Clearwisdom.net, Thursday, September 25, 2003

NEWS -- Sept. 24, 2003 Falun Dafa Information Center, www.faluninfo.net

56-year-old Ms. Xiong Fengxia was one of 58 deaths at the hands of Chinese police uncovered between June and August 2003. Estimates place the actual 4-year death toll between 4,000 - 10,000.

NEW YORK (FDI) -- Now in its fourth year, former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin's campaign to "eradicate Falun Gong" continues to sanction brutal methods to force Chinese citizens to renounce their beliefs in the traditional Chinese faith.

Those who renounce Falun Gong are often released, although they are monitored and frequently forced to assist authorities in coercing others to renounce their faith. Those who do not renounce Falun Gong continue to be tortured and abused, or die in the process.

Between June and August 2003, reliable sources in China reported details on the deaths of 58 Falun Gong practitioners -- most of whom died from severe torture suffered in Chinese detention centers and labor camps.

Deaths from torture and abuse were reported from all areas of China, from Xinjiang to Guandong to Beijing.

"These are just the deaths we have details about," says Falun Dafa Information Center spokesman, Mr. Erping Zhang. "In October 2001, a Chinese government source revealed that the true death toll was more than five times the number we had confirmed at that time, and Jiang's regime has only become more thorough in covering up these killings. We have now confirmed the details of 787 deaths. The true death toll could be well over 4,000."

"Mere belief in the discipline [Falun Gong], without any outward manifestation of its tenets, has been sufficient grounds for practitioners to receive punishments ranging from loss of employment to imprisonment, and in many cases, to suffer torture and death"

-- U.S. State Department

Annual Human Rights Report, 2003

Other sources indicate a much higher death toll.

On June 6, 2002, a book reportedly written by a top-level Chinese Communist Party official detailing former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin's campaign against Falun Gong was published. (news) The book, entitled Poisonous Deceit, reported that the actual death toll of Falun Gong practitioners was "over 7,000."

More recently, in a July 16, 2003 radio interview, former U.S. Ambassador Mark Palmer put the figure "in the range of ten thousand." Mr. Palmer added, "[Jiang] is engaging in a human rights crime which is equivalent to what Saddam Hussein and Milosevic [did]."

According to sources, Hielongjiang Province remains the deadliest Province overall, accounting for 14% of all known deaths of Falun Gong practitioners since the persecution began in July 1999. Liaoning and Shandong Province each account for 11% of all known deaths, with Jilin Province at 10% and Hebei Province at 9%.

Approximately 73% of all known deaths were the result of torture and physical beatings, while 10% resulted from force-feeding torture. The remaining cases include mysterious circumstances where individuals die in mental hospitals after being injected with unknown drugs or reportedly "fall" from the upper floors of buildings while in police custody.

Dozens of sources throughout China have reported police saying they have standing orders that deaths in custody are to be counted as suicide.

For information on the sources for these statistics, please visit www.faluninfo.net.

Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa (about), is a practice of meditation and exercises with teachings based on the universal principle of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance." It is a practice that was taught in private for thousands of years before being made public in 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture, but it is distinct and separate from other practices such as the religions of Buddhism and Taoism. Since its introduction in 1992, it quickly spread by word of mouth throughout China, and is now practiced in over 50 countries.

With government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing Falun Gong, China's then-Communist leader, Jiang Zemin, outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999 (report), fearful of anything touching the hearts and minds of more citizens than the Communist Party. Unable to crush the spirit of millions who had experienced improved health and positive life changes from Falun Gong, Jiang's regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while quietly imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it. To that end, Jiang established the "6-10 Office," a Gestapo-like agency spanning from the Central Government to the local governments. The United States Congress has described the "6-10 Office" as an agency charged with "overseeing the persecution of Falun Gong members through organized brainwashing, torture, and murder." (news)

The Falun Dafa Information Center has verified details of 787 deaths (reports / sources) since the persecution of Falun Gong in China began in 1999. In October 2001, however, Government officials inside China reported that the actual death toll was well over 1,600. Expert sources now estimate that figure to be much higher. Hundreds of thousands have been detained, with more than 100,000 being sentenced to forced labor camps, typically without trial.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE FALUN DAFA INFORMATION CENTER -- Gail Rachlin 917-501-4441, Levi Browde 914-720-0963, Erping Zhang 646-533-6147, or Christina Chai 917-386-5068. Email: faluninfoctr@nycmail.com, Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/

(Clearwisdom.net September 12, 2003) Falun Dafa practitioner Zang Yinyun, went to Beijing at the end of 2000 to appeal and was arrested and sent to a labor camp. In June 2001, he was released for medical treatment. Before being sent to the labor camp, Zang Yinyun endured much persecution due to his practice of Falun Gong. During that time the local policemen prohibited him from renting any land, detained him, and drove him away from his home, forcing him into homelessness.

Before the Spring Festival of 2002, Zang Yinyun was detained in Lishu Detention Center and was beaten and tortured. Because he remained firm in his commitment to practice Falun Dafa, police sent him to Chaoyanggou Labor Camp for three years. In August 2002, policemen took him back from the labor camp and tried to send him to jail, torturing him in various ways to try to get him to incriminate himself. Finally because there was not sufficient evidence, police had to withdraw the charge. They again sent him to Chaoyanggou Labor Camp and he continues to be detained there. Falun Gong practitioners are experiencing the tortures of this so-called "transforming campaign" over and over again.

His wife, who is pregnant, has to take care of their child, who is in primary school, and their aging parents. The policemen often go to harass and abuse them because the whole family practices Falun Gong.

His brother and his sister-in-law were sentenced to one year of forced labor in 2001 because they went to Beijing to appeal against the harsh treatment of practitioners. After they were arrested the local officials confiscated their land. In 2002, after they were released, the policemen, village committee, and the political and law committee often searched their house at all hours of the day and night causing them live in fear everyday. On October 1, 2002, policemen found his brother and asked him to curse the Teacher of Falun Gong. His brother refused to do so and the police took him back to Liaohe Police Branch and detained him for three days and two nights. They extorted 2000 Yuan from his relatives in exchange for his release.

Zang Yinyun's sister, a teacher in the primary school, was dismissed from her job because she went to Beijing to appeal. Later she was arrested for practicing Falun Gong and sent to labor camp. After she was released, the policemen often went to her house to harass her. Her husband, who does not practice Falun Gong, did not dare to go back home in fear of having to pay a hefty fine. Later he divorced Zang's sister to avoid being persecuted. Zang's sister was forced to leave her young child and become homeless.

Zhang Xiaofang, the chief officer of the 7^th Team in Nanmusi Forced Labor Camp, used very brutal and vicious means to torture Falun Gong practitioners. To make practitioners give up cultivation of Dafa, they were prohibited from washing their faces, brushing teeth, using the restroom, sleeping, changing clothes and eating 30% of a normal meal ration. When those means did not work, she would force-feed them with 5 cups of water at one time and not allow them to use the restroom. As a result, some practitioners, like Ms. Wu Houyu and Ms. Yue Liyong, had to wear their soiled clothes for weeks. One day Zhang ordered her stripped to her underwear and made her stand in a courtyard for hours as punishment.

Practitioners must wake up 5:00 am and go to bed at 2 or 3 am daily. They must stand, sit or squat the entire day facing the wall. Their toes and noses must touch the wall, eyes must remain open and knees cannot bow out at all. No movement is allowed. Holding this position for several hours is a severe form of torture. When practitioners could not hold the position as ordered, they were beaten and kicked by the police. Practitioners having to suffer this torture long term experienced physical damage to their legs and knees leaving them swollen and unable to straighten up. Stretching the leg out in a position to walk upright is excruciating after being tortured in this manner. Zhang Xiaofang continued to order those practitioners to run laps at night and be dragged if they could not muster the strength to continue.

Zhang Xiaofang ordered practitioners who renounced their belief in Falun Dafa after being tortured to collaborate with the authorities and torture practitioners in small cells who remained firm in their belief. Every practitioner who stepped out of or was carried out of those cells had swollen faces, bruised, bloody and crippled bodies for months. Ms. Qiu Shuhuan was one of practitioners who suffered through such tortures. Ms. He Xiuzhen, 60, was forced to sit facing the wall without moving and allowed to sleep only one hour a day for months. Often she was forced to sit on a small broken stool with her lower back twisted for an entire day. Still she was made to run 20 laps around the open grounds. Ms. He did not eat or drink much since she was not allowed to use the bathroom. Ms Wu Houyu was also handcuffed to trees and beaten by police. She has had her hands tied behind her back and been forced to run laps. The police pushed her down to the ground again and again while she was being forced to run, cuffed in this manner. Then she was made to stand with one leg on the ground and the other leg stretched out straight and resting on a high stool in 90 ^oF(32 ^oC) weather. Bricks held her feet in place for long periods of time in the hot sun. Any movement resulted in beatings by the guards.

Practitioner Yang Hualian, suffered through many of the same tortures. One night, Zhang Xiaofang ordered a few police to drag Ms. Yang downstairs and tie her to a tree. Then Zhang started beating and cursing her. The people in two buildings around the site were able to hear Yang's painful crying and Zhang Xiaofang's yelling. This process lasted for a long time. The next day her body was found covered with bruises, dark stains and her face was distorted beyond recognition. But Zhang Xiaofang instead twisted the story and falsely accused practitioner Yang of trying to beat her. Zhang charged Yang 700 to 800 Yuan [500 Yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China.] as medical expenses. Later on Zhang had Yang brought to her office to be beaten in front of many witnesses.

Ms. Chen Jinghua, 60, had suffered severe bronchitis many times in the past. She was sent to this labor camp, after being locked in a mental hospital for three months, having been force-fed medicines that damaged her nervous system and caused dementia symptoms. In the labor camp Chen was allowed to sleep only 1 to 2 hours a night, no restroom use and only one bottle of drinking water a week. She remained in her soiled clothing all the time and not permitted to bathe. Zhang made her stand and recite the 35 rules of the labor camp. Ms. Ai Kefen, besides all those same sufferings, had her hands cuffed to bed posts even while sleeping at night.

Ms. Fu Tianlu was beaten so severely because she refused to give up her belief in Dafa that her internal organs were damaged. When sent to the hospital, she had to pay all the expensive medical costs.

Ms. Deng Zhongshu and Ms. Zhong Shuirong have been tortured by being forced to stand facing a wall for a long time. As the result of this torture, Ms. Deng has lost her original appearance and had blood in her stool. She was sent to a hospital to receive an infusion and 300 Yuan, all the money she had, was spent in two days. Ms. Zhong Shuirong was punished by being forced squat down in a restroom for an extended period. As a result, her legs were so swollen that she was unable to walk. The police also brutally beat her and forced her to accept brainwashing by violent means.

All those tortures did not stop when I left this labor camp. Many practitioners are still suffering every day. Please help them regain their freedom and stop this senseless torture of innocents. .

(Clearwisdom.net) On March 30, 2003, policeman Gao Wei, of the Fengrun Branch Public Security Bureau in Tangshan City, and who is the chief of the first section located on the third floor of the east building, tortured Falun Gong practitioner Yang Jianpo. They secured Yang on to an metal chair and shocked him with 110 DC voltages from a telephone cord, and did not allow him to sleep for an entire day and night. At that time, Yang felt as though his heart was exploding and his body was boiling.

Three days later, they transferred Yang to Fengrun District Detention Center. The head of the detention center ordered the police to strip Yang, forced him to the ground, and beat him with police batons. Afterwards, Yang's clothing was glued to his flesh with his own blood. Two days later, before his wounds were healed, the police beat him again. His wound burst. The police also forcibly opened his mouth and forced him to swallow highly concentrated salt water. Now, Yang is still left with symptoms, including chest tightness, shortness of breath, vertigo, and seizures.

The police sent Yang's wife, Falun Gong practitioner Nie Chunling, to Tangshan First Detention Center. They secured her on to an metal chair and forcefully fed her. They put a feeding tube through her nostril. The blood reddened the tube. She vomitted a lot of blood from her bleeding stomach. The policemen from Tangshan Public Security Bureau stomped on Nie's toes with leather shoes, smashing her big toe and causing the nail to fall off.

The police section chief is a male in his 40s, 1.76 meters tall, has a square face, with a little baldness on the top of his head.

(Clearwisdom.net) Police officers, Zhang Tieli and Song Jiancheng, from the Weihe Forestry Bureau Police Station in Shangzhi City, Heilongjiang Provice, followed Dafa practitioner, Ms. Meng Jingmin, to her mother-in-law's house on July 23, 2003. Within seven days she was framed and taken to the Public Security Bureau, illegally sentenced to three years of forced labor and transferred her to a forced labor camp.

Officer Zhang Tieli used to hide and wait outside a male Dafa practitioner's home. He arrested the practitioner on trumped up charges. The practitioner was illegally sentenced to a forced labor (the labor camp would not take him because of his illness). A police officer gets a reward of 5,000 Yuan [500 Yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China.] for each practitioner he arrested.

Zhang Tieli used to violently beat a female Dafa practitioner at the police station in 2001. The practitioner was beaten continuously through the night. She was illegally interrogated, beaten with an electric baton, cuffed hands and feet and hung up (feet off or only toes touching the ground. One is hung on a basketball net or the beam of the house. The hands and arms will soon become swollen and numb) and slapped in the face. They smashed water bottles on her head, continuously beat and kicked her until she passed out and then woke her up by pouring cold water on her. Eventually the female practitioner severely beaten and out of breath crouched in the corner. She was then thrown into a car and sent to a detention center, and then a labor camp. Those who took part in the torture include: officers Feng Li, Zhang Yunshen, Jiao XX and Zhang Tieli.

In year of 2000, Officer Song Jiancheng broke into a civilian's house; illegally arrested a female practitioner and sentenced her to a one-year term in a forced labor camp. The female practitioner had an infant at that time and was still nursing. Her husband was working outside and her mother-in-law was in another province. Her little child was left all alone.

Previous 610 officer ["610 Office" is 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.]: Sun Yunfu, harassed and blackmailed practitioners for money.

Police officer: Zhang Tieli, framed Dafa practitioners and received monetary rewards.

Police officer: Song Jiancheng, twice framed Dafa practitioners and forced them to be reformed.

Cheng Xianxing, female, over 50-year-old, is an accountant at the Street Lamp Management Construction Commission of Puyang city. Because she practices Falun Gong, Cheng has been illegally arrested many times by the police. During interrogation at the Puyang Detention Center, the police once hit her in the face with a book.

In July 2000, Cheng Xianxing was arrested in Beijing and then sent to a detention center in Tianjin. She was inhumanely tortured. She was forced to stand on slippery ground with her limbs extended. When she could not hold the position, the vicious police badly beat her up, burned her hands, shocked her whole body with electric batons, and then force-fed her chili pepper powder.

At that time, there were many giant mosquitoes in Tianjin. The vicious police forced many practitioners into places where the mosquitoes swarmed, and made them stay there for a long time to be used as food for the mosquitoes. The corrupt police also put frogs and snakes inside the female practitioners clothing in order to frighten them. The police also maliciously struck the soles of the practitioners' feet with sticks, among other means.

Cheng Xianxing was illegally sentenced to four years detention, and currently she is held in a prison in Tianjin. Her daughter Dandan was identified and removed from Puyang Experimental Elementary School, and relegated to studying at the Puyang Deaf and Dumb School, even though she has neither disability.

Office: 86-393-4415167, 86-393-4415731; Mail and Appeal Section: 86-393-4429447 Yuan Keshun: 86-393-4415552

In Master's Hong Yin there is a poem called "Dafa Clears Up Confusion." In the recent article "Singing the Praises of Master and Dafa" which Master commented on, the author talked about the understanding of the "confusion." Currently when lawsuits against the evil blossom at various places, we can observe several kinds of "confusion."

One is that many practitioners feel their ability falls short of their wishes. They know a thing is important and should be done, but cannot finish meticulously in time the various aspects of what should be finished. Another kind is that practitioners are very willing to participate, but just don't know how to start.

Recently an article published on Clearwisdom.net, "To Practitioners Who Clarify the Truth via TV" (Parts I through V), provided much help to a lot of practitioners. The article said:

"Facing the evil, the paralyzed materials production site and severed contacts with other practitioners, we started again from scratch. From the microscopic level, in other dimensions, we went through the process of growing out of nothing. Everyone knows that any life or matter forms from the microscopic level to its surface. Microscopic particles form bigger molecules that form even bigger molecules until they form the matter in our dimension. As we study the Fa well and constantly correct and purify ourselves, we pay attention to sending forth righteous thoughts, --communicating to local practitioners' divine sides in other dimensions with our extraordinary abilities bestowed by Dafa and eliminating the evil.

Using our cultivated sides, we promoted the reestablishment of the materials production site and reconnected with the practitioners with whom we had lost contact. As we did what we felt we should do, everything happened according to Teacher's arrangement. Some examples of how this manifested in the human world are: 1) I suddenly recalled a practitioner's phone number and immediately got connected; 2) I encountered a practitioner whom I had wanted to reestablish contact with on the street; 3) I suddenly received a page from others whom I had lost contact with....

We then enlightened that many small material-production sites could be established like this everywhere."

Under the harsh circumstances in Mainland China, once Dafa practitioners are not clear-minded enough, it would cause obvious losses. On the surface, the cultivation environment for overseas practitioners is different from that in China; sometimes we don't feel it even if we have caused some losses. Think about it, for those practitioners not knowing how to participate, if they have a strong and powerful thought--"I want to participate in the lawsuit against Jiang and all the lawsuits exposing the evil"--there will definitely be breakthroughs. Anyway, the dimension we are in is a reflection of other dimensions. Nonetheless, overseas practitioners often pay too much attention to this dimension. Enlightened beings' true thought is the real powerful factor while the human brain is only a processing plant. We often overemphasize the ability of the processing plant and use this processing plant to do things, instead of doing things in a cultivation state. When one is inside the Tao, it's often like "when water flows, a channel is formed"--success will come when conditions are right. Our righteous thoughts plus a little cooperation in this dimension will be able to achieve it.

At the current stage of the Fa-rectification, the righteous and evil engage in close combat. This requires us to have certain strategies and tactics. Now we have lawsuits or upcoming lawsuits in Belgium, Finland, U.S., France, Canada, and Switzerland. Each is a part of the overall situation instead of an isolated battlefield. Therefore, in our minds and in the specific ways of doing things, we need to consider the overall situation more. Here I don't mean how to ask for more manpower from other regions to help and support the local lawsuit, but rather how to make the local situation (the effect of truth-clarification) in each battlefield contribute more to the overall situation, including of course how to use the local lawsuit to mobilize more local practitioners to step forward and cultivate diligently in Fa-rectification. Only so can we effectively eliminate in large quantities the remnant old forces and their behind-the-scenes helpers. This requires every practitioner's participation with righteous thoughts. (The participation here does not mean every practitioner doing the same thing or participating physically, but rather the joining of every practitioner's power of righteous thoughts.)

Viewed from a broader perspective, all the lawsuits are also just truth clarification. We cannot isolate the effort of having the lawsuit, as all should be for the purpose of truth clarification.

Since the beginning of this year, Teacher has given us several Fa-lectures and the standard of the Fa has become more pure and clear. Because overall we did not study the Fa well enough and did not keep up with the progress of Fa-rectification, we were not able set into action many tasks in Fa-rectification. Here are some analyses for your reference:

Some understanding about righteous belief, righteous thoughts, righteous actions and the case of suing Jiang.

Fa-rectification is unprecedented in history. In this suppression where the evil has spread its influence across the world, Master placed us at the highest level we should return to in advance. In retrospect, I realize that we were able to come through all because of the mercy of Master and Dafa.

In the past four years, we became more and more mature and gradually understood our mission, our responsibilities and how we could complete this great mission of saving sentient beings.

The state we are in as one whole body is a decisive factor in carrying out and accomplishing major tasks in Fa-rectification. However, because we as a whole have not gained a deep understanding of the evil and the importance of exposing the evil, we are not able to proactively and rationally participate in some of the important tasks as one whole body, and we have not been able to open up our wisdom. Consequently, our cultivation as well as the way we handle things appear to be driven along by what is happening externally, and as a result, many of us feel tired and busy, unable to promote new tasks, while others feel they want to help but do not know where to start.

Cultivation is breaking through different levels in the first place, and Fa-rectification cultivation requires even more of us in our progressive understanding of the Fa, so that we are able to constantly break through our current level of understanding, to display a great momentum, to gather even greater energy mass and to carry out our tasks in the human world with skill and ease. What individuals cannot achieve can be achieved as one whole body; what individuals are unable to do can be accomplished as one whole body.

This is the key point why we must "find ourselves" in Fa-rectification cultivation. If we do not know the Fa at high levels, we cannot cultivate upward. If we know about the Fa at high levels, but fail to cultivate our xinxing,(moral character, heart or mind nature) we will not be able to improve either. Once we find where we are lacking as one whole body, and when we truly understand what we should do, then we will make major breakthroughs.

We must take into consideration the "human world" that we are responsible for instead of paying attention to only our own surrounding area and the tasks we are involved as individuals.

2. Looking for what we are lacking in the light of the few recent lawsuits against Jiang

As for the lawsuit against Jiang filed in the U.S., due to the participation of Dafa practitioners around the world with strong righteous thoughts, it tempered us as one whole body. The few most recent lawsuits have also started smoothly. However, it seems rather difficult to take even one further step. On the surface, it seems to be concerned with everyday people's understanding and technicalities, whereas in fact, everything is related to the cultivation state of Dafa practitioners.

Everyday people are driven by us, so if we do not move, then everyday people will not move either. Therefore, the success of any lawsuit cannot be "done" by a few people; instead, it depends on the cultivation state of us practitioners as a whole body, and yet the state of a whole body is formed with each individual practitioner's cultivation state. Sometimes, it seems that everyday people have moved ahead of us, and they seem to have stronger righteous thoughts than some of us. This is because everyday people's society directly reflects the progress of Fa-rectification, and when the evil is cleared away and when the knowing side of people starts to play a role, their understanding of the truth and their level of acceptance are also different than in the past. If we fail to keep up with the Fa-rectification process, we might even obstruct everyday people in their learning about the truth.

Practitioners did very well in their initiating the lawsuits, and so did the lawyers who are helping us. It now depends on each of us Dafa practitioners. Once the state of us as one whole body elevates to that level, other people will have an easy ride in accomplishing their work.

3. In fact, many tasks will be easier with more practitioners' participation and support.

In short, we should place ourselves in a state of an active participant, proactively care about and participate in major projects, because this is strengthening our energy mass.

After taking a long detour, I suddenly realized that whether we can regard ourselves as cultivators and practitioners at all times is the crux that decides if we can walk our path well during Fa-rectification cultivation. Master talked about the Fa principle in Zhuan Falun that we should always have a compassionate heart and maintain a peaceful state of mind. During Fa-rectification, if we can at all times maintain such a state of mind as cultivators in dealing with people and things around us, then perhaps we will have fewer problems in cooperation and coordination. Only when we have strong righteous thoughts can the divine side in us plays a role, and our influence on everyday people will also increase. If we fail to keep the state of mind of a cultivator, we will easily fall into a state of doing things like everyday people, and be unable to achieve much, even though we expend much effort. If we cannot conduct ourselves according to the requirements of a cultivator, we will be easily taken advantage of by the evil. We may appear to be participating in Fa-rectification, yet in fact, we are only doing things like everyday people. If we cannot maintain our xinxing, we might even destroy ourselves.

(Clearwisdom.net) How can one emerge from such ruthless and dangerous environments? Where does the strength come from? We believe that it is because, Zheng Yijian cultivated every thought of his and I have truly "melted in the Fa." This way practitioners not only rid themselves of their attachment to time, but also all other attachments, and embody the state of mind of a Fa-rectification disciple. When every single thought is on the Fa, it will bring along the power of Fa, which cannot be blocked by any evil. The following are several examples.

1. In May and June 2000, before Master Li expounded on the nature of the persecution , many practitioners held in jails were very confused and lost; many wanted to escape from the situation. Zheng Yijian said to his fellow practitioners, "Sometimes, I also ask myself, how could this be? But I realized that no matter what it is, as long as your heart has not reached the state of cool, calm and collected, and peaceful under all circumstances, we should take advantage of this environment while it is here and cultivate ourselves." It is true that we should not acknowledge the arrangements of the old forces and we should turn around the environment in the forced labor camp. However, if we cannot endure it and use it to our advantage to cultivate our hearts, turning around the environment will simply be empty talk. When a practitioner is able to remain unaffected under all circumstances, the evil can no longer find any excuses to persecute him.

2. In February 2001, a practitioner, who had been jailed for over one year's time, endured over twenty rounds of brutal beatings, over 45 days of tortures with no sleep, and the death of his loved one who could not bear the persecution any more, became very attached to time. The evil took advantage of his attachment and presented illusions to him. Everyone around him resembled those who were locked up in a desolate cave with him 1000 years ago (not in a literal sense). The fear and sadness were unbearable for him. In addition, the police subjected him to waves of electric shocks. He was shocked four times within three days and his chest was all burned. Through it all, his righteous thoughts remained. The two opposite forces were fighting in him, and he was on the verge of collapsing. Then one evening, he went for a so-called "Evening Study," as soon as he sat down, he felt that a powerful, peaceful energy field surrounded him. Zheng Yijian gently reminded him with a very calming voice, "Let every single thought of yours melt in the Fa. Do not dwell on the thought of getting out of here. If you do not have any attachment, you will rise above everything inside or outside here. Then they will not be able to keep you. If you are rattled with strong attachments, even though you get out of here, you will still suffer."

What Zheng said and the energy he brought with him, reminded the practitioner of the Chapter of "Energy Field" in Zhuan Falun. After a long period of soul searching, he emerged from the suffering. He refused to give in amidst continuous beatings as well as the tortures, sleep deprivation and hard labor. He was able to exercise his supernormal capabilities while he was reciting the Fa. For example, his extraordinary abilities incapacitated a vicious inmate causing him to be bedridden as well as having his term extended. After explaining to the vicious inmate how the heavenly principle of Good is Rewarded with Good and Evil Meets with Evil works, the inmate's good thoughts awakened. Then the practitioner used his abilities to relieve him of the term extension. The inmate was very convinced and said that as soon as he got out, he would look for the Falun Dafa books. The practitioner was exempt from hard labor, was able to use the phone to communicate with the outside world, and freely mailed materials to the outside. The police had to comply with him and even allowed him time to write, and provided him with envelopes and letter pads. The practitioner could even call to follow up and made sure the mail was received. When summer started, he could have a shower whenever he wanted. (Others would received a brutal beating if they did the same) After two year and a half of imprisonment, he walked out of the forced labor camp with dignity.

In August 2000, after a night of tortures, the practitioners were ordered to go to the workshop room to work. One practitioner felt that having survived nights of torture with sleep deprivation, he could at least sit against the wall and sleep. Zheng Yijian who was sitting behind him said softly, "It's a pity that we spend the time sleeping." The practitioner did not understand, although he did not say anything. "What is wrong with getting some sleep when we have a chance?" Nine months later, when he was targeted for more intense persecution and he became more diligent, he remembered the conversation. He suddenly understood what Zheng Yijan said. What was he doing all day? Why could he just sit there unaffected as mountains? It was because he melted himself in the Fa. He used all his time to melt himself into the Fa. His human mentalities dissolved in the sea of Fa. Dafa had remade him and that was the source of his strength that was capable of eliminating the evil. Why was the evil scared of him? The stronger the power of the Fa in a practitioner's heart, the stronger the light, and darkness will no doubt be dispelled. And this can only be achieved by melting every single thought in the Fa. From this perspective, it is a shame to take a nap whenever there is an opportunity. When the practitioner enlightened to the understanding, he acted accordingly and walked out of the forced labor camp with righteous thoughts.

4. Some practitioners asked Zheng Yijian, "What do you think about when you have a moment between Fa-rectification activities?" Zheng answered, "It is all about the Fa." "Which article?" Zheng said, "It could be any article; of course, it could also be a sentence. For example, what I said to myself all the time recently was 'So why doesn't the side of you that is your original nature rectify the Fa?' Sometimes, I repeated that sentence for the whole day, with no other thoughts in my mind, and you can feel the powerful energy." Before Master Li revealed the Fa-rectification formula, many practitioners had been reciting the Fa to themselves. When they were faced with tribulations, or when they had a moment, simply by repeating one sentence, they would feel enlightened. The practitioner started to recite the Fa as well. One sentence from the Fa could dispel his long-held attachment to time. He could feel the energy field. Since then, he could face the brutal beatings and passed his tribulations, which shocked the evil.

The practitioner also asked Zheng Yijian. What do you think about when you are being beaten? Zheng said, "Righteous thoughts." "What are righteous thoughts?" He said, "For example, even a paragraph from an article has very strong energy. When you are in the midst of the energy, you are not afraid and you don't feel the pain."

This is the power of Dafa. No matter how evil the police is, the practitioners are not afraid and do not feel the pain. This is the source of the strength of Zheng Yijian in this hell on earth.

This proves that "The Fa can break all attachments, the Fa can destroy all evil, the Fa can shatter all lies, and the Fa can strengthen righteous thoughts."("Drive Out Interference" from Essentials for Further Advancement II) Therefore, Master Li repeatedly admonished that we need to study the Fa more.

(Clearwisdom.Net) [Editor's comments: Why has Falun Dafa attracted about one hundred million people since it was first introduced to the public in May 1992? Clearwisdom.Net has decided to issue some of the experience sharing articles written by Falun Gong practitioners in China before July 1999, in addition to publishing experience sharing and witness articles of the Fa rectification period. Regardless of where they are or whether they are still safe, what they wrote about their cultivation during the peaceful years are still a real record and witness to history.]

I am a soldier on active duty concerned with the academic administration at a military college. I started to practice Falun Dafa in February 1995. Looking back on my two years of cultivation practice, I have deeply realized it is Falun Dafa that let me understand the purpose of life -- to go back to my true nature. It is Teacher that let me understand the truth of being a human -- to assimilate to the characteristics of Truth, Compassion and Tolerance.

1. Falun Dafa Let Me Remove My Attachment to Fame, Personal Gain and Competing

Due to influences from my family, tradition and social circumstances, I was very aggressive and was very attached to fame, personal gain and competing, even when I was a kid. Since I began working twenty years ago, in being admitted to the CCP, getting promoted and being recognized, I progressed beyond my colleagues that were the same age as me and assumed I was above others. Later, I became a leading officer. Because I worked hard, I was always able to significantly improve the situation of the units that I was in charge of. Self-satisfied with my experience and abilities, I felt at ease and thought I had justly earned my superiors' trust and encouragement or the masses' praise. As time went on, I developed strong attachments for fame and competing. Whenever I did a project, I was eager for a reward. In the words of everyday people, I wanted to be judged. If someone said "No" to me, I would not accept it and felt bad. Whenever someone else did better than me, even a little better, I felt bitter. When someone was promoted to a higher level, I would naturally compare myself with him. It would be all right if he was older than me; otherwise I would be immediately jealous and felt it was unfair. For many years I struggled with a distorted, bitter mentality, which caused much karma. It is Teacher's Falun Dafa that dispelled the mist in my heart and purified my mind.

Every year the armed forces usually conduct several major evaluations on the basis of daily routines to determine the fate of an officer and his/her unit. During the years I was in charge of the basic level as a principle officer, almost all of our work was among the best and won so many awards that we had a saying, "We don't know what second place is." After starting to practice cultivation two years ago, I worked as hard as usual, but contrary to our expectation, my unit and I failed to get any awards. Many colleagues and some of our superior officers felt it was unfair and complained for us. At the time, I took it amiss and couldn't eat or sleep well because I hadn't studied the Fa well and my Xinxing or enlightenment ability was not high enough. I believed that as a practitioner I should have given no thoughts to these issues, but this did not come from my heart; instead, I tried to look for something from the Fa to extricate myself. In fact I hadn't let go of the attachments. In group study, I told my fellow practitioners about my problem. They helped me see my problem from inside based on the Fa. Teacher says in Zhuan Falun,

I realized my problem eventually after studying the Fa. Teacher helped me remove my attachments for fame, personal gain and competition through this test! Since then I have been completely at ease. Many colleagues couldn't understand it, so they assumed I was not striving to make progress. I just dismissed it with a smile, because I understood that Falun Dafa is a supernatural science and I should set strict demands on myself with supernatural principles. How could everyday people understand a practitioner's mentality? As I realized my problem and improved my Xinxing, I removed the attachment. At the end of last year, my unit was chosen as an advanced group and I was awarded as an excellent officer for cadet training. Not long ago, the superior level gave me the title of associate dean, but they still wanted me to work at the basic level. Without a word, I followed the order from the top. Someone said I became better after starting to practice and kept my mind on working at the basic level. With my understanding, it was the boundless Buddha's Fa that harmonized me, and I was also in harmony with the great Buddha's Fa.

I felt that the Xinxing test would not be over with just one or two tests. In the first half of this year, the issue of my promotion once again touched off my attachment for fame and personal gain. The college had four openings on the top level after the leading officers retired or were transferred. In everyday people's terms, I was qualified for the promotion. First, I was the only one that was evaluated as an excellent principle officer in charge of the basic level. Also, I had been involved with academic administration for a long time, during which I had led several advanced units. Finally, I was an associate dean but had never worked in the position, and my term had expired. I was supposed to be promoted at that time. But according to the standard of practitioners and the principles of Falun Dafa, it was not right. According to the principles of Falun Dafa, practitioners should be selfless, consider others first, and follow the course of nature. The principles were easy to understand, but when I ran into the problem, it was hard for me to keep my heart calm or to handle it. The superior officers talked to me on different occasions with words such as, "We have discussed your case and reported it to the high level," or, "We won't let the excellent people like you suffer losses." Many staff and officers told me that it should be my turn to get promoted. Those who didn't realize what was happening were even angry because they felt it was unfair to me. A few of them made jokes that they would jump from the top of the building. During those days I just couldn't keep my overturning heart at ease, but I knew I was a practitioner. When I read Teacher's words in the book,

I realized my attachment for promotion, power and gain was still held deeply in my heart. That was the root of the problem. Teacher says,

As a practitioner, every step is a course in the sequence arranged by Teacher for improvement. Teacher wanted me to improve my Xinxing and cultivation level. After realizing my problem, my Xinxing improved and I took my rank and salary lightly. Following the course of nature, I was steadfast in my current work. With my own performance, I proved that Falun Gong practitioners were good people.

As an officer in charge of the basic level, I always received small favors from subordinates. But as a Falun Gong practitioner, I had to be absolutely clean on this issue. Teacher says,

Most of those who were in touch with me in daily work were everyday people. They assumed it was right and proper to accept small favors. Anyway, they were everyday people, but I was a practitioner. I told myself not to accept a penny or take any gain from others; otherwise I didn't deserve to be a practitioner. At the beginning those people didn't understand me and even complained that I was not a reasonable person to work with, while others assumed I was a hypocrite. I just took no notice of them. I rejected gifts or invitations for banquets during last year and the first half of this year. However, out of their emotions as everyday people, some cadets sent some fruit, kids toys or native products to my home, so my wife made a list of eleven people who gave me the gifts. When they graduated, I sent them some local products from Dailian in return. I thought it would be good enough for me to accord with the demands for Falun Dafa practitioners. But from the beginning of this year, more people sent me more expensive gifts, including a gold necklace. It made me wonder why people kept sending me gifts and I couldn't stop it? Teacher says in "Expounding on the Fa,"

As these words hit my heart, I realized what I did belonged to the category of everyday people's courtesy which demanded reciprocity; this was far from the standard for real practitioners. I hadn't let go of the attachment for money and gain deep in my heart. In the final analysis, it was a problem in my Xinxing and behavior. Thus, I realized it would be a false ban if I didn't ban it in my heart, and I couldn't complete my cultivation if I couldn't keep my heart peaceful.

3. Create a Legitimate Environment and Practice Cultivation in Openness and Dignity

We established our group practice site in April 1995, when we had only over a dozen practitioners. Gradually the group grew to about ninety people. But later, someone tried to interfere, and even claimed that officers on active duty were not allowed to practice cultivation and no one should provide a place for practicing exercises. Facing the situation as such, the practitioners were calm and confident. We understood that it was a test of the practitioners' Xinxing designed to test our belief in Falun Dafa and Teacher. Many of the practitioners kept the daily group practice at the site without a break. Teacher says,

We realized we should create a legitimate environment for practicing cultivation in openness and dignity. Our group handled the problem this way: at first, facing the interference and opposition, we had no argument and held no grudge, and treated it as a good opportunity to improve our Xinxing so as to be more confident. No indoor place for us -- we went outdoors; no yard for us -- we went outside; no group practice allowed -- we practiced at home. We changed our practice site nine times during the last two years, but we have never changed our minds about studying the Fa and cultivating our hearts. Secondly, all of us fulfill our work responsibilities conscientiously and correctly handle the relationship between cultivation and work. In keeping with ordinary people's situation in the society, none of us have showed off our supernormal abilities or lost our senses. We have kept cultivation in openness and dignity. At last, we used our words and deeds to prove that Falun Dafa practitioners were good people, and better models among everyday people. It was the best way to spread the Fa. The situation of our practice site was getting better and better. Those who used to be against us did not interfere anymore. The practitioners who used to do exercises at home came back to the site. It has been proved that we should treat ourselves as real practitioners and be free from interference by power and influence. Only by maintaining our Xinxing and cultivating firmly can we create a legitimate environment for cultivation in genuine openness and dignity.

Following the principles of Falun Dafa, I will keep practicing cultivation, remove attachments and assimilate to Truth, Compassion and Tolerance, and be an enlightened person that lives completely for others.

Editor's note: What has attracted over a hundred million people to Falun Gong, since May 1992, when it was first disseminated in Changchun? Apart from publishing articles related to practitioners' experience during the Fa rectification period, we will continue to publish selected cultivation experiences from practitioners in China before the persecution started. Irrespective of where the writers are presently and what their health status is, the events documented in these articles are truly valuable eyewitness accounts of this period of history.

This year, I am turning sixty and I am a senior engineer working in a certain city in northern China. For the last twenty years, my health was a mess. In 1976, I underwent a surgical operation in which a large portion of my stomach was removed due to a gastric ulcer. In 1986, I again suffered from acute arthritis, vertebrate inflamation, de-pigmentation, gallstone, and I had a low bone density problem. With so many diseases all over my body, my suffering was beyond words. When I walked, I had to bend down low, and my head could not move freely. I could not climb up or down the stairs without assistance, or get in and out of bed. In all those years, I had never been able to lie down in bed on my back.

Whenever a disease attacked me, I would be admitted to the emergency unit in the hospital. I received countless doses of injections and spent thousands of Yuan on medical fees. Not only was I unable to work normally, but I had also given my family and work unit a heavy financial burden. (Note: In China, the work units used to be responsible for the medical welfare of their employees) Those who knew me often said, "Mr. Ma really pays for his sickness."

In early 1996, three colleagues from work introduced me to Falun Gong, and they also kindly gave me a copy of Zhuan Falun. The more I read the book, the harder it was for me to put it down. In just twenty-four hours, I finished reading the whole book. I then watched the video lectures of Teacher Li, listened to his tape recordings, and practiced the exercises whenever I could.

After one or two months, miracles began to appear one after another. First, it was about a month after I got into the exercises seriously. One day, I had a long and heavy session in the toilet emptying my bowels. Amazingly, the action did not weaken my body, but on the contrary, I felt light and comfortable after that. I quickly realized that my body was being purified. Since then, I was more dedicated in my practice. About two and a half months after I started, my spine suddenly became straight while doing the sitting meditation with a large group of practitioners. Seeing what had happened, all of my fellow practitioners were happy for me, and they glorified the power of Dafa. For twenty years, I had been suffering from a crooked back and now I could walk straight with my chest up.

Ever since then, I never missed a day's work because of illness. For the first six months, all of my sicknesses and their symptoms were like the annual rings on a tree trunk; they just kept pushing out to the surface one by one. I can only attribute all these to the power of Dafa, as it was Dafa that enlightened me, improved my Xinxing (mind-nature), purified my body and converted my karma into virtue.

Following a trial period in my cultivation practice, my celestial eye opened very quickly. My company once sold a piece of equipment to a steel company in 1996. Not long after, this equipment caught fire. During a meditation exercise, I suddenly saw the cause behind the accident with my celestial eye. After speaking to the designer who was present at the accident, I found out that the cause I saw matched with their description. Hence, I suggested a preventive measure to overcome further accidents. After repetitive verification to prove the implementation, we had saved over twenty million Yuan on the contract with the steel company.

At present, I am always full of good spirits, and my body is light. I even feel healthier than I did twenty years ago. In late October this year, I participated in a clean-up campaign for the first time in twenty years. Like everyone else, we started from half past eight in the morning and ended at half past twelve. For a total of four hours, I helped with the digging, shuffling, and hauling loads in a wheel barrow without a break in between. My colleagues said, "We can't imagine a year of practice in Falun Gong could turn you into a new person." Nevertheless, my muscles were sore that night. After all, I hadn't done any exercises like that for twenty years. That night, I got up and sat for half an hour in meditation. After that, all the soreness in my legs and back disappeared. The next morning, my sore arms returned to normal again after the Dafa exercise routines. What a wonderful experience it was!

After a year of Falun Dafa practice, I was totally intrigued by its profundity, and the uncommon scientific principles. It has the capacity to remove the practitioner's karma, but more importantly, it provides a path for the practitioner to continuously upgrade his Xinxing (mind-nature), enrich his wisdom to integrate with the universe and advance further towards higher levels of realization.

1. A Dafa practitioner has been firm in his belief and never renounced his belief inspite all sorts of torture and hardships. A police officer said, "I really admire you. When you are released, I will surely have you as my friend."

2. A Dafa practitioner has been persecuted and now has difficulty using the restroom. He could not wash his clothes. An inmate helped him to go to the restroom and washed his clothes. He said to the Falun Dafa practitioner, "I know you are good. I will learn (Falun Gong) when I get out of here. I have even seen your Master! Tall and great!"

There is a Falun Gong practitioner in our cell. He was a high school teacher and well respected by his principle, colleagues and students. Early this year, the public safety police arrested him. All the students in his class and parents went to the police bureau to support him and questioned the police, "Such a good person--why do you have to arrest him?"

The principle also admitted that since the beginning of his career, there had been no other instance of an entire class of students and their parents going to police bureau in support of the students' teacher. In a graduation speech for his class, he said, "you shall become people who speak truly, do true things and who treat other people with kindness and tolerance." Local "610 Office" agents learned of the practitioner's speech. They accused him of spreading Falun Gong and fabricated documents to sentence him for seven years.

I really do not understand: by law, jails and detention centers should lock up people like me who committed crimes. However, those good people who are welcomed in all their walks of life and industries have been put into jail. Currently, there is no distinction made between the upright and the crooked and between the kind and the evil. I shiver somewhat even though I am not cold.

Shortly after my arrival at the jail, I heard that Director He ["He" is his name pronounced "Huh" in English] was sentenced. I could not understand this. Director He never abused us physically, and police officers and long-term inmates highly respected him.

An old inmate told a story: once, the director asked him to be in charge. In gratitude, this inmate brought some gifts to the director's home. The director seriously declined the gifts. When Director He was managing support administration, the cafeteria served really good food. He truly did not take bribes and was not at all greedy.

Finally, I learned that Director He practices Falun Gong. Tragically, it is this kind of person who gets sentenced.

In the evening of August 12, 2003, I casually turned on TV and saw a broadcast where Jiang Zemin was waiving his arms hysterically with the narration of Jiang's eight committed crimes. I sensed this must be a program that was intercepting the regular broadcast, therefore rushed to call other practitioners by phone, and asked my family to inform our neighbors to watch it. It was a pity that the broadcast was not long enough. I realized from TV news reported, two days later, that this interception covered a wide geographical area.

I would like to express my respect to those who intercepted the Cable TV to help Chinese people to learn the facts of the persecution against Dafa.

(Clearwisdom.net) On September 14, many Chinese state-run media including Xinhua.net, People.com, and Sino.com related an interview with a spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the dismissal of the lawsuit against Jiang Zemin from the United States District Court of Illinois.

On October 2002, when Jiang Zemin visited Chicago, Falun Gong filed a lawsuit against him for genocide at a local district federal court. Since then, Jiang Zemin has been pressing the US government to dismiss the case. In the meantime, Falun Gong also received a lot of support from non-governmental organizations, lawyers, and members of congress. The Court only just reached its decision almost a year later.

The CCP has never publicly acknowledged this lawsuit. It even denied it in the beginning. Jiang Zemin must have carefully weighed the pros and cons to allow the government's mouthpiece to publish this news in such a high profile way.

First, Falun Gong has already spread the news that Jiang Zemin has been sued for genocide through various means in China, including intercepting TV signals there. Many people are discussing it. Jiang could no longer pretend that it did not exist.

Secondly, the Court's ruling is good for Jiang Zemin, which is the result he has been trying to obtain for the past year through pressuring the US government. For the past two years, the US has many responsibilities and a long way to go in its anti-terrorism task; its affairs with countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, and North Korea all need China's help. Especially during the current nuclear crisis in North Korea, China's special relationship with North Korea is its heavy stick in threatening the US. The fact that Falun Gong could carry the case for more than a year is already a tremendous victory of morality and justice.

Furthmore, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs seriously twisted the facts in the writing and made it advantageous to Jiang Zemin. Let's take a look here:

This is misleading as if that the US Court dismissed the case because it found the charges were false. Actually, whether it is a false charge or not should be decided by the judge after listening to the arguments of both sides in the courtroom. Isn't that what Falun Gong wants? How could anyone draw such a conclusion without formally establishing the case?

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not dare to give Jiang Zemin's name and just said a Chinese leader in general. Obviously, Jiang Zemin does not think that he has won an honorable victory.

In this people-against-official lawsuit, what kind of mean and dirty tactics could Falun Gong, as ordinary people, use? They asked the Court to uphold justice because Jiang killed many of their people. Isn't this a routine way in a law abiding country? Had Jiang Zemin considered himself so innocent, he would have the guts to appear in court and let his defense as well as Falun Gong's witness testimony be heard by the world. If he is innocent, wouldn't it be more powerful to let the judge announce in Court that Falun Gong's charges are false? All Falun Gong could do was to call for support from righteous people in society. Can this be called "mean and dirty"?

Actually, we have learned from the media that it was Jiang Zemin who has been using "mean and dirty tactics". Those tactics including using China's potential market, China's United Nations veto, China's influence in North Korea and sacrificing Chinese people's benefits to force the US to compromise are truly "mean and dirty". The US government openly requested the Court to dismiss the case. Behind this, how many mean and dirty tactics had Jiang Zemin used? As the leader of a democratic country, the US is entangled in many international anti-terrorism affairs. Jiang Zemin took this opportunity and made the US fail to uphold justice. Jiang Zemin is acting just like the villain which we Chinese people most despise.

Relationships between countries could only be stable, healthy and long-lasting on the basis of mutual trust. The Sino-American relationship's unpredictability is the result of Jiang Zemin's political game. For his personal benefit, Jiang Zemin transformed the relationship into a bargain market which is a poison lethal to the long-term Sino-American relationship. In order to obtain Jiang Zemin's cooperation in dealing with other terrorist countries, the US has to tolerate Jiang for his totalitarism of the Chinese people. This is not something from the US government's heart. However, as soon as Jiang Zemin prevails, the persecution becomes more unscrupulous. This ridicules people in the world who seek freedom and democracy. Once the US does not depend on Jiang, the situation will surely change. This is why the Sino-American relationship has been unpredictable in the past years and Jiang has played this game to the extreme.

5. "The US Court's decision of dismissing the lawsuit made up of false charges is correct and wise"

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs left people confused with a speech that had no beginning or end. It avoided answering many factual issues, which is routine practice for Jiang Zemin's media.

Take "intercepting TV" as an example, what is the content of the program? They dare not reveal it. A friend in mainland China said, "Falun Gong did so many things like suicide, self-immolation, and murder, yet still wants to spread Falun Gong through e-mail and intercepting TV. No one likes to hear it." Actually, the purpose of Falun Gong intercepting TV or clarifying the truth is not at all spreading Falun Gong, but exposing the lies of Jiang Zemin. They come to tell you the truth when you believe the lies. Jiang Zemin does not dare to tell the people exactly what the content is of the Falun Gong truth program.

It is the same with this lawsuit. Why was Jiang Zemin charged by Falun Gong? Which crime was he charged with? The spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not mention.

The spokesperson's words give people the impression that Jiang has won something. In fact, the US Court only dismissed the case under diplomatic pressure rather than ruling whether Jiang is guilty or not. The best description for this scenario should be: Jiang Zemin tried his best to escape judgement. Currently, as people are holding more "public trials of Jiang" around the world, the trial of Jiang Zemin in the court of morality has long been developed in people's heart.

This event will make more people see the evil of Jiang sacrificing the nation for his personal benefit and the challenge to the value of human rights. It will touch more levels in society and attract more people with righteous minds to support Falun Gong. I believe that Falun Gong will never give up their effort to seek the truth. The lawsuits filed in countries including Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, and Canada will continue. Jiang Zemin's worse nightmare will never be stopped.

I am writing a series of articles entitled "Why is Jiang the most evil". He could even manipulate a lawsuit initiated in a democratic family, who is more evil than him?

The Xinhua News Agency claimed that the persecution of Falun Gong by Jiang's gang was "strongly supported by people of all races in the nation." This is a blatant lie.

In western countries, private organizations periodically conduct opinion polls on the popularity of the president and the government. They will explain how the sample is taken, describe the number of valid samples, the way the questions are asked, and the probability of error. Survey sampling is a specialized field. The poll taking organizations are experts in the field. The level of support for some policies in poll results can have a great influence on government officials.

Being "strongly supported by people of all races in the nation," as claimed by Jiang's gang, is not a result of opinion polls. Rather it is one of the habitual lies of the dictator and his writers. In a dictatorship, even if something is "strongly supported by people of all races in the nation," it does not prove the legitimacy of the matter. The former Iraqi dictator Sadam Hussein was elected the president with close to 100% of the ballot. In Nazi Germany people greeting each other had to raise their arms and shout "Hiel, Hitler." Behind this type of "strong support of people of all races in the nation" we only see crimes and the evil of the dictator.

Even in the developed countries of the West, where polls are easier to take, poll results cannot be used as an excuse to persecute minorities. The purpose of the Amendments in the United States Constitutions is to protect an individual's rights of speech and religion and certain other human rights. The constitution prohibits the legislature from creating any law that restricts these rights. It also prohibits the legislature from creating laws that are aimed at specific groups or individuals intending to use them to convict these groups or individuals, even though the legislature represents the public. In other words the United States Constitution forbids the legislature to deprive or trample on an individuals' certain specific rights by using a hollow name, "the public." Whether they "follow the mandate of the general public," or are "strongly supported by people of all races in the nation," the legislature is not allowed to create laws that infringe upon the rights of even a single individual, thus inhibiting the government that is unable to protect a minority's rights from inevitably becoming the tyranny of the majority. A tyranny by the majority is the same as that of a dictatorship by an individual who represents this majority.

After considering this logic, let's read a story. It is the description of a horror scene recorded by a Nobel Prize winner in literature, former citizen of the Soviet Union, Solzhenitsyn, which was cited in a recent article on the Internet.

A newly appointed district director chaired a meeting of the district representatives in Moscow Province -- his predecessor had just been imprisoned. Every time when they read the name of Stalin, all representatives would rise immediately, and yell "Ula!" At the end of the meeting, they approved the letter pledging allegiance to Stalin. All stood up and the sounds of applauding thundered the auditorium. It then turned into a long lasting cheer. Three minutes later, four minutes later, five minutes later, the sounds of clapping kept roaring, and the cheering remained enthusiastic. People's hands were hurting. Their arms were numb. The elderly were out of breath. But no one dared to stop first. The clapping kept on. Six minutes, seven minutes, eight minutes, all representatives looked at one another, pretending to be full of joy. Nine minutes, ten minutes, and at the eleventh minute, a member of the chairing group -- the president of the paper factory-- returned to his normal look, and sat down on his seat. Then a miracle happened. The unstoppable clapping stopped. That night, the president of the paper factory was arrested, and sentenced to ten years in prison. When he signed his name on the record of investigation, the investigator said to him: "Never be the first to stop clapping."

The title of the article on the Internet is "The Terrible Applause." Paraphrasing it, the so-called "support" according to Xinhua News would be "terrible support." For sure, it is not the first time for the Xinhua News Agency to declare such "terrible support." When they suppressed those who were against the revolution in the early days of the communist regime, they created a model for killing people by quota, which was "strongly supported by all races of the people in the nation." The anti-right-wing movement in 1957, "strongly supported by all races of the people in the nation," caused at least 550 thousand intellectuals to be sent to the countryside to do hard labor and to spend 22 years of their lives as low-class citizens. In 1958, there was the "Unified Path," "People's Commune," and the "Big Leap Forward," the so-called "Three Red Flags." Being "strongly supported by all races of the people in the nation," these campaigns led to at least 20 million deaths in the "natural" disasters that occurred in the next three years. The civil war of the Cultural Revolution that occurred in 1966, "strongly supported by all races of the people in the nation," sent the country into chaos, and pushed China to the brink of collapse.

Is all the so-called support actually "terrible support?" Should we not do everything we can to stop Jiang's gang from continuing to use this terrible support to brutally persecute Falun Gong practitioners?

á(Clearwisdom.net September 23th) As lawsuits against Jiang have successively been filed in many countries, Taiwan also joins the global effort to express support. The Taiwan Falun Dafa Association South District practice site practitioners traveled across the sea to Penghu County to hold a public symbolic trial of Jiang. From September 19-21, nearly 1,000 Falun Gong practitioners participated in the activity.


Nearly 1,000 practitioners participate	A teenage boy signs his name	1,000 practitioners practice the exercises on the square of Penghu County Government

Parade	Parade	Parade

On the evening of September 19, an "International Ocean Concert" was held at fishermen's Dock in Magong City, Penghu County. The director of the Falun Dafa Association Professor Chang Ching-hsi from National Taiwan University gave a speech. The programs included violin performance, Chinese Fan Dance, Chorus, Video screening. A short drama was performed entitled, "The Nightmare of Jiang," depicting the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners over the past four years. At the same time, there was also a signature collection for Bringing Jiang to Justice." Local people attending the event signed their names in support.

Early in the morning of September 20, about 1,000 Falun Gong practitioners gathered on the square of Penghu County Government to practice the Falun Dafa exercises as a group. The scene was spectacular and peaceful. Everyone looked energetic and refreshed in the morning sunlight. After that, the practitioners held a group Fa-study and experience sharing. There were also two groups specially for children, and four groups for Taiwan dialects. Dafa practitioners, young or old, all actively joined this activity of publicly trying Jiang.

On the afternoon of September 20, the practitioners marched through downtown Magong, the highlight of the day's activities. A Western practitioner and a Taiwan practitioner holding a banner reading "Jiang is being sued in the US," led the parade. Local people along the road were curious and many came out from their shops and stood at roadside to watch.

On the evening of September 20, the procession went back to Fishermen's Dock, and again the practitioners held lectures of morals and collected signatures.

(Clearwisdom.net) On September the 10th 2003, a photo exhibition to expose Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin's crimes of genocide was held outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The head of the Chinese Department of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs came downstairs especially to accept a letter from Dafa practitioners and a petition signed by German citizens, addressed to the Foreign Minister.

In the letter, practitioners told the German Foreign Minister details of the persecution inflicted on relatives and friends of eight German practitioners. At the moment, China is continuously escalating its genocidal campaign against Falun Gong practitioners. When the lady in charge of Chinese affairs learned that Dafa practitioners leaflet was specifically designed for the reference of the Foreign Minister, Mr. Joschka Fischer, she said with delight, "This is really well-designed. I will certainly give it to the Minister."

Practitioners had no idea that September 10th was the day of an annual meeting, which involves diplomats visiting Germany from different countries and listening to German foreign policies. Clarifying the truth about Falun Gong to many diplomats at the same time was much faster than making an individual appointment with them.

Ambassadors from all nations came to the meeting and each of them had the chance to see the practitioners' photo exhibition.

All of the drivers who were waiting at the traffic lights had enough time to take a close look at Jiang Zemin's crimes and could also sense the urgency needed to put an immediate end to his human rights abuses.


The picture exhibition to expose Jiang's crimes of genocide held outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Ambassadors from all nations come to attend an annual meeting

Practitioners called for righteousness and conscience

(Clearwisdom.net) On the 8th of September 2003, Leeds Town Hall in the UK hosted a party to celebrate the mid-autumn Chinese festival, known as the Moon Festival. Practitioners from Leeds thought that this was a great chance that should not be missed to let people know more about Falun Gong and tell them the facts about the persecution.

They arrived early and stood at the junction between two main roads to hand out Dafa materials to Chinese people who were going to the party. It wasn't long before an interesting scene had unfolded. There were many people who wanted to talk to the practitioners. On one side of the road, people surrounded a practitioner and none of them left until they received materials letting them know the facts about Falun Gong.

Practitioners' compassionate smiles and hearts moved the people around them. One practitioner quietly said, "Today we are here to celebrate the mid-autumn festival. But have we thought that in China there are over 700 practitioners who have been persecuted to death? How will their relatives spend the mid-autumn festival? Practitioners are all compassionate people; all they want is to speak the truth." One passer-by heard what was said and was very surprised. He immediately asked, "Did all those people really die?"

A lot of other people were silent but from their eyes it could be seen that they understood and were sympathetic. An elderly person didn't understand practitioners at the beginning and looked at them suspiciously. A practitioner went to him holding a Video-CD. The old man smiled, took the VCD and waved. Someone also asked practitioners how to get to the party and some other things about the party. Practitioners patiently answered all of the questions and offered help. Later they said, "Oh! So you are Falun Gong practitioners. We thought you were the organisers of the party!" A man from Mainland China met with practitioners and happily said, "When is your next exercise class? Please phone me and take me there. I want to learn the exercises as well."

A large amount of materials were distributed and looking around, practitioners found that everyone was carefully reading them. In a single evening, nearly everyone received some Falun Gong materials. Someone said jokingly, "I think tonight isn't a Moon Festival party but a Falun Gong material reading meeting!" After the mid-autumn performances finally started, practitioners stood in the moonlight, with empty bags and smiled.

(Clearwisdom.net) 2003 Newark Community Day activities were held at the University of Delaware on September 14. It was the 32^nd session this year and had four stages and about two hundred booths, even larger than last year. The activities included art exhibit, food, performances and games. Falun Gong practitioners were invited to demonstrate the five sets of Falun Gong exercises and perform Chinese traditional fan dance and drum dance.


Drum Dance	Exercise Demo	Audience was watching fan dance

One woman had been watching the exercise demo all the time. She said, "It is great! I am very interested in Chinese culture!" She told Falun Gong practitioners that she had been to China twenty years ago and it was like going home. She liked the smooth exercises especially. She felt great watching the demo and could not believe Falun Gong is being persecuted in China.

Another woman from the Delaware Insurance Company watched through the performance. She said, "Your performance is so pleasant! I like your exercises especially. I think it is a great way to relax oneself. It made me forget all the unhappiness of the day!"

The Annual St. Louis Hot Air Balloon Race was held in Forest Park of St. Louis at 4 pm on September 21. People started arriving at the park in the morning. The parking lots and roadsides were crowded with cars. As they did in previous years, Falun Gong practitioners came in the morning, hung up their Dafa banners and put out their truth-clarification display boards. Some practitioners demonstrated the five sets of exercises, some distributed truth-clarification materials and some collected signatures to rescue Charles Li.

People stopped to look at our exercise demo and display boards. Many of them had heard about the cruel persecution of hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in China. On hearing that American citizen Dr. Li is still in Chinese jail, they realized how close this trampling of human nature is and came to sign their names.

Some came to sign their names at the booth after reading truth-clarification materials about Falun Dafa. Some tourists took pictures of the exercise demos. Some sat down to watch the demo for a long time. Some came to ask for group exercise information so that they could learn the exercises too. Pointing at the practitioners demonstrating the Falun Dafa exercises, a young mother said to her child, "Look! How beautiful it is!"

(Clearwisdom.net) On September 20, Falun Dafa practitioners participated in the annual parade of Overland Park. It was the second time that practitioners participated in the event and displayed the beauty and peacefulness of Falun Dafa to local residents.

Overland Park is an important business center in Kansas. As an important annual event, this year's parade enjoyed participation of many residents and government officials who wanted to express their regards to the public.

Falun Gong practitioners went to their designated location early, decorated their float and the various teams started their work. Some practitioners distributed materials to the participants of the parade. Some went to visit the mayor and clarified the truth about the persecution of Falun Dafa to him. Practitioners won waves of applause during the parade. The congressman of the district happened to be there and greeted practitioners with smile. A smiling practitioner, gave him a copy of the truth-clarification material. When our float passed the stage, a reporter briefly interviewed our float driver.

(Clearwisdom.net, September 23, 2003) The week of September 14-20 was declared as "Falun Dafa Week" in Alameda County. Friday, September 19th was a special day, with clear and blue skies. Joy filled the Civil Square of Oakland.


Mayor Bukowski issues proclamation	Mayor Bukowski making a speech

Photo Exhibit	Dance Performance

Early in the morning, Falun Gong practitioners set up truth-clarification display boards in a row for passersby, and practitioners who were to give dance performances were dressed up and waiting. The people who received Dafa flyers happily said, "Thank you!"

At noon, the celebration of "Falun Dafa Week" in Alameda County began with a beautiful dance to the music, "Walk between Heaven and Earth".

Mayor Ken Bukowski of Emeryville came to the celebration and issued a proclamation to Falun Dafa practitioners in person. He said that when he learned what is happening in China, he thought he should support Falun Gong. Although he was busy with many things, he felt this was a very important activity what he should attend, and that other officials should also attend. Congresswoman Barbara Lee also issued a proclamation for "Falun Dafa Week".

People were fascinated by the beautiful Dafa music and stopped to watch practitioners' dance and exercise demonstration. They kept saying, "How beautiful!" Upon learning the facts of the persecution, one of them shook hands with a practitioner and said, "I will support you anytime."

One day in May 2003, the police abducted me as I was walking on the street. When I was sent to the police station, I firmly refused to cooperate with any of their commands. They tied me to a "Tiger Bench." It was past midnight when the perpetrators forcibly sent me to a detention center. In the detention center I discussed with other practitioners and we decided to hold a hunger strike.

Several police officers surrounded us and kicked and beat us. They pulled my arms behind my back and stepped on me so I could not move, and then they violently jerked my arms upward. It was extremely painful. I shouted, "It's a crime to persecute Dafa!" Then, I sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the evil factors. When they finally stopped I could not move my arms. My whole body ached. When the freezing wind blew on me I couldn't help shivering. I thought I must persist and not let the evildoers achieve their goal.

On the seventh day of my hunger strike they force-fed us. Every time they tried to feed us we shouted, "Falun Dafa is good! Treating Dafa with kindness is good and persecuting Dafa is a crime." Six or seven of the police officers pinned me down and they inserted a tube through my nose. The tube would not go in. They became exasperated and used their best effort to insert the tube. My esophagus and the area above it was torn from the violent movement of the tube and I bled profusely.

The police officers ordered inmates to force-feed us three times a day. When this happened I used every opportunity to tell them the truth. Many of them learned the truth. Once, all inmates who stayed in the same cell with me shouted in unison, "Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa has been wronged!"

More than two months later they sentenced me to three years of forced labor. I sent forth righteous thoughts on my way to the hospital for the physical exam, thus I did not pass it. With Master's protection and with help from fellow practitioners' righteous thoughts, I walked out of the labor camp in an open and dignified manner with righteous thoughts, and I immersed myself back into the current of Fa-rectification.

Xiong Wei was a student at Berlin's Technical University. Since January 2002, she has been illegally detained at the Xinan Female Labor Camp in Beijing. During the first week in September, for the first time Dafa practitioners in Germany and Israel held a joint rescue activity. They called the labor camp and related government agencies together at certain time(s) of the day.

For a few days around August 23, 2003, during working hours, Dafa practitioners placed a large quantity of truth-clarifying materials and CDs in government buildings and compounds. This righteous feat shocked the municipal government officials. Every time when practitioners finish the distribution, they walk out of those well-guarded government buildings in an open and dignified manner.

The personnel at the Dabei Prison torture Falun Gong practitioners very severely. One of the excruciating torture methods they use is to force practitioner to squat in a corner for a whole day, with hands clasped behind their back.

Dafa practitioner Ms. Fang Yi is about 40 years old. Since 1999, police has been harassing and following her numerous times. They also put her into brainwashing classes many times. Fang Yi acted calmly, facing the vicious officials every time. Thus the vile people dare not to persecute her further. Fang has been clarifying the truth to teachers, students and people around her through all kinds of channels. In June or July 2003, the university authorities suddenly dismissed her and collaborated with the police to put her into Guangdong Province's Sanshui Forced Labor Camp -- a place dedicated for persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. Her situation is unknown now.

Up till now, the Sanshui Forced Labor Camp has detained numerous practitioners from various districts including Yunfu City, Zhaoqing City, Gaoyao City, Gaozhou City, Maoming City, Guangzhou City, Shenzhen City, Yangjiang City and others.

Mr. Song Qingde is a resident from Nankouqian Town, Qingyuan County in Fushun City. To validate Dafa and avoid the persecution, he was forced to stay away from home. On August 21, 2003, he was arrested near Wanghua District of Fushun City. Afterward, the police went to his living place at Beizhen Street in the Wanghua District, ransacked his home and took away many Dafa truth-clarifying materials. Recently, the police informed Song's family to pay 1,700 Yuan* for the brainwashing "class fee" and 200 Yuan for force-feeding per time. Not until the extortion demands were made did his family learn that Song is now detained at the city's Luotai Resort Brainwashing Center.

On September 11, 2003 (the Mid-Autumn Festival), elderly practitioner Ms. Tian went out to distribute Dafa truth-clarifying material at a morning market. She did not come back that day. She might have been arrested.

At 8:00 p.m. on September 11, 2003 (the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is similar to Thanksgiving), three vile people including Li Dongming broke into practitioner Li Yingxuan's home and told him/her that the police chief wanted to see him. Li Yingxuan said, "Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival." He asked to reschedule the time and told them, "If there was urgent issue, let's talk about it at home." But the police immediately called some other people to arrest Li Yingxuan. Li did not cooperate with them and planned to escape from the window on the second floor. However, Li was severely injured. His nose and mouth were bleeding, his eyes were black and blue, and he lost consciousness. His right arm, right thigh and right ankle were fractured in many places.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a holiday for family reunions, but Jiang and his gang took the opportunity to relentlessly torture practitioners.

[Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province] Junmin Police Precinct Officials Illegally Sentence Several Practitioners to Forced Labor Camp

Enforcers from Harbin City's Junmin Police Precinct arrested several practitioners from home without valid reasons and sent them to a labor camp. Because some practitioners showed symptoms of illnesses, the Wanjia Forced Labor Camp authorities did not accept them officially but also would not release them, either. These practitioners have been detained for three to four months. Some practitioners are forced to stay away from home to avoid the persecution.

Ms. Zhang Daidi was recently arrested and detained at Changchun City's Daguang Detention Center.

They are Mr. Chen Kaiming, Mr. Yang Xiaohui, Ms. Xiang Zhaoxia, Ms. Li Shirong, Mr. Pan Jianjun, Ms. Zheng Hongxia, Ms. Xiao Guiying and Ms. Tang Qingying.

In November 2001, enforcers from Guizhou City's "610 Office"* and Zhunyi City's Honghuagang Police Precinct arrested Mr. Lan Jun and Ms. Yan Zhongfen. They have been detained at Zhunyi City's No.2 Detention Center for 18 months and have suffered severe persecution, both physically and mentally. In June 2002, they were illegally sentenced without a jury, without a lawyer and without informing their families. Lan Jun was sentenced to six years of imprisonment and Yan Zhongfen to four years. Now they are detained at Guizhou City's Yang'ai Forced Labor Camp. No family is allowed to visit them and neither are they permitted to accept clothing or money.

Shenyang City's "Legal System Education School" is actually a brainwashing center, located at the Zhangshi Forced Labor Camp. The compound is surrounded by an electric fence on all high walls. It's a jail indeed.

Dafa practitioners illegally arrested here during the 16^th National Party conference are:

Ms. Liu Yanmei, a professor in Liaoning Province's Social Science Academy. She was arrested at her work unit and has been detained at that brainwashing center for 50 days.

Ms. Zhang Liping, a gym teacher from Shenyang Agriculture University, is also a national level coach. She was arrested when she was teaching class to students.

Gong, a teacher in the Forestry Institute of Shenyang Agriculture University and Mr. Meng Qingjie, a teacher in a middle school affiliated with the university were arrested because of writing letters to clarify the truth.

Ms. Liu Huarong, a library administrator for the Political Department in the Shenyang Military Area. She was arrested when she merely rested in a public park. Later she was released after being forced to write the "Three Statements,"** but her salary was suspended anyway. Every week, she had to go to police precinct to hand in her "mentality" report, where she had to slander Dafa. In order to protest such persecution, she had to leave home.

A Dafa practitioner in the financial section from Liaoning Province's Administration Institute was sent to a brainwashing center only for copying letters to clarify the truth.

Li Yanhong, male, 40 years old, is a policemen in No.1 Section of Lanzhou City Police Department. He often pretented sympthy for Falun Gong. His way of obtaining information about other practitioners was to help certain practitioners find a job or solve problems to ask about other practitioners. Many Dafa practitioners were deceived by his hyprocrisy and were sent to brainwashing classes. Hereby we remind Dafa practitioners to pay attention to this and leave no opportunity for the evils to take advantage.

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.

Three statements**: Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write these as proof that they have given up their belief. Created by the "610 Office," the three statements consist of a letter of repentance, a guarantee to never again practice Falun Gong, and a list of names and addresses of all family members, friends and acquaintances who are practitioners.

[Linghai City, Liaoning Province] Brainwashing Class to Be Held for Sixty Falun Dafa Practitioners

It has been learned that there is a plot to arrest and detain sixty Falun Dafa practitioners for a brainwashing class in Linghai City. The arrests are currently underway.

[Chengde City, Hebei Province] A Falun Dafa Truth-Clarifying Materials Site Sabotaged; Several Practitioners Arrested

Recently, a Falun Dafa truth-clarifying materials site in Chengde City was sabotaged, and several practitioners were illegally arrested. Among the arrested practitioners were Mr. Feng Xiaoqi, Mr. Qu Shoucheng, Mr. Wang Jitao, Ms. Tan Xiurong and Ms. Li Shuhua.

On May 6, 2003, You Hong was betrayed by an informant and arrested while distributing truth-clarifying materials at the Hailong Mansion in Beijing. She was subsequently held at the Qinghe Detention Center until September, during which time the police never allowed her family members to visit. In September, she was illegally sentenced to two years of forced labor and transferred to Beijing Forced Labor Personnel Dispatch Center. Her current situation there remains unknown.

Class Three, Group One, Team Five, Forced Labor Personnel Dispatch Center, Tuanhe Road, Daxing District, Beijing City, 102614 (Post Code)

On July 24, 2003, the Sanchunliu Police Substation illegally arrested Wang Lihua while she was distributing Falun Dafa truth-clarifying materials. During a search of her home on the same day, the police confiscated a computer but her family members were later able to get it returned. On the day she was arrested, her husband and her brother were kept in the police substation for interrogation until early the next morning. The police had abducted her brother from the factory where he was working on the night shift. Wang Lihua was soon dismissed from her work unit, the Dalian Daxian Group. Her husband was transferred from his original position to a lesser post at a new location that is not within commuting distance to his home. His new job is laborious and dirty, in a very bad environment, and his monthly salary was reduced by over 500 Yuan [The average monthly salary of an urban worker in China is 500 Yuan.] The arrest of Wang Lihua and the relocation of her husband left their two children unattended at home.

[Shuangcheng City, Heilongjiang Province] New Brainwashing Class Planned for Local Practitioners

The first term of the Shuangcheng City brainwashing class ended on August 15, 2003. During this term, the brainwashing class primarily adopted the typical means of deception and lies, and claiming a brainwashing rate of "90% and above." Relevant departments are planning a new term of the brainwashing class to be held soon in order to persecute more Falun Dafa practitioners.

In the Xingtai area, many Falun Dafa practitioners from Xingtai County, Xingtai City, as well as Shahe, Guangzong, Ren, Pingxiang and Nanhe Counties, have been illegally arrested and detained in a brainwashing center in Xingtai City. They are being persecuted and subjected to financial extortion.

Du Zhenhua, an employee at Branch No.2 of the Daqing Electric Pump Company, has been missing for many days. Prior to her disappearance, Branch No.2 Party Secretary Zhang Guangbing had threatened many times to return her to the Hongweixing Brainwashing Center because she was still clarifying the truth of Falun Dafa to her colleagues. He had also phoned Du Zhenhua's parents, harassing, and threatening them, causing them much grief. Du Zhenhua's parents are worried sick every day, wondering where their daughter is, and whether she is still alive.

Li Xiusi, Party Vice Secretary of Daqing Electric Pump Company, 86-459-4602266 (office), 86-459-4662394 (home)

Zhang Guangbing, Party Secretary of Branch No.2, 86-459-4602275 (office), 86-459-5102208 (home), 86-13089022398 (cell)

[Weifang City, Shandong Province] Authorities of Simian Company, Ltd. Seek Revenge on Falun Dafa Practitioners for the Exposure of Their Crimes

Since the exposure on Minghui Net of their crimes in persecuting Falun Dafa practitioners, authorities of Simian Company, Ltd. have received many phone calls from Falun Dafa practitioners outside China, and this has been quite a shock to those involved in the persecution. Mid-range cadres and above held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. The company instructed Security Department Director Guo Qingyu to discover who provided the information to Minghui Net. Under the disarming pretense of "just having a talk," the Security Department has begun intensive interrogation of Falun Dafa practitioners working at the company. It has also arranged for workers whose minds have been poisoned by the lies, and who don't know the truth, to spy on the practitioners. Rewards have been announced for those who inform on practitioners. In the residential areas, patrol teams have been organized to prevent truth-clarifying materials from being distributed, so that the people will be prevented from knowing the truth.

(Clearwisdom.net) A "solemn declaration" is a person's public statement declaring to the world that whatever he or she has done or said under duress or deception that was against Falun Dafa is null and void. Most of these statements have come from Falun Dafa practitioners in China who wished to express regret that, in the face of physical torture and brainwashing, they had signed documents renouncing Dafa and guaranteeing not to practice again. Also, as more and more people in China learn the truth about how they have been deceived and lied to by the Jiang regime, many non-practitioners are also submitting "solemn declarations."

(Clearwisdom.net, September 24, 2003) Astronomers from Case Western Reserve University say they have discovered a new galaxy, a collection of stars hovering undetected just outside the huge Andromeda spiral.

Researchers said the newest known resident of the celestial neighborhood, dubbed Andromeda VIII, was unmasked when they realized that some stars thought to be part of the big spiral galaxy were moving at a different velocity.

Andromeda, the nearest big galaxy to Earth's Milky Way is at 2 million light years away. Andromeda VIII is a dim, widely distributed object. It sits directly in front of a bright patch of the prime Andromeda galaxy as seen from Earth, rendering it almost transparent to observers on the ground.

Steve Marin, spokesman for the American Astronomical Society and astronomer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., said the significance of the discovery is that the galaxy is so close.

He said that while thousands of new galaxies are discovered regularly in deep space, only one or two every couple of years are discovered amid what are called local galaxies.