Bearing Witness to History: An Appeal at the Guangdong Provincial Government Appeals Office

(Clearwisdom.net)

On the morning of July 20, 1999, I went to practice as usual at the park. The assistant coordinator told several assistants and practitioners that Dafa practitioners had been arrested in Beijing. We were told that practitioners could go to the Provincial Government to appeal and support our fellow practitioners. When we approached the Provincial Government office, I saw many Dafa practitioners waiting in line on the sidewalk to appeal. There were several thousand practitioners. Some practitioners were reading while others were doing the sitting meditation. The younger and more robust practitioners stood in the front rows while the more frail and elderly women and children lined up in the back rows. The practitioners were very peaceful and quiet.

Later on, many more practitioners came. Soon after we arrived, I saw many uniformed and plainclothes policemen communicating with each other with their walkie-talkies. Soon, the road where Dafa practitioners were waiting was blocked by motorcycles. After it was blocked off, people were only allowed to exit and not enter the area. Many policemen stood on the sides to guard against anyone that may try to do so. At the same time, we also saw more than ten military vehicles loaded with soldiers arrive in succession. The whistles and sound of soldiers running created a tense atmosphere. Soon after, the soldiers stood guarding the Dafa practitioners from across the road. They wore green helmets and were fully armed with bayonets. It was 8 a.m. in the morning. A patrol motorcycle drove in very slowly. The police videotaped the line of Dafa practitioners from the back seat of a police vehicle.

At 8:15 a.m., an announcement was made over the public address system: "Civilians, do not gather near the Provincial Government office. Please leave as soon as possible. Otherwise, we will carry out our orders." The announcement stopped after broadcasting in Mandarin and Cantonese several times. Just after that, the soldiers moved off the sidewalk. The distance between them and Dafa practitioners became closer and closer.

At that time, no one in line moved, and we continued to stand quietly. The previous announcement was repeated several times. The soldiers moved into the middle of the road. The atmosphere became more and more tense.

Then the broadcaster announced again: "There are only five minutes left. Please leave as soon as possible. Otherwise we will carry out our orders." And then, one or two troop leaders came over to persuade us to leave. However, no one moved and we all stood quietly.

At 8:30 a.m., the whistle sounded and the soldiers started to disperse Dafa practitioners. The practitioners explained to them: "We only want to appeal by legal means. Why not meet with us? We only want justice and a legal practice environment. Why not allow us to practice? So many overseas countries allow people to practice. Why does our country prohibit it?" Several soldiers said they also did not want to interfere with us, but the higher authority ordered them to do so. A soldier placed a hand on a very old woman next to me and said: "Aunt, please leave quickly. I know Dafa is good. I also practiced before. Please leave here quickly." The scene was very touching. At that time, the crowd began to disperse slowly. The Dafa practitioners who insisted on remaining there were forcibly dragged into big trucks and sent to a place set up for questioning. After the questioning was over, the practitioners were let go.

In the early morning of June 18, 2002, many Dafa practitioners gathered together at the practice site in Central Park in Guangzhou City at six o'clock as we always did before the persecution. We started to do the sitting meditation together without the music. The police knew about the group practice. During the course of meditation, I opened my eyes and saw many people watching us from the periphery. They communicated to each other with their walkie-talkies. The police had surrounded the group when we finished the sitting meditation. We started to do the standing exercises. When we finished the first set of exercises, the police came over and pushed practitioners one at a time into the police vehicles. At that time, a practitioner said: "Look! There's a practitioner who didn't get on the vehicle and is still practicing." I looked out the window. A pregnant practitioner was doing the "Penetrating the Two Cosmic Extremes" exercise. Some of the policemen nearby pressed her hands while some tried to pull her to get her to move. She remained unmoved, ignoring the people who were interfering with her, and continued to practice. At that time, Liang Guozhen, who was in charge of persecuting Falun Gong in the Yuexiu District Branch of the Guangzhou City Police Department, said: "Do not worry about her baby. Even if she has a miscarriage from this, it is her fault." However, this practitioner still remained unmoved. When the vehicles holding us drove off, she was still calmly practicing under the watchful eyes of the policemen surrounding her. The practitioner was Hao Runjuan, who was later tortured to death by the police in Baiyun District in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province.

I wish that a talented practitioner would capture the scene in a drawing. Hao Runjuan came from North China. She was of average height and her complexion was fair, like white jade. On that day, she wore a blue and white plaid maternity skirt. There was a big fig tree in the background, at the courtyard of the Guangzhou City Government offices, where our practice site was before the illegal persecution started.

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