteous support.
[Wuhan City, Hubei Province]The Inhumanity of the Shizishan Drug-Rehabilitation Forced Labor Camp Authorities
The methods used by the guards at the Shizishan Drug Rehabilitation Forced Labor Camp, Wuhan City, Hubei Province, to persecute practitioners is malevolent and vicious. They ordered three drug addicts to monitor and torture one practitioner. At the noon break they forced practitioners to submit to the torture called "Glued to the Wall." "Glued to the Wall," means the victim has to stand very straight against the wall. They put paper between practitioner's head and wall, between their hands and body and between their legs. If the paper falls down, the drug addicts will kick and punch the practitioners. Another way to punish practitioners is called "Military Training." The practitioners were forced to stand on one foot in the burning sun, while the other foot was lifted with the tiptoe tightly stretched. The practitioners had to keep this position for a long time. It is also called "goose step." If a practitioner could not bear it, he would suffer from brutal beatings. Several practitioners could not walk due to this inhuman torture and finally they were released because they were considered cripples.
In April 2000, some practitioners from Macheng County firmly resisted the vicious forces by refusing to wear the badges labeled "Strictly Monitored." The officials in the detention center ordered the guards who brutally beat practitioners to lock practitioners up in a dark room, one after another. They shocked the practitioners with electric batons. Practitioner's faces and legs were covered with blood. These mobsters even wouldn't excuse the elderly people in their 50s or 60s. Relatives of practitioners were not allowed to visit them. Even if someone was allowed to visit, the practitioner was not allowed to talk. These thugs beat one male practitioner so hard that he lost consciousness. The guards threw him into solitary confinement or left him outside in the freezing weather, without providing him with any food. They did not allow practitioners to sleep and attempted to destroy practitioners' will with these brutal tactics.
[Anhui Province]The Experience of Two Practitioners: A Professor at the Anhui Architectural Engineering College and a Judge in Hefei City's Middle Level Court
1. Dafa practitioner Wu Xiaohua is a professor at the Anhui Architectural Engineering College. In October 2001 she was again illegally sent to a forced labor camp. Since the mental hospital diagnosed that she did not have any mental problem but was sick because of severe hypertension and diabetes, she was allowed to go back home for medical treatment. Her work unit forcibly sent her back to the female detention center, and the female detention center once again sent her to a mental hospital for brainwashing.
2. Dafa practitioner Zhang Yulian refused to accept the brainwashing in the class. She was therefore sent to a forced labor camp. Currently she is also a resident in a mental hospital, and is being tortured.
3.Dafa practitioner Li Mei is a judge in Hefei City's Middle Level Court. She was force- fed in the female detention center because she went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. When the tube that was more than 1 meter long was pulled out, it was covered with blood. The scene was too cruel to watch. Currently she is forcibly infused with saline solution.
[Yingkou City, Liaoning Province] We Sternly Warn Those Vicious Policemen
On November 22, 2001, policemen from Zhanqian Police Station caught two female practitioners from Yingkou City when they were posting Dafa signs on the crossroad. Both of them are about 40 years old. One of them told her name, the other one refused to say anything. Now they are illegally detained.
[Central-North China] Lawless Officials Become Rich by Extorting Money from Practitioners
Under pressure from the higher authorities, some lawless officials in a north-central city have been laying in ambush in order to arrest practitioners who distribute truth-clarifying materials. Whenever they catch a practitioner, instead of arresting him (or her), they would "negotiate" in private with the practitioner, saying, "We would get nothing if we sent you to a forced labor camp. Why don't you give us some money so you don't need to suffer and we can make some profit? The case will also be dismissed." Usually they extort 1,000 to 3,000 Yuan and ask practitioners to keep it secret. (The average monthly income in rural China is 500 Yuan approximately).
This is exactly what the idiom "when the beam of the house on the top is bent, the one below it will not be straight" means. Under the directive of the evil forces led by Jiang Zemin, the so-called "people's servants" have already been transformed into "bandits." ("Crooked beams")
[Hong'an County, Hubei Province] Vile Persons in Hong'an County, Hubei Province
Cheng Jinghao from Hong'an County's "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) has been persecuting and cursing Dafa, defaming Master, abusing and beating practitioners, forcibly brainwashing practitioners who persist in cultivating Dafa, illegally sending practitioners to forced labor camps and banishing them to jail sentences.
Lu Zaolin, a policeman from No.1 Section of Hong'an County's Police Department has been defaming Dafa and Master and torturing, severely beating and cursing practitioners. He has extorted money from practitioners and persecutes practitioners who persist in cultivating Dafa. Lu Zaolin has instigated the vile persons of the "610 Office" to sentence practitioners to prison; otherwise they would lose their jobs.
Zhang Hui, a female guard from the No.1 Detention Center of Hong'an County, has been persecuting Dafa and defaming Master. She treated female practitioners extremely viciously and even deprived them of sleep and took their quilts away. She confiscated all the everyday necessities practitioners' families and fellow practitioners sent in. Zhang is guileful person and a major accomplice of the "610 Office."
As practitioners in China face tremendous pressure to give up their beliefs under the Chinese regime's brutal persecution, there are those who have given in and signed documents renouncing Falun Dafa. However, many of these people deeply regret doing so after they are released from detention and labor camps. "Solemn declarations" are the public statements made by such practitioners, often at great risk to their personal safety, to declare to the world that the documents they signed under duress are null and void and that they will continue to practice Falun Dafa.
Here are some of the Solemn Declarations from the practitioners:
Please click here for more Solemn Declarations.
(Clearwisdom.net)
Two Residents of Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province
Receive Retribution after Ignorantly Tearing down Falun Dafa Flyers á
Two Residents of Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province Receive Retribution after Ignorantly Tearing down Falun Dafa Flyers
Xia Rongjiang, male, 70 years old, is a retired worker from the Drill Machine Factory of Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang province. He was extremely hostile toward and attacked Falun Dafa. Whenever he saw a Falun Dafa flyer, he would tear it to shreds and say, "I ripped it down to see if I will receive any retribution or not." He even tracked the granddaughter of his neighbor, who practices Falun Dafa. One day in July 2001, Xia Rongjiang suddenly became very vicious. He ripped down Dafa flyers in the presence of many of his neighbors. At the same time, he maliciously slandered Falun Dafa and repeatedly clamored that he was not afraid of retribution. As soon as he finished slandering Dafa, he started to feel uncomfortable. After he went home, he felt even worse. The next day, his relatives sent him to a big hospital in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province. Doctors in that hospital told his family members, "This man is dying. You'd better send him home and prepare for his funeral." His family members had to bring him back, but he died on the way back home.
Pang Lan, female, lives in Fangjian Alley in the northeastern area of Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province. She was deceived by the slanderous propaganda and therefore was hostile to Dafa. She often tore down Dafa flyers and slandered Dafa. One day, Pang Lan went to the street to tear down a Dafa flyer. A Dafa practitioner saw her and clarified the truth to her, "You will receive retribution for tearing down Dafa flyers. You should distinguish good from evil whenever you take an action." However, Pang didn't take these kind words seriously, and kept to her own opinion. Shortly after she tore down the Dafa flyers and went home, she immediately felt a terrible pain in the area of her lower back. She was in so much pain she could not stand. Her family sent her to the hospital. The doctor said, "The disease is called protrusion of the lumbar disc, a disease that does not respond to treatment. Nowhere in the world is there a good treatment. It can lead to paralysis. The only thing I can offer is to treat the symptoms with drugs." After hearing that, Pang Lan suddenly realized that what the Dafa practitioner had told her turned out to be true. She was full of regret, but it was too late.
A Beijing Man Who Betrayed Dafa and Persecuted Dafa Practitioners Receives Retribution
Zhan Runchun, was a resident of Yongning Town, Yanqing County, Beijing. In October 2001, he betrayed Dafa in a forced brainwashing class arranged by Jiang Zemin's regime of terror. Later, he released to those running the brainwashing class, information about the names and addresses of other practitioners, and Dafa material sites. This led to illegal arrests of a dozen Dafa practitioners. Among them, 7 to 8 practitioners were sentenced illegally, while others are still detained.
Zhan Runchun declared his innocence, and blamed other practitioners for these acts of betrayal. Later he had a severe car incident while driving a car and died instantly from the immediate retribution in this lifetime.
We hope those who are still exerting their strength for Jiang Zemin will take an honest look at what they are doing and stop persecuting Falun Dafa immediately.
A Villain Who Persecuted Falun Dafa in Beijing Is Detained
An Yulong, the chief of the Party Branch in the Fifth Yifang Material Company of Beijing City Construction and Developing Group, has served as an accomplice to Jiang's regime in the persecution of Falun Dafa. Now he is being detained and will be sentenced for visiting prostitutes. We hope all of the Party members and officials in every social stratum can distinguish good from evil, be kind to Falun Dafa practitioners, accumulate virtue and do good deeds so as to be responsible for the future of yourself and your family.
Several Cases of Retribution in the Area of Shenyang City, Liaoning Province
(Clearwisdom.Net)
During the last two years of Jiang Zemin regime's persecution against Falun Gong, the police stationed at the Chuangxing Police Station of the Ranghulu District in Daqing City, have turned themselves into a group of felons rather upholding the law as law enforcement officials. Those police, who have actively participated in the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, include the head of the police station Rong Zhengyi, chief policemen Gao Fengjie and Chen Qidong, and policemen Song Changjiu and Liu Xuezhong.
On November 19, 2001, policemen Gao Fengjie and Song Changjiu kidnapped practitioner An Shaohua from her home and took her away in a police car, directly sending her to a district detention center. The next day they sent her to a province-level drug rehab center in Harbin City. [Note: Drug rehab centers as well as mental hospitals are being used as detention centers for Falun Gong practitioners.] Without any legal evidence or legal procedure, they infringed upon an innocent citizen's human rights and completely disregarded the law. Gao Fengjie even threatened, "I will arrest you whenever I see you!"
Before this kidnapping incident, Gao broke many laws in collusion with other vicious policemen. One day he knocked on An Shaohua's door, attempting to take her away from home. An refused to open the door for him. So he asked a locksmith to break into the house and then forcibly took An away. Policemen Song Changjiu and Liu Xuezhong both participated in this incident. They also searched An's home.
An Shaohua's son is also a practitioner. One day in collaboration with his work place, the police attempted illegally take him to a hospital for further persecution [Note: most likely a mental hospital]. Because her son strongly protested such illegal action and successfully avoided their abuse, the police illegally detained An again on August 13, 2001. An Shaohua went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. Nine days later, she was sent to Daqing City Detention Center by policemen Gao Fengjie, Chen Qidong and Song Changjiu. An was taken there coinciding with the time that Chen Qiulan, the practitioner from Daqing City, was tortured to death in this same detention center. When their medical examination taken in this detention center, found that An was weak and had high blood, they had no choice but to release her, to avoid any responsibility for her physical condition. Pretending to be nice to her, they told An, "We won't arrest you again. You may stay at home."
When these policemen tortured An's son in the hospital, Gao Fengjie shouted to him, "You always said that there is immediate retribution this lifetime. I don't believe it. Let me see what retribution I'll get. I just want to abuse you!" Soon after An's son shook them off, inside sources learned that Gao Fenjie's big toe suffered from a festering wound. His vicious doings also brought bad consequences to his relatives. Currently his wife was in the hospital.
Liu Xuezhong led other policemen to illegally search many practitioners' homes in early November this year. During the last two years, the Chuangxing Police Station sent five practitioners to labor camps. Practitioners living in the district under their jurisdiction promoted Dafa and clarified the truth to them many times. All those efforts did not change their hatred toward Falun Gong. We hereby appeal to the worldwide people to examine the facts and identify who the real lawbreakers are.
(Clearwisdom.net)
About 200 Dafa practitioners have been illegally detained in the Women's Labor Camp in Chongqing City, Sichuan Province. Although all kinds of torture methods have been used on these practitioners, nothing can shake the righteous belief of Dafa disciples.
There are currently 4 divisions holding Dafa practitioners within the labor camp. On New Year's Day 2001, Division 1 was asked to give a performance for a celebration. Wild and reckless jumping and yelling from the so-called "drug instructors" (who were themselves in reality, drug addicts) brought the vicious police officers to heavy laughter; however, two female practitioners were cut off when they sang the beautiful song, "Going home." To validate the Fa, Yang, a Falun Dafa practitioner, stepped forward to show the Falun Dafa exercises. Even before she was able to sit down and cross her legs, however, the police called over 10 "drug instructors" to drag Yang into their office, where they brutally beat her. Yang was severely beaten and she had wounds and bruises all over her body; she even had blood in her stool for more than 10 days. During this incident, another practitioner named Chen was also beaten by more than "10 drug instructors" who were directed to this action by a male police officer. Chen was handcuffed for half a day.
In addition to daily radio and TV broadcasted programs defaming Dafa, one vicious police officer made many banners and posters slandering Dafa. Feeling that they were beyond the limits of forbearance, several Dafa practitioners decided to hold a group exercise at 2 p.m. one day in February in order to validate the Fa as well as show their strong determination in cultivation. So when nearly 20 Dafa disciples started to practice the exercises, they were forcefully dragged apart by many "drug instructors." More than 10 Dafa disciples were dragged up to an office where they were either handcuffed to the back windows or hung up from their handcuffs. In addition, one police officer provoked more than 10 "drug instructors" (including Chen Yongli, Ding Hongjuan, Wang Fang, Liu Xueli etc.) to take turns beating the Dafa disciples. Some were beaten over and over again, especially Ms. Xie, who was hung up and handcuffed while she was beaten. As a result, Ms. Xie's mouth was severely bleeding. Next, Chen Yongli kicked the stool out from under Ms. Xie, which caused her to yell in pain. Afterwards, Wang Zhitao, another vicious police officer, came over to have a look. He even dared to falsely claim that Ms. Xie wanted to commit suicide by biting her own tongue. However, a later examination showed that Ms. Xie's tongue was still intact.
The practitioners reported this incident to the police officers. Officer Wang told officer Xu to fabricate a false statement claiming that Chen Yongli persuaded practitioners to have meals, but the practitioners refused and bit their own tongues to commit suicide. Despite this feeble attempt to frame the practitioners, the facts were clear that it was about 3 p.m. when that particular practitioner was beaten, and apparently, it was not near any mealtime. From this, we can see how mean and despicable these vicious people are! They were not only afraid to reveal the truth, but they also wanted to frame the practitioners. Of the more than 10 practitioners who were hung up and handcuffed, four were hung up and handcuffed for at least a week. Three of these four were hung up and handcuffed for at least two weeks. When the vicious police officer Wang Zhitao and Luo Chuanmei were on duty, Dafa disciples were handcuffed even when they had their meals or when they went to the restroom. When some practitioners began to shake and faint, the police officers said the handcuffs should not be released, even if it caused death.
The labor camp's second Division was even more vicious. It was not unusual for the Dafa practitioners to be beaten or kicked. When the practitioners were seated, they were beaten even if they closed their eyes for a while, or if they moved their lips. There were many ways for the officers to brutally treat the practitioners, including grabbing their hair or slamming them hard against the wall. One practitioner's mouth was covered while she was beaten, and she fainted; however, the vicious police officers said that she was "pretending to be unconscious." Because one practitioner said, "We did not do anything wrong, and it is lawful to practice our exercises," she was dragged to a spare room. After stuffing her mouth with dirty rags, the vicious policeman Yu slapped her several times. Then, the "drug instructors" were called in to brutally beat her. Afterwards, she was handcuffed for half a day. To appeal and resist the torture, more than 10 practitioners refused the forced labor resulting in the punishment of being forced to squat on their heels for more than two months, from early in the morning till 11:30 p.m. at night; they were not even allowed to go to the restroom during the day. There were about 6 or 7 Dafa disciples who were forced to stand or squat on their heels for over 5 month. However, no matter how savage the evil was, nothing could change Dafa disciples' strong, rock-firm determination in Dafa.
The Dafa disciples in Division 3 and Division 4 were great. They tore a bed sheet into several pieces and, with blood from their fingers, made banners that read, "Falun Dafa Is Good," etc. After presenting the banners, three Dafa disciples were sentenced to jail, while many more were beaten; their detentions were extended in the labor camp. Jian Ping, a Dafa practitioner was beaten so brutally that both of her legs were broken, and she is unable to stand--even today. Another practitioner was tortured to the point of a mental breakdown and she was released.
Right now, all Dafa disciples are illegally detained together in Division 4. There are "drug instructors" in every cell, and Dafa disciples are not allowed to contact each other. One practitioner did not feel well, and did not want to eat her meals. However, she was force-fed after she did not have her meals for the second time. Once Dafa practitioners started to practice their exercises, the "drug instructors" would brutally beat them with support from the evil police officers in the public.
By provoking the "drug instructors" to beat the practitioners, the police officers not only failed to help them give up evil deeds and become good people, but also made them even worse. This is doing great harms!
We hope that all people with a conscience can pay close attention to the current status of the illegally detained Dafa practitioners in Chongqing City.
Telephone number for Division 4 of Women Labor Camp in Chongqing City: 86-23 67861870
(Clearwisdom.net) Han Shuqing, a 56-year-old female resident on Shengli Street of A'cheng City, Heilongjiang Province, endured extortion on May 23, 2000 and October 29, 2001. Police Department Legal System Section Chief Gong forced her to pay 1000 Yuan RMB (Note: the average wage in China is about 500 Yuan RMB per month.) She was also forced to pay 2,000 Yuan by Liu Ji from the Political Security Section. After July 22, 1999, Secretary Liu XX and Wang Yi, from the Party Committee of Shengli District, and Secretary Liu Fuyang and Liu Changzhi, from the industrial office, talked to her many times, slandering and attacking Dafa and Teacher. Since she was firmly practicing Falun Dafa, they went to her home many times and ordered her to remove from the wall the posters of "Solid Cultivation" (from Hongyin by Li Hongzhi), "When it's difficult to endure, you can endure it. When it's impossible to do, you can do it." and several pieces of carved wood inscribed with "Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance" and "Falun Revolving Constantly." After she unwillingly removed the posters, there were still shadow marks of the letters on the wall. Liu Fuyang went to her home again to order her to erase the marks. She refused, stating that she had the right to refuse since she owned the house. Afterwards, a local policeman, Xi Baiyu, went to her house and forcibly scraped the wall to remove the remaining shadow of the letters.
At 10:00 a.m. on November 8, she was doing laundry at home. Xi and another policeman came and asked her to go to Shengli Police Station, where they interrogated her. Because she adhered to practicing, the vicious policemen became flustered and exasperated. They went back to her home and forcibly took away eight pieces of carved wood, handwritten Zhuan Falun and copies of Teacher's articles. Back in the police station, several more police surrounded her and cursed Dafa and Teacher with dirty words. At around 6:00 p.m., they detained her illegally in A'cheng City Second Detention Center with fabricated charges. Seven days later, her husband was also illegally detained for fifteen days. Her husband refused to sign the arrest warrant and was not released when the fifteen-day term ended. Their children were afraid and spent 7,000 Yuan to bribe the officials. On the seventeenth day, the officials from the police station threatened that if she still practiced, she would be sent to the First Detention Center and then to a forced labor camp.
On March 6, 2000, she went to the "610 Office" [An agency specifically created to persecuteáFalun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems] to ask for the release of those practitioners on a hunger strike in the detention center. The head of the "610 Office," Zhang Zhongfan, ordered the police station to detain her in the detention center for 79 days, far beyond the legal term. At about 3:00 p.m. on January 22, 2001, policeman Xi Baiyu asked her to go to the police station but she refused. The vicious people came to knock on her door many times and made harassing phone calls. Because the harassment was so intense, she was forced to leave home. The evil police continued to follow her, and threatened her family in order to capture her until February 22, when she was arrested at her relative's home. She was then forcibly sent to brainwashing classes. Because she maintained her firm belief, she was sent back to the detention center, where she was beaten by the directors Zhou Xiaozhang, Han XX and Zhang Wei and cursed by Li Xiaoguang. She was released after 99 days and ordered to return anytime she was called.
On August 6, 2001, senior guard Zhao helped the police to deceive her and coaxed her into opening the door. Once inside, the wicked police confiscated pictures of Teacher. Four police forcibly pushed her down (a woman who was almost 60-years-old) to the floor and handcuffed her hands behind her back. She was taken to the detention center without having an opportunity to change into street clothes and shoes, leaving her in her pajamas. She was detained for 84 days and was slapped in the face numerous times. This time, the police not only arrested her but also seized her home. Senior Zhao's whole family, Director Wei, on the third floor, and Zhang XX, from the Fifth Unit, also often came to her home to watch her. Because of the continued harassment, she was forced to leave home.
Sun Lijie, a 63-year-old female, lives on Minzhu Street of A'cheng City. On December 22, 2000, she went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, but she was detained in a big complex around Tiananmen Square. The police then took pictures of her, assigned her a number as an alias, and registered her address. She was forced into the trunk of a car and sent to Mentougou Police Station, and later, to Mentougou Detention Center, again in the trunk of a car. After two days in the detention center, she told them her address and then was sent to the Harbin Liaison Office in Beijing. On December 26, 2000, she was sent back to A'cheng City Second Detention Center. During the period of her illegal detention, she went on a hunger strike for two days to protest her illegal detention and to plea for her freedom. As a result of her hunger strike, she was force-fed. After the forced feeding, she could hardly eat anything. She frequently vomited and experienced numbness in her hands and feet. Ten days later, she could no longer eat anything. Her daughter, who was detained in the next cell, told the guard about her mother's condition. The vicious police noticed that the mother was indeed not going to survive because of her physical condition, so they sent her to the A'cheng City Hospital. The examination showed internal bleeding in her stomach and severe dehydration. She was released only after her family member signed the "Pledges" to denounce Falun Dafa. After she returned home she was not able to take care of herself and has not yet fully recovered.
Guo Shulan, a 49-year-old female, lives on Heping Street of A'cheng City. At 11:00 p.m. on September 27, 2001, three police, including Zhao Yazhou and Yang XX, from Heping Street Xicheng Police Station, abducted her and forced her to go to the police station. They demanded that she curse the Teacher, but she refused. They then handcuffed her so brutally that the handcuffs cut deeply into her hands and the marks remain visible even today. The police then asked her if she still practiced Falun Gong. She replied that she just practiced at home. Thus, they arrested her, fingerprinted her, and sent her to A'cheng City Second Detention Center, where she remained until her release on October 24, 2001. During the period of detention, the police utilized lies to extort money from her family. They told her family that she was going to be sent to the forced labor camp. Her family was so frightened for her that they spent over 1,000 Yuan to bribe the officials and to treat them to free dinners. The vicious people who took advantage of the family included Lu Chunyan and Zhao Jingzhou.
Du Xiuli, a 37-year-old female, lives in Yongtaiguang of Acheng City. She was subjected to extortion by the vicious police Ni Weiqing from Heping Police Station, once for 3,000 Yuan (that amount of money was recovered later) and once for 2,000 Yuan. Later, she went to the "610 Office" to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and was illegally detained for 19 days. Zhao Jingzhou, from Xicheng Police Station, went to her home many times to harass her and threaten her family. Later, she was detained in the police station because she appealed for the release of innocent Falun Dafa practitioners. She was handcuffed to a steel chair for approximately ten hours. Because she held firmly to her belief in Falun Gong and refused to provide her fingerprints when asked, they forcibly sent her to the detention center and told her that she had no right to appeal. During the period of detention, she asked for an unconditional release, and went on a hunger strike for nine days. On the fifth day, they started to insert tubes into her nose in order to force-feed her. After fifteen days of illegal detention, she was finally released.
Wang Guifen, a 34-year-old female, was sent to A'cheng City Second Detention Center, because she had written letters of appeal to validate Falun Dafa in January 2000. Policeman Ma, from Shengli Police Station, was responsible for her illegal detention. During the illegal detention period, the guards beat her many times. She went on a hunger strike for four and a half days. She was released after sixty-four days of detention. Later, Policeman Ma deceived her and forced her to go to the detention center again. She was transferred to the First Detention Center fifteen days later. The guards beat her with a "Little White Dragon," the equipment of the most severe torture in the detention center, and handcuffed her for a day and a night. Later on, she went on a hunger strike. They started to force-feed her with corn flour conjee and hard liquor. She experienced severe bleeding from her nose, due to the forceful insertion of tubes for the force-feeding. She was released seventy-five days later. Because she went to Beijing to appeal, she was taken back by police from Shengli Police Station and then sent to the detention center. She was released after one hundred days of illegal detention.
Guan Shuxun, male, 61-years-old, is a resident of Shengli Street, A'cheng City, Heilongjiang Province. On November 8, 1999, his wife came home, escorted by three police. They then illegally searched his home, afterwards, they once again detained his wife. When they asked him if he practiced Falun Dafa, he said, "yes!" They then illegally detained him as well, however he did not sign his name on the detention slip. His employer and the police together decided to put him in a detention center; he was illegally jailed for 15 days.
Zhu Yulian, female, 61-years-old, lives in Yuquan Town, A'cheng City, Heilongjiang Province. On January 22, 2001, she was forced to go to the police station to "talk." Because she said that she will continue to practice Falun Dafa, she was illegally sent to the Second Detention Center of A'cheng City for over 2 months, then she was transferred to a brainwashing class, totaling 71 days. During this period of time, her disabled son and her 6-year-old grandson were left at home completely alone. She was forced to pay 60 Yuan RMB (average monthly pay of an urban worker is 500 Yuan RMB.)
Li Changxiang, female, 59-years-old, a resident of Yuquan Cable Manufacturing Plant, A'cheng City, Heilongjiang Province. On July 24, 2000, she went to Beijing to protest the persecution. She was arrested in Beijing, and sent to Xingnong Police Station first, then sent to the Harbin City Government Liaison Office in Beijing. On July 27, 2000, her employer and local police station sent her to the Second Detention Center of A'cheng City. After she went on hunger strike for 8 days, they released her. Employee Chen Yubin of the Cable Factory, forced her to pay 1,800 Yuan RMB, with the excuse of "covering the expenses of picking her up from Beijing." On January 22, 2001, the police deceived her and told her to have a meeting with them in the police station. However, upon her arrival, they put her in the jail. On March 31, they sent her to a brainwashing class. Because of the complications of old age and high blood pressure, she was released and sent home. But on May 18, 2001, when she visited a 65-year-old fellow practitioner, she was reported by someone to the police, and was illegally sent in the detention center again. She was released again on June 15.
Wu Yanchun, male, 35-years-old, is a resident of Yuquan Town, A'cheng City, Heilongjiang Province. On December 2, 2000, he went to Beijing to protest the persecution of Falun Dafa, but was blocked by the police on the way, and illegally sent to the Second Detention Center, where he was cursed and humiliated by the supervisors. He was released on December 20, forced to pay 400 Yuan RMB to the local 610 Office (an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the political party and all other political and judiciary systems). He only stayed two days at home; police from the local station forced him to "talk," and sent him to a detention center again, because he said that he would still practice. He was released on January 8, 2001. He was forced by the police to "talk" again on January 22, 2001 and illegally send to the Second Detention Center the third time, just because his answer was that he would "practice!" He was inhumanly tortured this time, and was released on April 9. On May 18, 2001, he was listening to the truth-clarifying audio recordings in one fellow practitioner's home. Police again arrested him illegally, and sent him to the Second Detention Center, and then transferred him to a brainwashing class. He was released on June 19.
Fan Shuping, female, 38-years-old, is a resident of Yuquan Town, A'cheng City, Heilongjiang Province. On the morning of January 22, 2001, at about 8 a.m., Yuquan Police Station deceived her into "attending a meeting," they then arrested her and sent her to the Second Detention Center at 8 p.m that evening. They did not allow her to eat for a whole day. Police Station Director Wang, and Li Bo forced her to pay 1,500 Yuan RMB, and the Detention Center Director Guo forced her to pay 170 Yuan RMB for meals.
Li Yawen, female, 57-years-old, resident of Yuquan Town, A'cheng City, Heilongjiang Province. On October 19, 2000, she went to Beijing to appeal. She was beaten in the Qianmen Police Station, her chest and back turned purple-blue, the flesh on her face was separated from the bone, and blood trickled out of her ears. She was beaten brutally twice. The local police escorted her back to A'cheng City on October 26, and extorted 1,800 Yuan RMB from her. They then sent her to the Second Detention Center of A'cheng City where she was illegally detained 25 days. Her family bailed her out with 2,000 Yuan RMB, and 200 Yuan as her meal cost. The main person responsible for torturing her is Xi Jinglong, Chen Yubin, and Director Guo of the Second Detention Center.
On January 22, 2001, she was deceived by the Yuquan Police Station to "attend a meeting." The whole day she was not allowed to eat or use the restroom. She was sent to the Second Detention Center that evening. By this time all of her teeth had been knocked out from beatings. Her gums were all swollen because of eating the hard prison food, and she could only drink the preserved vegetable soup. She was on hunger strike for five days to request to be released without criminal record. The police ordered other male prisoners to force-feed her.
On May 18, 2001, she was listening to audiotapes revealing the truth of the persecution in a fellow practitioner's home. Some one revealed her whereabouts to the police, and she was then arrested and sent to the Second Detention Center again. She was extorted 240 Yuan RMB for her meals by the police, the main person responsible is Director Guo. After 28 days of detainment, she was sent to a brainwashing class, where she practiced the Falun Dafa exercises, seeing this many police pulled her to the ground. Later, because she had high blood pressure, she was released and sent home. Due to the evil persecution, her family members were all terrified, and her husband wanted to divorce her several times. She was forced to pay 60 Yuan for her meals. The main person responsible for the heinous crimes in brainwashing class was Wang Fengchun.
Zhang Fengzhi, female, 52-years-old, an employee of A'cheng City Cable Manufacturing Plant, Heilongjiang Province. On July 22, she went to Beijing to protest the persecution of Dafa. She was arrested at the Appeal Office, and sent to Harbin Government Liaison Office in Beijing. After two days, the local police escorted her back to her hometown, and locked her in the Second Detention Center, where she was illegal detained for 92 days. The supervisors frequently cursed her, because she would not admit that she committed a crime of "disturbing public order," nor would she sign her name on any written guarantee to stop practicing. She was forced to wash laundry by hand, included the under-garments of the vice director Wang Sheng together with four other practitioners. They washed many bedding covers and coats with icy cold water, their face, hands, and feet were all cracked from this forced labor. They were often humiliated and badly treated. The five of them had to supply the commodity for the entire detention center. Finally, they went on hunger strike to protest the illegal detention, they were all released after three days.
Zhang Fengzhi was fooled by the police into attending a meeting on January 22, 2001. She was illegally sent to the Second Detention Center that evening, and then detained for 70 days, and sent to a brainwashing class afterwards. She wrote a "promise to stop practicing" then she was released home. She realized that she made a mistake, and she solemnly declared what she wrote in the brainwashing class was null and void, and that she wanted to cultivate Falun Dafa firmly. The police arrested her again, illegally detained her for 20 days, and then released her without any record of criminal offence. She was extorted five times, a total of 3,408 Yuan RMB. The primary people responsible for these wicked crimes are Chen Yubin from the Cable Plant Security Section, Shen Mingming from Yuquan Police Station, Director Guo and Vice Director Zhou of the Second Detention Center, and Wang Fengchun from the brainwashing class.
(Clearwisdom.net) In 2000 a practitioner was illegally tried. The court attempted to convict the practitioner of "leading a group attack" against the government. In the court, a video of this practitioner and 300 other practitioners appealing to the government after July 22, 1999 [the day that marked that beginning of a national ban and persecution of Falun Gong] was shown as evidence. The lawyer for the defense stood up and said, "I disagree with the phrase 'group attack'." Then he played a video of peasants driving tractors and trying to break into the government compound and said, "Compared to this video, the Dafa practitioners are very disciplined; they only sat there quietly to express their will and shouldn't be accused of 'planning a group attack'."
During the illegal trial of another practitioner, the defense lawyer showed how the police arrested a practitioner outside the subway exit in Tiananmen Square. The practitioner was on her way to the People's Political Committee to appeal and was intercepted by a police officer who asked her, "Are you from out-of-town?" and "Are you a Falun Gong practitioner?" She was arrested after saying yes to both questions and was escorted back to where she came from and detained for several days. The lawyer said, "Is it [legal] that any Falun Gong practitioner from out-of-town and walking toward Tiananmen Square should be arrested?" The audience responded with loud applause. The judge panicked and rapped the gavel.
However, under high-pressure rule from Jiang Zemin's group, the lawful rights of practitioners cannot be guaranteed at all. All trials were manipulated behind the scene by people from the "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) so these two practitioners ended up receiving three-year sentences. Nevertheless, these two lawyers' actions of justice under such pressure should be attributed to the practitioners' families' intelligent truth-clarification and rightful positioning of the relationship between Dafa and themselves. A family member of one of the practitioners said to the lawyer who had already learned about the truth, "You should defend Dafa." The lawyer said, "Falun Dafa is innocent. As for [the practitioner on trial], if the judge is really just, he should release her in court."
(Clearwisdom.net)
A Woman With a Sense of Justice
A Falun Dafa practitioner I knew often promoted the Fa and explained the truth behind the persecution to his auntie. After she had understood the truth and found out that this practitioner had been persecuted by the evil forces, she said, "If they dare to do so again in the future, I will write an appeal letter for you. Just tell me where to send it." When the practitioner told her that good would be rewarded with good, and that evil would be met with evil, she said with firm righteousness, "Jiang Zemin and those policemen are really bad. It is time for evil to be met with evil."
One day the practitioner was folding some truth-clarifying flyers. Upon seeing the large stack, the auntie said, "You have so many flyers. Are you able to distribute them all? Give me some, and I will help you distribute them. When she returned from distributing the flyers, she talked to us in detail about where she had distributed the flyers.
The auntie was always very concerned about the practitioner's safety. The practitioner explained to her that we were given the Fa-rectification formula by Master so that we could eliminate the evil. With righteous hearts, we won't run into any problems. The auntie said, "Our protection for you can only be considered to be an extraneous factor. The most important factor is you, yourself. You should put everything into either using your wisdom or into sending forth the righteous thoughts so that you can protect yourself."
A Passenger on a Train Protects a Falun Dafa Practitioner
Upon seeing that a practitioner was reading Essentials for Further Advances, a passenger on a train was shocked and said, "How are you still so courageous as to read that book in such a dangerous time?" The practitioner answered peacefully, "This book teaches you how to be a better person. It teaches no wrong, so why should I be afraid?" The practitioner then read a paragraph to the passenger. The passenger felt worried for the practitioner's safety and used his own body to shield the practitioner from being seen while reading the book.
In The Future When People Ask, I Will Say That Falun Dafa is Good
A practitioner's younger cousin used to not know the truth behind the persecution of Falun Dafa. His cousin told him that if they didn't allow him to practice, then he should just give up. The practitioner clarified the truth by telling him what the evil had done, explained to him principles for becoming a better person, and recited the poems in Hongyin to him. After his little cousin understood the truth, he said that in the future if people would ask him, he would say that Falun Dafa is good. Some time later he even recited the poem "Tempering One's Mind and Heart." When he saw Dafa slogans, he would usually read them quietly to himself and then tell the practitioner that he again saw how Falun Dafa was good. Falun Dafa has restored the purity of a child's heart.
The Persecution is Not Supported by the People
A deputy Secretary General of the XX [party name omitted] Party of a municipal government once stated, "I think the majority of the Falun Gong practitioners are good people. I am not afraid of being punished for saying this. Your Falun Gong will be redressed for sure. It will only be a matter of time."
A member of the XX Party committee of a township once said, "We have been taking a perfunctory attitude towards our jobs. The higher authorities demand that we go into the township every day (to carry on the persecution). I did not comply and when they asked about it, we would answer that we had already gone. When we saw practitioners distributing Dafa flyers, we would not report them either."
A government employee said, "I have been given orders from higher authorities. I have no choice. I would rather go to the township than look at my supervisor's expression. I myself also feel that these orders are very silly. They definitely must have been made by someone with a mental disorder. When every sensitive day comes, they become afraid because Dafa practitioners may go to Beijing. It is really tiring to live like this every day. If I had to live like that, I would quit my job and go home."
A person working for a township said: "Leaving this courtyard, I can speak freely. Falun Dafa is good. Every one of the Falun Dafa practitioners is good. How can one transform them? What is wrong with Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance? What can you possibly "transform?" When they suffered injustices, they still were not allowed to speak; what kind of human rights is that? That's just presenting a false facade of peace and prosperity. I think Dafa practitioners are courageous to go to Tiananmen. What law says that people are not allowed to go to Tiananmen? Is this in the Constitution? Since ancient times, Tiananmen has been the place where the common people could go to complain about an injustice or appeal for justice."
A common person said that we have come upon a time when good people are arrested and bad people are released. This is a violation of heavenly principles. If they would just put half of their efforts into addressing corruption, this country would change fundamentally. During this period of havoc, mankind cannot save itself through its own governance and administration but through the arrival of a Buddha, Tao, or God. Otherwise they would be on the path of destroying themselves.
An awakened sentient being said that if people in society were like Falun Gong practitioners, then society would probably have improved a long time ago. There would be no opportunities for idling away time in binging, drinking, visiting prostitutes, gambling or stealing. The security situation would have improved much earlier as well. But now, the central government is sparing no expense in persecuting all these good people. The persecution goes against heavenly principles. It will undeniably be an eternal injustice. Not only does it harm the people, but it also creates opportunities for corrupt people to take advantage of the situation for their own profits. It has made a mess of the entire country.
(Clearwisdom.net)
The Change of a High-level Provincial Official
A high-level official of a provincial Party committee followed Jiang Zemin's political gang in brutally persecuting Dafa practitioners. He wrote vicious articles to attack Dafa, and ordered policemen to beat practitioners, as has been reported on Clearwisdom.net. The practitioners of this province collectively sent forth righteous thoughts, to eliminate the evil force behind him. Under the strong force of righteous thoughts and seeing the principle of karmic retribution, he finally awakened to his conscience, realized the nature of the evil force, and changed his view toward Falun Gong.
During his address at a recently convened provincial conference, after he read a sentence about Falun Gong in his keynote address, he put down his notes, and said, "There are so many corruption cases that ought to be addressed, why should we wrestle with Falun Gong? Falun Gong people are all our brothers and sisters." After this he went on with other topics.
(Provided by a participant at the conference. Certain details have been removed to protect the safety of persons involved)
Although With Great Mercy, Gods and Buddhas Also Punish the Wicked
My colleague Xiao Yu is kind-hearted and likes study. However, on the issue of Falun Gong, she was affected by the state media and did not have a good understanding. When I told her the truth, she said, "Let me go home and study it."
Several days later, on a unit bus, she told me, "These days I have read some books on the history of Buddhism. I came to know that originally Buddhism also went through a lot of tribulations. There were many stories about Monks who stood up to protect the Fa. Isn't there a phrase in a movie that states, 'Although with great mercy, Gods and Buddhas also punish the wicked'? The government applies brutal force to arrest people and destroy temples. What can you do, wait to be beaten to death? In the past monks had given their lives to protect Buddha's Fa. How could you Falun Gong people be wrong for protecting your own belief? Not to mention that you only use the most peaceful ways. I now understand why Dafa practitioners had to go to Beijing and to Zhongnanhai to appeal."
Display Cibei (a Benevolent Heart) Toward Common People
One day fellow practitioner Ma and I went to an elderly woman's home together. When the woman mentioned that her health was no longer as good as before, Ma then promoted the Fa to her, talking about her past history of myocarditis. Ma had been unable to do any work, and with the least bit of carelessness she would faint. The doctor predicted that, at most, she had two years to live. After she started practicing Falun Dafa, not only her health recovered and exceeded the two-year term, but she was also able to perform many tasks. Nonetheless, the old woman simply listened to the story half-heartedly. Then Ma sat on the ground in lotus position and demonstrated the sitting meditation. The woman became very interested in the hand gestures, and asked me whether I could do it, so I then performed the hand gestures also. She commented, "Yours does not look as good as hers." At the time, I did not think too much about what she said. After we left her home, Ma told me, "When I made the hand gestures, I wanted to display all my cibei (benevolent heart) toward all beings, so that she might obtain the Fa." Hearing this, my heart was moved. I instantly understood why the woman said that Ma's hand gestures looked better.
Falun Gong practitioners in Birmingham hosted the UK National Fa Study Day on 2 December, which is a monthly event held in addition to many local weekly Fa group studies. Nearly 50 practitioners from many areas of the UK participated in the event, which started with the study of Master's articles published since 2000 and recent Minghui/Clearwisdom articles on clarifying the truth to people in China.
Following the reading session, practitioners shared understandings, experiences and ideas of clarifying the truth to Chinese people. One London practitioner's parents visited them from China and within two months the two elderly persons have completely seen through the lies of the Jiang Zemin propaganda and have actually joined their son in sending forth righteous thoughts and practicing the Falun Gong exercises.
In the past, distributing information to visitors from China was regarded at times as tasks left to people who did not have a good enough mastery of English to take on other truth clarifying work, but now Western and veteran practitioners have taken the lead in these efforts. Veteran practitioners from Oxford started this work after realizing that Oxford is a major tourist attraction that is on the itinerary of many visitors from China. They had little success initially when trying to give out booklets to the Chinese visitors, but found greater success when they simply displayed many well presented posters and played pre-recorded information on Falun Gong and the persecution next to the posters. The visitors spent much time reading through the posters while listening to the information on the tape.
Many other good ideas for disseminating information at major tourist attractions-- notably attractive VCDs--were discussed.
One Qinghua graduate from Beijing who is now carrying out his research in Manchester explained that he spends about 6 hours a day in efforts to get the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution to academics in China. Others described the powerful effects of making telephone calls and sending faxes to both evil persecutors and everyday people in China.
The rapid Fa rectification process has advanced to a major new stage--clarifying the truth to people in China. One practitioner shared his understanding that removing the hatred in the minds of the people in China will remove the material basis that the evil forces are holding onto for their final moments of existence. Removing the hatred will also give a bright future to one billion people and their corresponding cosmic systems. Doing so at this moment is forging forward with the Fa rectification process, which requires a broadening of perspective and redirection of focus from Chinese people living in the UK to visitors from Mainland China. Several practitioners also mentioned that their efforts of revealing the truth to the Chinese people appear to be more powerful now.
With compassionate hearts, Swiss practitioners have been using different occasions and means to Hongfa and clarify the truth to governments, media and people of Switzerland. They tell people that Falun Dafa is good with their personal experiences and the effects have been very good.
After the "September 11" terrorist attacks on America, a tragedy
also happened in Zoug where criminals broke into the city government building
and gunned down over 10 city council members. Switzerland is renowned for
peace and serenity. This tragedy had not only shocked Switzerland but also
made people think about what caused the tragedy and seek solutions. The
tragedy also tells people that now the world needs
Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance more than ever. In October, Swiss Falun Dafa
Association took the opportunity to propose Falun Dafa:
Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance Day to government officials in 27 states
of Switzerland. Amid many positive responses, mayor and secretary of the City
of Fribourg of Fribourg State first responded to the initiative and clearly
expressed their support of such activity. Under the active support of Fribourg
State and city police department, Falun Dafa:
Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance Day was held successfully in central
square of City of Fribourg.
The activities of Falun Dafa: Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance Day started with grand parade. The city police department planed the best parade route. The long parade procession was guided by police cruisers and passed through main streets of the city. Practitioners held banners in Chinese, French and Germany: Falun Dafa: Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance Day and The World Needs Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance. Practitioners distributed Dafa flyers to people and many people expressed their support.
Upon returning to the central square, Swiss Falun Dafa Association held a press conference for Falun Dafa: Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance Day. A practitioner first announced the purpose of Falun Dafa Day. Congratulatory letters from city governments, state governments, MPs and NGOs were read. Four Swiss practitioners told of their experiences of their peaceful appeal in Tiananmen Square. They called upon people of the world to urgently rescue practitioners persecuted in China and stop killing. Many people at the conference were deeply moved by their speeches.
After the press conference, practitioners demonstrated five sets of exercises. The peaceful and elegant movements attracted a big crowd. Three young practitioners were sitting in lotus position and meditating. Many people took photos of the peaceful and beautiful scene.
One reporter from local newspaper previously interviewed practitioners in the SOS! Global RescueWalk. The reporter came to the event early in the morning. He watched practitioners doing exercises and started to learn. When practitioners thanked him for his efforts, he replied, "Do not thank me, I came here today also for myself."
Many people visited the photo exhibition around the square. One man stayed with us for an entire day. He said if everyone knew Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance, the world would have hope.
Friday, November 30, 2001
Re: I'm tired of Canadians begging for help after they break foreign laws, Nov. 23.
Contrary to what letter-writer Bill Berdnikoff thinks, Falun Gong practitioners do not like to break the law -- especially the laws in China, where the practice of Falun Gong has been banned.
When the 35 western practitioners went to Tiananmen Square in China last week, they were indeed breaking one of China's laws.
However, the law itself goes against China's constitution and against the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory. So the law banning Falun Gong is unconstitutional.
People in China have been inculcated with hate propaganda against Falun Gong. Information does not enter or leave the country, so people there do not know that Falun Gong is held in high regard in other countries around the world.
I fully support the actions of the 35 brave people who went to Tiananmen Square. I think people can see the difference between breaking the law for personal gain and breaking an illegal law to help stop the torture and murder of innocent, virtuous people.
Pamela McLennan,
Nepean
http://www.canada.com/search/site/story.asp?id=0C25CC26-514D-4290-B2D0-45DAC F317769
November 21st, 2001
Christine Loftus has a message she wants to get across.
The second year Child and Youth Studies student walked for five days, from St. Catharines to Toronto, bringing awareness to the fact that Chinese citizens are being persecuted because they practice 'Falun Dafa', a method of refining the mind and body through special exercises and meditation.
A Falun Dafa practitioner herself, Ms. Loftus said it is not unlike Tai-chi.
"I started practicing about three years ago with my twin brother Jason, in Barrie," she explained. While she had heard stories about those who did practice Falun Dafa experiencing drastic health differences, it wasn't long before it ran true for herself and her family.
"I used to have stomach problems, my brother used to have asthma and since my mom's been practicing, she's not going to her chiropractor any more," she said.
A year after she began practicing, Ms. Loftus started hearing stories of Chinese citizens being persecuted because of their involvement with Falun Dafa. Due to its popularity, the Chinese president, Jiang Zemin, decided to ban Falun Dafa. To date, over 300 people have died in police custody, though sources say the actual number is over 1, 000.
The [Jiang Zemin's] government has justified its actions against practitioners by calling it an [slanderous word omitted], one that has caused deaths and the break up of families.
"My five days of walking is nothing compared to the suffering the practitioners in China have endured. They have selflessly appealed for over two years, being beaten, harassed, tortured or even raped, in order to clarify the truth for people both inside and outside of China," Ms. Loftus wrote in a letter she carried with her on her walk.
On the morning of Nov. 8, Ms. Loftus and three other Falun Dafa practitioners began their walk at Brock University, hitting Grimsby at about 6pm. Their route would take them from Brock to McMaster, and from there to the University of Toronto and, finally, to Ryerson University.
Ms. Loftus explained during their walk, they hoped to visit local government officials such as MPs and Mayors. While they were walking through Lincoln, Mayor Konkle stopped them to talk about their campaign.
"We had called his office before the walk, but we were really surprised to see him," she said, adding that he had a Falun Dafa button on his suit jacket.
"It was really nice to see a Mayor doing that," she said.
Ms. Loftus finished her walk on Monday, and said that the support that she received from the schools she visited during the walk was "fabulous."
For more information on the practice, visit www.falundafa.org.
November 8, 2001
For the sake of her spiritual compatriots in China, Christine Loftus begins a solitary march from Niagara to Toronto today.
Loftus, a sophomore at Brock University, is a practitioner of Falun Dafa, a Chinese spiritual movement also known as Falun Gong. Those who follow Falun Dafa in China have been branded enemies of the state and have been violently repressed for several years.
"I wanted to bring attention to what is happening in China," Loftus said. "This seemed to be a good way."
Loftus, who lives in Barrie when not attending classes at Brock, has been practicing Falun Dafa - consisting of repeated exercises reminiscent of t'ai chi - for three years.
She now practices with [...] other students at Brock's Falun Dafa Club.
Like many followers in North America, she is horrified by the treatment Chinese practitioners have received at the hands of the [Jiang Zemin's] government in Beijing. Many have been arrested over the last few years.
To raise awareness of the issue, Loftus is walking from Brock to [McMaster University, then to] the University of Toronto and then to Ryerson Polytechnic University.
"I will be meeting with the student unions at those universities and carrying a petition with me," she said.
Loftus was scheduled to begin her walk this morning at 8am.
November 13, 2001
On Thursday, Nov. 8, Christine Loftus, a second-year Brock child and youth studies major went on a very long walk.
Loftus will be walking for five days in order to raise awareness about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa is a combination of meditation and exercises. Although Falun Gong is not an organized religion, its practitioners try to live according to the practice' three guiding principles of "Truthfulness, Benevolence and Forbearance," according to Loftus.
Her walk will see her visiting the campuses of McMaster University in Hamilton, along with the University of Toronto and Toronto's Ryerson University. In addition to trying to raise awareness amongst her fellow students, Loftus will be meeting regional MPs and mayors, to make them more aware of Falun Gong persecution, and will also be speaking to local media.
The modern form of Falun Gong was introduced in China in 1992, and was initially embraced by the Chinese government.
"In the beginning, the (Chinese) government was very supportive," said Loftus. "They said their health care costs went down, thanks to Falun Gong...but then in 1999, they did a survey and found that there were 70 million practitioners. It had gotten too popular too fast."
With Falun Gong having overtaken the [party's name omitted] Party as China's largest voluntary organization, the government banned the practice and began a campaign to defame Falun Gong in the state controlled media, according to Falun Info Net, a Web site dedicated to raising awareness of Falun Gong persecution. Since 1999, 307 Chinese Falun gong practitioners have dies in police custody.
Despite the oppression in China, Falun Gong has received praise in the rest of the world.
"The founder [Li Hongzhi] was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize two years in a row now," said Loftus. "More than 600 mayors and government officials have issued congratulatory letters."
Loftus is not the only person walking to raise awareness of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, but is part of a global movement called SOS! Global Rescue Walk. There are currently walks taking place in more than 25 countries around the world.
"Brock University Students' Union, (BUSU) has penned a letter of support," said Loftus. "In this letter, BUSU encourages other schools to inform their students."
Loftus will also be receiving help from students at other universities. At McMaster, a Falun Gong awareness day has been organized to coincide with her arrival.
Loftus wants to increase awareness of Falun Gong persecution amongst Canadian students "In the hope that students can show their support by signing petitions, writing letters to MPs and to pass the word on. Let more people know what's going on in China."
- With files from faluninfo.net and CNN.com
(Clearwisdom.net)
Tuesday, November 20, 2001
My name is Nina Gumpold. Three and a half years ago a Chinese friend introduced me to Falun Gong and I have learned to treasure it ever since. Health-wise and psychologically I have had more benefits from this system than from common ordinary healing systems that I had tried. Yet, I got even more than that as I found a new way of life for which I had searched for years and years -- the way to become a good person, the way to truth and my original nature. Since then this teaching of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance has positively influenced not only my life but also the life of my family, my friends and my surroundings.
That's why it is so scary to witness this valuable inheritance and cultural treasure of Chinese thought so gruesomely persecuted, simply because the Chinese government neither tolerates "other-thinking" individuals nor tolerates independent thinking people. Worldwide there are 100 million people practising this system. The number in China of those who practise Falun Gong is approximately 70 million. They all have become good people and also better people than they were before, because they have accepted Truth, Compassion and Tolerance as their guiding principles and are diligently trying to become morally even better people. Mr. Li Hongzhi, the founder of this system, is a honourable man who selflessly left this cultivation system for the broad masses of humanity. He has no interest in fame and money, in spite of the fact that he has won the hearts of millions of people.
For over two years now I have followed the happenings in China and around the world and am trying my best, as are most Falun Dafa practitioners, to intervene with all my ability for the propagation of truth and beg for help for the practitioners in China.
(Clearwisdom.net) I was shocked when the persecution of Falun Gong started in China 1999. How could a government start torturing and killing good innocent people who practise a method, that is based on the universal characteristics; Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance?
I had been to China a couple of times before the crackdown started. I met many wonderful, kind and unselfish practitioners and we practised together in the parks of Beijing and in Dalian. I like China very much. My trips to China have enriched my life a lot, and I learned much about cultivation from practitioners in China. During the last 2 years, practitioners in China have put their lives at stake to go to Tiananmen in order to appeal to the government and make their voice heard, since all other channels to the government are blocked. I felt encouraged by the brave practitioners in China, who have firmly protected their right to believe in Truthfulness-Compassion- Forbearance.
When I recently heard some western practitioners were planning to go to Tiananmen, I knew the time had come for us to make an appeal at Tiananmen. I could not sit and watch when innocent, good people are tortured to death. What is happening in China does not only affect Chinese people but also concerns all the people in the world.
I travelled with a friend, we did some sightseeing the days before the event. On Tuesday 20th of November, we all from 12 countries, gathered on Tiananmen Square, at 2pm. We took some group pictures. We were smiling and happy. Then we sat down quickly, while some people were holding the banner with the wording; Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, both in Chinese and English.
Very soon several police cars turned up and encircled us. We were forced into the police vans. Many people were brutally beaten. I was forced into the police van with my arms behind my back. In the van, after the policeman had gone out, I opened the window and shouted "Falun Dafa Hao!"(Falun Dafa is good! in Chinese) trying to reach out to the Chinese people who were watching. The policeman rushed inside and closed the window, but as soon as he went out, I opened the window again and shouted again "Falun Dafa Hao!" as loud as I could. The policeman rushed in again and closed the window once more. He had taken another practitioner to the van. We opened the window, and shouted out very loudly together; "Falun Dafa Hao!" Now the policeman became very angry and grabbed my hair, pulling my head backwards so I could not move. However I did not feel much pain. I saw a male practitioner coming into the van with his nose bleeding. I heard another practitioner shout to the police not to beat a woman. I think she was in the front and was beaten up. The policeman pulled my head forcibly in a sharp angle downwards, it felt very uncomfortable, and I could not move at all during the drive to the police station. Many of us, who had come from Sweden, as well as those from other countries, were beaten up in different ways. Now I really started to understand how difficult it had been for our fellow Chinese practitioners during the last 2 years. The Chinese practitioners have been treated much, much worse than us.
After we had been put into police vans, we were taken to a police station near Tiananmen. We sent out righteous thoughts together aloud in Chinese for about 10 minutes. At that time, I felt very warm and the whole room was vibrating with energy. The police tried to take away us one by one for interrogation, which many of us refused firmly. Later on we were all forced down to a cell in the basement. We were a group of practitioners who resisted for some time, we held each others arms tightly as one body. We were determined not to go downstairs and the police could not move us for a while. We told them we were not criminals and the basement was not a good place for us. But then the policeman got hold of me and another practitioner and forcibly dragged us down, pulling our arms, pushed us downstairs, one by one, to the cell. I heard somebody scream, it was a female practitioner who was brutally thrown downstairs. One policeman wanted to take a video film of the whole group through the bars, but we shielded ourselves with our jackets and coats.
Then we were suddenly transferred to a hotel that seemed to be quite empty. There we had to sit in a kind of waiting room, the whole night. The police harassed us by insisting on taking pictures all the time, and giving sarcastic comments. We slept on and off on the sofas and on the floor. Many policemen watched us for the whole time. We had asked to meet our Swedish ambassador many times, but were refused each time. After we had fetched our luggage together with the police, I was taken to a hotel room together with Maria and Martin [two other Swedish practitioners]. In the room they told us we were going to be questioned. They cheated Maria and me into another room, so Martin was left alone with the police. They promised to Maria and me to question us together. However when we were in the next room, the police tried to separate us again. This time we were very determined, we just refused to be separated. So they could do nothing. We answered most of the questions, but did not reveal how we had managed to carry out this kind of large demonstration. Then the policeman wanted us to sign a paper. Because it was in Chinese, I said it would be ridiculous to sign something we could not read. So we did not sign it.
Once we heard some noises from the room next to ours, it sounded like someone was being beaten up. I asked the policewoman who was guarding us, but she denied it could be something like this. However, afterwards I heard from Martin that 5 policemen had beaten him in the hotel room. We really regretted very much for leaving him alone with the police.
There were always 1 or 2 policemen who escorted us to the bathroom. Once a young policewoman got a pain in one of her eyes. It had come suddenly the same evening. Earlier in the police van she had said some bad things about Falun Dafa. I told her it is dangerous to say bad things about Falun Dafa. She did not want to listen to me at first, then I asked her if I could tell her a story. "OK" she said. I told her in broken Chinese and English, a story about a policeman who once had berated Falun Gong and a practitioner, then the next day he had no voice left. I asked if she could understand, "Yes" she said. I hope she will not say more bad things against Dafa. Once they tried to take my Dafa materials away from me, but I refused to let them do it.
What I noticed from the policemen whom I spoke with was, that no one seemed to know what Falun Gong really is. I tried, like other practitioners, the best way I could, with help of the little Chinese I can speak, to tell about Dafa and cultivation. To some policemen I recited a few sentences from Zhuan Falun, from Lunyu. To a young female policeman I showed a bookmark, were a western young woman is meditating in front of a large banner. I told this picture was from a Falun Dafa conference in Sweden. She looked at it puzzled and surprised. Her colleague asked me if the Chinese people in Sweden are allowed to practise Falun Gong. Of course, I said, and explained that Falun Gong could be practised freely in the whole world except in China.
After about 20 hours we were taken to the airport, where we had to wait until the authorities found seats for us on an aeroplane. Then we were quickly transferred onto the aeroplane. By the aeroplane entrance an official from the Swedish Embassy was waiting. She said she had tried for many hours to get permission to meet us, and had waited at the police station. However the police had refused to let her meet us, for the whole time.
We have received very good support from our Foreign Affairs Department, media as well as our friends and relatives. The Swedish Foreign Minister, Anna Lind has criticized the persecution of Falun Gong in China. She said in a radio interview on 20th of November; "...Yet unfortunately it is so common when it comes to China that, despite the fact that they signed the UN's conventions and said that they would follow human rights, we see that the persecution of Falun Gong, amongst others, is getting worse. This is serious whether it is Swedes or people of other nationalities who are arrested." She also said; "We think that China has to fulfill democratic and human rights requirements and they have to accept a movement such as Falun Gong."
Dafa has changed my life to become healthy, harmonious and meaningful. I often used to be on sick leave from work. Now I have been working for 5 years without any sick leave. I have an inner peace and happiness that I never had before cultivating in Dafa. I have learned from Dafa that it is very important for human beings to be unselfish and uphold high morals. I have nothing against the Chinese government, but they should not persecute and torture people who practise a method that helps people to become good. Instead they should respect our honourable Teacher, who has given us the precious Dafa. They should cherish Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance.
Being a practitioner of Falun Dafa and a human being, I have done just what I should for the good characteristics of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, in front of which there are no boundaries of the countries in the world. We do it for you, for us and for the bright future of humankind. Hope we all can even better clarify the truth to more people in the whole world.
Pirjo Svensson Registered Nurse and Dafa practitioner
(Clearwisdom.net)
Even though an ocean separates us, our hearts are linked with our Teacher and connected with all the fellow practitioners outside of China. We want to send our deepest and most sincere gratitude toward the teachings of Master Li and the support from fellow practitioners outside of China.
Even though you have different skin colors and speak different languages than we do, the thirty-six compassionate hearts represent Dafa practitioners from all over the world. It is a collection of benevolence.
You used your own actions to prove to the old evil forces that kind-hearted people all over the world support Falun Gong.
You used your own actions to prove to the old evil forces that the Dafa practitioners in Mainland China are not alone, and we are being supported by the righteous forces in the entire world.
You used your own actions to prove to the old evil forces that righteousness will never be defeated and nobody can stop people from walking on the path of truth. Anyone who goes against the principles of the heavens will be eliminated and punished.
Dafa Practitioners in Mainland China
(Clearwisdom.net)
Breaking Through The Truth Blockage In Mainland China
To the overseas and home alumna of Qinghua University: please rescue the Qinghua students who are being persecuted. Yuan Jiang, 29-year old Falun Dafa practitioner, was a graduate student of the Computer Science Department. Yuan Jiang was persecuted to death in November by Jiang Zemin's regime. In addition, Zhao Ming and the other twenty-six Qinghua students and teachers are still suffering from unimaginable persecution and torture. Please try the utmost efforts to protest against the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. A collective voice can alleviate the persecution.
á
Comprehensive Dispatch from Mainland China
Today, eighty-four practitioners issued their solemn statements. They declared that all the words and behaviors that were incurred as a result of the great pressure of the persecution become invalid. From now on, they will be determined in cultivating Dafa. They will double their efforts to compensate for the loss they caused to Dafa. A peasant, who took the place of his wife, serving her term in detention, was forced to write guarantee letters. He was not even a Dafa practitioner at that time. He now declared that all the guarantee letters he wrote before he cultivated Dafa become invalid.
A Mainland journalist exposed the vicious regulations of the Changchun Heizuizi Labor Camp. This labor camp established a regulation that disallowed practitioners to maintain contact with their families if they disagreed to write the repentance statements. Another regulation required that the visitors curse or use foul language [Note: Dafa practitioners have a high moral standard and don't curse so guards use this to determine who is a Dafa practitioner and then arrest them] before they were permitted to see their family members. If the family members failed to comply, they would not be given the chance to continue with their visitation.
On October 24, the evil policemen of Changchun Heizuizi Labor Camp viciously beat two fellow practitioners for no reason. Fifteen fellow practitioners went on hunger strike to protest against the senseless and brutal act. In the morning of October 25, these practitioners were beaten with electric batons. Practitioners Sun and Dong were stripped of their clothes. They writhed on the ground with pain after being beaten and shocked with five electric batons. Also, the evil secretary, Lu, kicked the practitioners while shocking them with electric batons.
A medical school student was forced to undergo the following abuse and torture. During this student's medical hospital internship, s/he was searched and kidnapped and then sent to Chaoyanggou's Forced Labor Camp. The perpetrators kicked that person's throat, hit the student's buttocks with a wooden plank, violently kicked this future doctor's ribs and kidney areas with the heels of their feet and subjected the victim to the torture known as "riding an airplane" [in this torture, the head is bent down until it cannot go down any further, while the hands are pulled up and held up to the highest point. The hips have to point up. One is forced to hold this position unchanged for a long time]. Another brutal method use on this person is one called "go through the wall," and other extremely brutal and inhumane methods.
We are condemning Fan Youlan (female), director of the Female Forced Labor Camp in Changchun City, Jilin Province, and ask her this question: "How did a practitioner, a foreign language teacher, around thirty years of age, become insane?" She was forced to wear only her underwear and was tied to the "dead person's bed" [the four limbs of the practitioner are stretched out and tied to the four corners of an icy-cold metal bed like a morgue table. The practitioner cannot move at all. Neither is s/he allowed to get up to eat, drink or go to the bathroom. This treatment would last from several hours up to more than a dozen days. This type of cruel torture causes severely damages the practitioner's mental and physical health] and further tortured by Fan Youlan. Additionally, Fan Youlan was responsible for torturing several other practitioners to death in the forced labor camp...
Practitioners illegally detained in Wanjia and Changlinzi Forced Labor Camps are still enduring excruciating tortures. Also, many practitioners developed scabies all over their bodies, to the point that some can neither walk nor sit because of the serious and widespread scabies on their thighs, buttocks and feet. Some can hardly sit on their beds. The forced labor camp refuses them medical parole to seek hospital treatment. We appeal to all international human rights organizations: please, pay attention to this situation.
Several Cases of Immediate Retribution in This Lifetime: Do Not Destroy Truth-clarifying Materials
Fu You is an employee at the Yuanheng Livestock Corporation in Xingfu Township, Xiangfang District, Harbin City. Despite urgings from his colleagues, Fu tore down some Dafa posters. A few days later, Fu unknowingly put his middle finger into a rapidly spinning wheel, and nearly half of the finger was cut off. Although Fu spent over 1000 Yuan in medical expenses trying to reattach the finger, it was unsuccessful.
In a district of Dalian City, Liaoning Province, practitioners posted many truth-clarifying fliers that disclose Jiang Zemin and his associates' crimes against Dafa practitioners. The police and the local community office staff did not dare to tear the fliers down, fearing retribution. They pushed a person who does not know the truth about Dafa to tear the fliers down. As a result, he began suffering from a severe headache. After he learned about the truth, he declared that he would never tear down the fliers again. Two days later, the headache was gone.
A janitor did not believe that tearing down truth-clarifying literature is in fact helping a tyrant to do evil and will cause retributions. After tearing some fliers down, he went home and started cooking. While cooking, there was an accident involving the pressure cooker that injured his eyes. After this incident, he realized his mistakes.
Some perpetrators used a female villager to help tear down small Dafa banners. As a result, she started having an acute pain in her right arm, and she could not lift the arm. She learned a lesson and believed in the retribution, and she said to everyone she ran into, "I committed wrongdoing in tearing down Dafa banners and received retribution. Before I did not believe in this, but now I do. I am such an example." Her words made many people believe in the principle of due retribution. The pain in her arm then disappeared.
A farmer saw a Dafa banner hanging from a tree. He took the banner down and put it on his horse. From then on, the horse bit him whenever he was around it. Strangely, the horse would not bite other people. The farmer was so afraid that he had to sell the horse. The horse became docile again once he reached the buyer's home. Later on, someone clarified the truth about Dafa to the farmer, and he understood why the incident happened.
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Cultivation Stories
Fa Rectification Story: Ningning's father was very determined in his righteous belief in Dafa. He has been constantly clarifying the truth to other Dafa practitioners, which has made many practitioners become determined as well. After Master Li's new article "All Dafa Associations" was published on July 20, 2000, he has been using his wisdom to distribute Dafa truth materials, post flyers and hang up banners and flags. He has never stopped doing so ever since.
Falun Dafa Has Given Us New Life written by a Hong Kong Practitioner: One practitioner's hair, which was lost due to the chemotherapy, has all grown back. One old lady's chronic and stubborn diseases are all gone after she practiced Falun Dafa. A 69 years old woman looks so energetic that everyone says she looks like someone in her 40s or 50 years old.
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Overseas News Briefs
Canadian practitioners accomplished their SOS! Global RescueWalk Across North America Continent on November 30, 2001. They started their journey on September 7, 2000. They divided themselves into multiple groups and each group joined in one section of the journey -- the "SOS! Urgent Global RescueWalk for Falun Gong Practitioners in China."
