Hunger Strike Experiences of Falun Gong Practitioners in the UK

Yanyu Fan

Day One

Early this morning we made our way to the Chinese embassy. When we passed the Chinese Department of Education on the way, we met a few Chinese officials who clearly saw our Dafa shirts and our banners. From quite a distance they were staring at our banners saying "84 hours non-stop hunger strike." However when they came closer they just pretended that we were invisible. "How interesting!" I thought.

When we started the meditation, a Chinese woman came along and started taking pictures of us using a long-distance camera. I said that we must stop her since she was doing a very bad thing for herself. One of our practitioners then went over and tried to start a conversation with her, but the woman refused to accept any Dafa materials. Upon returning, the practitioner told me that she could feel the chilly and evil field that the woman was carrying with her. Eventually she left because of the powerful righteous thoughts we sent out. In about half an hour almost the same thing happened: another Chinese woman came with a camera. Again she was "sent off" by our righteous thoughts. In contrast to this interference, a TV host from BBC drove by and happily accepted our leaflet.

The whole day was cloudy and rainy. As soon as we started reading our hunger strike statements it started to rain heavily. Upon finishing reading the statements, we were on our way to deliver a letter to the Chinese embassy opposite us. I was in my Dafa shirt but my fellow practitioner was thoughtful and just wore "plain clothes" to avoid being recognised immediately by the embassy staff. Still no one answered the door and it was during normal business hours. What happened in the past was that either someone would come out and swear at us or throw back our letter. But this time after we slid the letter underneath the door nothing bad happened. Some practitioners said that it was because the embassy staff had come to know the principle of retribution and no one would take the initiative to either swear at Dafa disciples or throw out Dafa letters.

Later on, the rain became even heavier and we were on our way to Downing Street, carrying Dafa banners and handing out Dafa leaflets all the way. Most people were very willing to accept our materials. When we delivered the letter at Downing Street we also gave the policemen on duty some Dafa leaflets, on which were displayed the picture of two Chinese policemen covering a female practitioner's mouth. The British police were very shocked by the scene.

For the rest of the day, it just kept raining until 11 p.m. in the evening. There were ponds of water on the pavement we were staying and it was very difficult to sleep there. That night, as soon as we stopped practising the exercises it turned really windy and our display boards were almost blown away. We sent forth righteous thoughts and put the boards away for the next day.

Day Two

We got up really early to do the exercises. Almost as soon as we finished practising and studying the Fa some builders started to work on the RIBA building behind us. We have been demonstrating in front of the RIBA building (opposite the Chinese embassy) for more that two years and this was the first time we witnessed construction work being carried out there. It was so noisy that the passers-by would not get close to us and look at our display boards. The work stopped after about two hours and things were back on track again. It must have been interference arranged by the old forces.

In the afternoon we saw a camera with a zoom lens sneaking pictures of us from the third floor of the Chinese embassy. But as soon as our practitioners discovered it the camera was taken back. Today we managed to hand out so many leaflets. A person in a senior position at BBC also passed by and took our materials. However it was a pity that there were no journalists from the media companies we invited.

Something amazing happened in the evening. The Chinese embassy was inviting many VIPs to dinner, and many of them saw us clearly during the dinning hours between 6pm and 9pm. Certainly, what they witnessed in front of the Chinese embassy would make them think: "How on earth does China, a country with a friendly appearance, treat its own people with inhumane persecution." A few VIPs who stood in front of the embassy and just watched us. They did not go inside until the embassy staff requested them to do so. Something else worth mentioning was that the embassy door was open during the whole dining event and the nice smell of food just kept finding it way into our noses. Out of hunger, all of us were tempted. But we encouraged ourselves, "This is to draw out our desires and attachments. However we will not be interfered with." Even more amazing, the RIBA building also started its dining event literally at the same time, and again we were facing the attraction of good food. Of course we were not disturbed.

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