Facts of the Persecution

Children Who Lost Their Parent(s) During the Persecution

News and Events from Around the World

Practitioners Exchange Experiences and Insights

News from China

(Clearwisdom.net)

Mr. Xu Dongqun was a 53-year-old Falun Dafa practitioner in Cangfu Town, Xinzhou District, Wuhan City, Hubei Province. He had undergone surgery twice for his late stage cancer before he began practicing Falun Dafa. After he started practicing, his health recovered, and his faith in Falun Dafa was unshakable.

On July 20, 1999, in order to say a good word for Falun Dafa, Mr. Xu went to Beijing to appeal. He was arrested and tortured multiple times. On October 1, 2001 (Chinese National Day) Mr. Xu and his wife, along with two fellow practitioners, displayed Falun Dafa signs at the Cangfu Town Train Station. The four practitioners were reported and beaten by police officer Zheng Hongping and others from the Town Substation. Mr. Xu lost hearing in his right ear from the heavy blows. He was detained in the Xinzhou District Detention Center for 50 days. He was sentenced to two and a half years in a labor camp, served in Hewan Labor Camp, where he suffered unspeakable torture.

Because Mr. Xu's physical condition was deteriorating, he was allowed to be bailed out by his daughter for 4000 yuan in October 2002. Unable to recover from the torture he underwent, he died on January 30, 2004.

Ms. Zhou Yun was a Falun Dafa practitioner in Yichang City, Hubei Province, around 55 years old. She was tortured many times in her hometown, and was forced to become destitute and homeless in order to avoid being illegally arrested at home. She died outside Yichang City in October 2003. The details are under investigation.

(Clearwisdom.net) On September 15, 2004, at 8:30 a.m., the Taishan District Court in Tai'an City illegally held an investigative court session against seven Falun Dafa practitioners. These seven practitioners are Mr. Zhao Weidong, Ms. Song Furong, Ms. Ju Beibei, Ms. Song Qi'ai, Mr. Hou Qingyuan, Ms. Luu Xia and Ms. Ju Xiaotong.

Zhao Weidong, Song Furong and Ju Xiaotong were abducted on June 24, 2004 by Weihai City police and Tai'an City police that were following Ju Xiaotong. Ju Beibei, Song Qi'ai, Hou Qingyuan, and Luu Xia were abducted on July 4 by Tai'an police. They were incarcerated in the Feicheng Detention Center, the Tai'an Detention Center and Xintai Detention Center, respectively.

During the morning of September 15, when the court started the session, Song Furong, Ju Beibei, Song Qi'ai, Luu Xia, and Ju Xiaotong were either carried or supported into the courtroom by three policewomen. When Ju Xiaotong was escorted from the Xintai Detention Center to the Taishan District Court, she was on oxygen accompanied by two physicians. It was clear that she was on the verge of death. The other four practitioners are extremely weak physically. They had been tortured so severely that they were barely able to breathe and were emaciated. Prior to the court session, all of them were injected with unknown drugs. Song Furong, Ju Beibei, Song Qi'ai, Luu Xia and Ju Xiaotong were unable to speak out one sentence from the beginning to the end of the court session. Zhao Weidong and Hou Qingyuan kept clarifying the truth to the audience and the court police during the court session. The police frequently interrupted them.

There were more than 100 people making up the audience, but the seven practitioners' families were not notified and therefore were not in attendance. The courtroom spectators were made up primarily from the different government departments of Taishan District.

After the hearing ended at noon, the seven practitioners, including Zhao Weidong, were sent back to their original detention centers. When the practitioners were initially abducted, a person in charge of Politics and Law in Tai'an City declared, "We will not let them to go home, even if they die!"

The personnel who took part in the persecution and their phone numbers: (country code: 86)

Huang Longhua: Deputy Secretary for the Tai'an City Party Committee (in charge of Politics and Law)

Yang Zhonghai: A member of the Tai'an City Party Standing Committee, Secretary of Tai'an City Politics and Law Committee

Zhang Shuyou: Head of Tai'an City Public Security Department

Meng Xiuqin: Deputy Secretary of Tai'an City Politics and Law

Qi Keyin: Deputy Chief for the Domestic Safety and Security team of Tai'an City Public Security Department, a main perpetrator in the persecution of Falun Gong

Guo Qianmei: Deputy Secretary for the Taishan District Party Committee (in charge of Politics and Law), 538-8224697, 13905488599 (Mobile)

Qin Guanghe: Secretary of the Taishan District Politics and Law Committee, 538-8268560, 538-8211352, 13011778975 (Mobile)

Wang Shuchun: Deputy Secretary of Taishan District Politics and Law Committee,
head of the "610 Office," 538-8335201 538-8227176, 13805485636 (Mobile)

Qi Zihai: Head of the Taishan District Public Security Department, 538-8223814 Ext.2001, 538-8229566, 13053858501 (Mobile)

Li Dianqin: Chief Prosecutor for the Taishan District Prosecuting Office.
538-8238220, 538-8224581, 13805488087 (Mobile)

Wang Shujie: Head of the Taishan District Court, 538-8223907, 538-5388699, 13805485636 (Mobile)

(Clearwisdom.net) The public security personnel in the Shiyan First Detention Center in Hubei Province are very sinister in dealing with Falun Dafa practitioners who go on hunger strike. The perpetrators will usually force-feed practitioners every other day with a highly salted flour gruel after the fourth day of their hunger strike.

They tie the practitioner to a ladder, with their head, back, and legs tied to the cross-bars. This position alone is excruciating. Then, seven or eight prisoners or police will push the practitioner's shoulders, elbows, and knees down firmly to prevent the practitioner from moving. One of them will push the practitioner's chin up to force the head to tilt upwards. Another person then inserts a handcuff over the back teeth to reach the throat. The corners of their mouths often tear and bleed. They then pour the prepared salt-flour gruel into the practitioner's mouth, pinch their nose, and use a towel to cover the mouth in order to force the practitioner to swallow the gruel. It is unimaginably painful. Family members are forced to watch this barbarous act. For example, when they force-fed Wang Anxia, her daughter Cheng Li was forced to watch. Then, Wang Anxia was also forced to watch while they force-fed her daughter. When they finish with the force-feeding, the corners of the practitioner's mouth is usually covered in blood, and the practitioner is covered with coughed up gruel. The practitioner's chin and limbs are also often injured and covered with bruises. They also often suffer internal hemorrhaging. Their clothing is soaked with perspiration and they often have difficulty breathing. It takes a long time for them to recover.

Security Guard Shang Xiaoli said, "You're lucky we don't feed you with hot pepper water."

(Clearwisdom.net)

At the end of December 2001, practitioners Ms. Xie Xiulan and Shi Shengying, who are from the Tiexi District in Shenyang City, refused to watch movies that defamed Falun Dafa. The guards took Xie Xiulan away to torture her. In the dining hall on the first floor, when Shi Shengying, age 64, asked police officers where Xie was, more than ten officers dragged her to the group leader's office on the second floor. Group leader Huang Haiyan slapped Shi's face over ten times, and her nails cut and injured Shi's face. The beating also caused one of Shi's eyes to swell up.

Huang Haiyan pushed Shi into a squatting position, dragged her up by her hair and slammed her head repeatedly against a concrete wall. One policewoman named Zhang became scared by such brutality. She even asked Huang, "Is it right to do this?" "It's all right. Who will she tell?!" Huang replied. The torture lasted for about an hour.

Trying to cover up any evidence of the beating, another policewoman combed Shi's hair. Bunches of it came out in the process and scattered on the ground. After being slammed against the wall, Shi's head swelled up, and she felt dizzy. She frequently lost consciousness and vomited after that. She also could not keep any food down. Officers forced Shi pay 500 yuan for a CT scan and then concealed the results.

On August 22, 2002, the Masanjia Labor Camp illegally tried three practitioners: Ms. Li Dongqing, Ms. Song Caihong, and Ms. Li Liming. Led by Wang Xiaofeng, who is a 38 year-old woman and the head of the 1st Brigade, group leader Xue Feng and over ten other officers stuffed Xie Xiulan, Shi Shengying and several other practitioners' mouths with mops and then taped them shut. Shi Shengying resisted with all of her energy, so officers literally dragged her down to the first floor courtyard and handcuffed her to a bench by twisting her hands behind her back. She could not sit down or stand up. The handcuffs cut into Shi's flesh, causing excruciating pain. She asked a passing policewoman to remove the handcuffs, but the policewoman replied, "No, damn you!"

Officers wrapped several layers of tape over Shi's mouth and head. About ten officers dragged her and the bench she was handcuffed to into a building about 30 meters away, almost fracturing her arms and lower vertebrae in the process. Shi used to have a lower back injury from a collision that was cured after she began practicing Falun Gong.

Since the Masanjia Labor Camp has a filthy living environment and provides inferior food, Shi Shengying developed scabies all over her body. Cold water was used on winter days to douse them, which caused frostbite on her hands. In mid-August 2002, Shi showed her scabies to several policemen that came to bring detainees to trial. Later, the Brigade leader Wang Xiaofeng blamed Shi for exposing the truth. Shi took every opportunity to clarify the truth about Falun Dafa and the brutality of the persecution to everyone who visited the camp. The authorities then extended her term for five months.

On August 11, 2002, Shi stopped people from reading books that defamed Falun Dafa. She also requested permission to do the Falun Gong exercises. Wang Xiaofeng pushed Shi into a mini-cell, where she was restrained in a steel-wire chair with five locks and steel rings attached to her arms, legs and waist. Behind the steel-wire chair, there is a small window that is open all year round and lets in the chilling wind in winter. A loudspeaker in front of the chair broadcasts recordings that slandered Falun Gong at a high volume four or five times a day. She was only allowed to use the bathroom two times a day.

Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Song Caihong from Suizhong County, Liaoning Province, was detained in a mini-cell for several months and beaten by police officer Sun with an electric baton. Ms. Li Dongqing from the Heping District of Shenyang City spent two months in a mini-cell. Practitioner Ms. Hu Ying is in her thirties. Her hands were swollen and bruised, and her toes were infected by the time she was freed from a mini-cell. Officers shocked her mouth with electric batons, which left her unable to eat.

On the fourth day that Shi Shengying was detained in a mini-cell, she had heart palpitations and her sight was affected. She lost the feeling in her hands and feet. She became unable to move or talk. Medical tests said she was short of blood, and she might die at any time. In this case, the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp sent her home after demanding 3000 yuan as a deposit.

(Clearwisdom.net)

In June and July of 2003, Qi Wei, who works at a law firm in Beijing, was abducted to Tuanhe Labor Camp in the Daxing area of Beijing, where he suffered inhumane torture. Because he refused to give in to the brainwashing, he was deprived of sleep and his freedom. Every day, he was forced to endure brainwashing sessions. At night he was forced to sit on a stool facing the wall until 2:00 a.m. and only allowed to sleep for two or three hours. A criminal named Gao Xiang was specifically appointed to monitor his daily activities.

The following two torture methods were once used on Qi Wei and other detained practitioners.

The handcuff is made of two metal half-circles (made from a coarse piece of iron 5 mm thick and 15 mm across) and a metal bar (about 15 cm in length and 6 mm in diameter).

After forcing both of the practitioner's arms behind his back, guards encircle each hand with a cuff and then fasten the cuffs tightly together with the iron bar. Usually the practitioner has to wear these handcuffs day and night, ranging from seven days to several months. With the handcuffs on, a person cannot care for himself. He needs help to carry out basic daily activities such as taking off his clothes, cleaning himself, eating, or using the toilet. In summer, the armpits get infected, causing itching and pain. If a person is handcuffed like this for three to seven days, his wrists bleed or develop blisters. Both hands swell, and it is very painful. Seven to eighteen or nineteen days handcuffed like this cause numbness and excruciating pain in both shoulders. It is truly miserable. After being handcuffed like this for more than twenty days, one does not feel the pain as much and gets used to it.

After the handcuffs are removed, the person has difficulty raising his arms because they have been in the same position for so long. It takes more than ten days for the arms to recover.

Guards often use this method when interrogating practitioners. Over fifteen minutes of this torture usually disables both arms. When the rope is released, it has to be gradual. If released all at once, it will disable the arms, too. To torture practitioners, this method sometimes is used for more than half an hour.

A 2 m long, 10 mm thick rope and one pair of handcuffs are used in this torture.

The guards first handcuff the practitioner's hands in front of his abdomen. Then they beat the practitioner to the ground, put the rope around his neck and tighten it by making a knot at his back. They then pass the rope around both elbows and make another knot. Two guards each hold either end of the rope and tighten it so that both elbows almost touch each other in the back. The rope cuts deeply into the flesh, blocking blood circulation to the forearms. It is so painful that one has difficulty breathing and begins to sweat immediately.

In order to try to make Qi Wei give in, the guards incited criminal Fang Shifeng to torture him while he was sitting on the stool facing the wall (see above photo). Specifically, he forced Qi Wei to put both legs and feet so tightly together that there was no space in between. Qi Wei had to put both hands on his knees and sit straight without moving. Then Fang Shifeng placed a cup of boiling water on Qi Wei's head so that, with the slightest movement, the cup would fall and the hot water would spill on him. Fang Shifeng also repeatedly beat up, insulted and pinched Qi Wei, causing cuts and bruises all over his body.

The guards also incited Gao Xiang and others to beat up Qi Wei and force him to copy materials that denounced Dafa. They always tortured him at night, in places that no one could see them, from 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. when other people were sleeping

List of persons responsible in Tuanhe Labor Camp's Third Brigade:

Former director: He Baojun

Director: Zhao Jiang

Assistant directors: Yin Hongsong, Bai Zhongmin

Guards: Liu Guoxi, Zhou Hongen, Zheng Gang, Hu Deming, Guo Jiangshuang, Wang Chengrui (since transferred to Beijing City labor camp bureau), Zhang Mengkai, Yang Rongjin, Xu Cheng, Yang Qingsong

Other perpetrators: Xu Minghua, Fang Shifeng, Zhang Huilai, Song Qiao, Ling Yan, Yin Guozhe, Chen Weiguo, Gao Xiang, He Yi, Wei Hongtao

(Clearwisdom.net) On December 24, 2000, in Tiananmen Square, two policemen abducted Falun Dafa practitioner Yang Lijuan to the Beijing Qianmen Police Station. She was then taken to the Huairou Detention Center in a suburb of Beijing. It was winter, and the temperature inside the room was almost the same as outside. A policewoman from the Huairou Detention Center forced Yang Lijuan to take off her clothes, leaving her in only her underwear to sit on the concrete floor by the wall. The policewoman felt cold enough to wear an overcoat, holding a cup of hot water in one hand and an electric baton in the other. As she was drinking, she used the electric baton to shock Yang Lijuan's sensitive areas such as the arches of her feet, her palms, belly, neck, and face.

Yang Lijuan demonstrates the torture she suffered

Yang Lijuan, 54 years old, is a kindergarten teacher. She felt fortunate to learn Falun Dafa in November of 1995. She benefited from the practice both mentally and physically. She wanted to say something good about Falun Dafa and rectify the unjust persecution, so she went to Tiananmen Square on December 24, 2000. She unfurled a banner with the words "Zhen-Shan-Ren (Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance) is Good" on it, and loudly shouted "Falun Dafa is good!" The policemen in Tiananmen Square beat Yang Lijuan to the ground twice and took her to the Beijing Qianmen Police Station. She was then transferred to the Huairou Detention Center in a suburb of Beijing.

In the Huairou Detention Center, the police searched Yang Lijuan illegally and even grabbed her sanitary napkins. There was no quilt in the cell at the detention center, so she had to sleep on the concrete floor. The first night, police opened the barred door, and poured a barrel of water onto the floor. This was done to twelve practitioners that night.

Since she refused to give information on other practitioners, the police kicked Yang Lijuan and interrogated her twice. Yang Lijuan refused to tell them her name or sign her name, and she went on hunger strike to protest her illegal detention. On the third day of her detention, the police interrogated her a third time.

One policewoman (name unknown) seemed to care for Yang Lijuan at the beginning in order to trick her into telling her name and address. After she failed, the policewoman became angry and shocked Yang Lijuan with an electric baton.

On the fourth day of her detention, Yang Lijuan's blood pressure became elevated, and she was released after being force fed on the fifth day. She was charged 60 yuan even though she didn't have a meal during her time at the detention center.

(Clearwisdom.net) In early June 2002, I was sent to the Police Hospital of Beijing. It is a cruel place, in which Falun Gong practitioners are severely persecuted. The hospital put all of the practitioners in the Tenth Ward, which had no windows. The lights were left on 24 hours a day. There was no air conditioning. A bad odor was in the air all the time. In the winter it was cold and wet. In the summer it was hot and damp. There was a big black metal gate at the end of the hallway. Beside the gate there were two police guards with guns. The bathroom was located right beside the gate. There was a police officer on each side of the entrance to the bathroom, and each was holding a gun.

I was held in the same cell as Ms. Yuan Lin. While I was there, Yuan Lin maintained a hunger strike for over three months and was reduced to skin and bones. The policemen force-fed her every day and frequently handcuffed her to the bed. Every time she was handcuffed to the bed, she was left there for at least a few days and was not even allowed to get up to use the bathroom. The plastic feeding tube was left in place for many days at a time, and it would turn black.

In the cell we shared, Ms. Yuan told me some of her experiences. She said she had been sent to the police hospital from the 7th division of the Beijing Police Department. The 7th division is where the most steadfast Falun Gong practitioners were held. She also told me it had taken over seven months to process her case. During those seven months, the police tortured her in every way imaginable. They tried to get some information from her but failed. In the Shijingshan Detention Center, the police ordered four male detainees to torture her. The four detainees tied her to a wooden board and carried her to a big hall. They force-fed her while one person held her head and another stomped on her stomach. They used a big spoon to pry her teeth apart and jumped on her stomach every time they fed her a spoonful of food. The police then ordered the detainees to stamp on her stomach with more and more force. The torture lasted about two hours. Eventually Ms. Yuan lost consciousness and didn't know when or how she got back to the cell.

Later she was sent to a brainwashing center in Beijing. They ordered three groups, consisting of three persons in each group, to barrage her 24 hours a day with pressure and propaganda. They tried to force her to break from Teacher and Falun Dafa, but she refused. Then the guards took turns hitting her face with the book Zhuan Falun. Her face turned black with bruises, her eyes were swollen shut, and she lost the hearing in both ears. She was pushed to the floor, and the guards took turns riding on her back and jabbing her chest and stomach with their elbows for three days and nights nonstop. They pummeled her so hard and for so long that the skin on their arms and elbows was scraped raw. Only then did they stop hitting her. The torture left Ms. Yuan in serious condition, and she had to be taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.

The police guards from the 7th division frequently came to the hospital to try to force her to write the so-called Repentance Statement (1). One day a few guards went to the hospital and brought Ms. Yuan back to the 7th division. I was worried that they would torture her again. One week later Ms. Yuan was sent back to the hospital and again put in my cell, but her life was in grave danger, as the police had tortured her until she was almost dead. They still believed that they could transform her. When the guards sent her to the emergency room, they started looking for her home and contact information so that her relatives could prepare for her funeral. I was very worried too, but Ms. Yuan didn't die. She gradually recovered under Teacher Li's protection.

A few days later I was sentenced to one year of forced labor and sent back to the forced labor camp.

(1) Repentance Statement -- In this statement the practitioner is forced to admit remorse for practicing Falun Gong, promise to give up Falun Gong, and to never again associate with other practitioners or go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong.

(Clearwisdom.net) Zhu Meijuan was 38 years old when she died as a result of the persecution. She was a worker in the Boiler Metal Configuration Factory of Qingdao City and started to practice Falun Gong in spring 1996 at Erlihe, Jiaozhou City. She was fired from her job for practicing Falun Gong. In October 2000, she went to Beijing to appeal and validate Dafa. In December 2001, her husband Zhou Zhaohua was arrested.

Over the past few years, she has been dedicated in clarifying the truth to people. As she handed out truth-clarifying materials, she was followed by plainclothes policemen. At 5:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 14, 2004, five people from the Jiaozhou City Police Department and the "610 Office" shouted and smashed the door, attempting to forcibly bring Zhu to the police department for interrogation. She clarified the truth to them, but they kept at the door for over two hours and attempted to arrest her. Zhu sought a way to escape, so she climbed down the drainpipe from the sixth floor. When she reached the third floor, the pipe broke, and Zhu fell to her death.

Her husband, Zhou Zhaohua, is 40 year old. He was once a captain in the military. In 1998 he was transferred to civilian work and stayed in Yanghe Town Government of Jiaozhou City as an assistant engineer. In spring 1996, he started to practice Falun Gong at Erlihe of Jiaozhou City. At the end of December 2001, he was abducted while at work for handing out truth-clarifying materials. (His family was unaware of this at that time.)

Below is an account from Li Junfang, Zhu Meijuan's mother:

On the afternoon of December 24, 2001, five people from Jiaozhou City Police Department and the "610 Office" violently smashed our door and broke into our unit (West side of the sixth floor, Unit 3, Building No. 10, Shizhong Residential Area, Jiaozhou City). They illegally searched and took away by force over 30 Falun Gong books and dozens of copies of materials downloaded from Clearwisdom.net. Later, Zhou Zhaohua was illegally sentenced to four years by a Jiaozhou City Court. Since he was abducted, we've never seen him. The police department personnel came many times attempting to extort money from us, but we did not have money. Half a year later, a prisoner who had been released told us that Zhou was in Weibei Prison. We requested many times to visit him but were never allowed.

Address of Weibei Prison: 2-7, PO Box 61, Hanting District, Weifang City, post code: 261109.

Child: Zhou Yingjie, female, 12 years old, young practitioner, now lives with her grandmother Li Junfang.

Residential address: West side of the second floor, Unit 1, 36 Hangzhou Road, Jiaozhou City, Shandong Province (there is no telephone at home). She is now studying in Class 10, Year 7 of Zhenhua Middle School, Jiaozhou City. Address of the school: 30 Hangzhou Road, Tel: 86-532-7250840

Foster-mother: Li Junfang, 63 years old, mother of Zhu Meijuan. She started to practice in August 1995, and now they depend on each other. Li Junfang is a retiree.

House passes resolution calling for investigation of Chinese consular officials committing illegal acts against U.S. citizens and residents who practice Falun Gong, and U.S. elected officials supportive of Falun Gong.

NEWS-- Sep. 09, 2004 Falun Dafa Information Center, www.faluninfo.net

WASHINGTON DC (FDI) -- The 108^th House of Representatives unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 304 Monday (full text), condemning the Chinese government's oppression of Falun Gong in both the United States and China.

"This resolution," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen who introduced it, "focuses on reports and investigations on the use of fear, intimidation and oppression, often connected with violence, right here within the borders of our own country."

Citing cases in which Chinese-government agents targeted U.S. officials, residents, and citizens from New York to San Francisco, the resolution calls upon the regime to immediately stop interfering with basic freedoms in America. It states that the P.R.C. government should "cease using the diplomatic missions in the United States to spread falsehoods about the nature of Falun Gong."

The resolution also calls for the release of prisoners of conscience and an end to the persecution of Falun Gong in China. It challenges the Chinese government to "demonstrate its willingness to abide by international standards of freedom of belief, expression, and association."

75 members of Congress co-sponsored the resolution and six representatives stood up to speak on the House floor Monday night (floor debate).

"We will not sit idly by as you infringe upon the rights of our citizens and residents who practice Falun Gong," Ros-Lehtinen said. "Any interference in the exercise of free speech inside our land will result in the expulsion of those who engage in such actions."

Resolution co-author, California Rep. Lynn Woolsey, added, "China's diplomats...have been actively involved in harassing and persecuting Falun Gong practitioners here in the United States." She also referred to U.S. citizen Charles Lee, saying, "he has been jailed and tortured in a Chinese prison since his abduction" in China on January 22, 2003.

The last comments before the vote came from New Jersey Representative Frank Pallone. "Falun Gong is an inherently peaceful, apolitical movement that stresses nonviolence and meditation," he said. "I remain committed to the task of making Falun Gong safe to practice in any country in the world."

Resolution 304 concludes that the U.S. Attorney General should investigate reports of Chinese consular officials in the U.S. committing illegal acts against Falun Gong or local elected officials and decide on appropriate measures. It further resolves that local officials should report incidents of harassment or pressure by P.R.C. agents to Congress, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of State.

# # #

NEWS -- Oct. 06, 2004

Falun Dafa Information Center, 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." Practiced in over 60 countries worldwide, Falun Gong has roots in traditional Chinese culture. With government estimates of as many as 100 million practicing Falun Gong in China, China's then-Communist leader, Jiang Zemin, outlawed the peaceful practice in July 1999 (report). Since that time, Jiang's regime has intensified its propaganda campaign to turn public opinion against the practice while imprisoning, torturing and even murdering those who practice it. The Falun Dafa Information Center has verified details of 1,061 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, which means the current actual death toll is likely over 5,000. 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 917-757-9780, Levi Browde 914-720-0963, Erping Zhang 646-533-6147, or Christina Chai 917-386-5068. Email: contact@faluninfo.net, Website: http://www.faluninfo.net/

Source http://faluninfo.net/displayAnArticle.asp?ID=8962

(Clearwisdom.net) United Nations representatives assembled in New York City for meetings in late September. The "2004 World Leadership Forum" conducted by the "Foreign Policy Association" launched a three-day conference, attended by several hundred strategy experts. Also in attendance were foreign ministers and diplomats from several countries. Falun Gong practitioners participated with inquiries and received support and applause from the audience.

This year, among the many meeting topics, the one that received the most attention was "The Rise of China," held on the morning of September 22. There were no empty seats in the session. The introduction was given by moderator and speaker, Ambassador Julia Zhang Bloch, former US ambassador to Nepal and President of the U.S. China Education Trust. Other speakers were: Ambassador James Sasser, former US ambassador to the People's Republic of China; Dr. Yasheng Huang, Associate Professor of International Management, MIT Sloan School of Management; Adam Segal, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, and the Honorable Mark Steven Kirk, U.S. House of Representatives.

After all the speakers finished, the panel was open for questions. Attorney Theresa Chu, a Falun Gong practitioner from Taiwan and lead attorney for the legal team for the "Global Public Trial of Jiang Zemin" effort, posed the question, "In 2004, the US State Department's International Religious Freedom Annual Report stated that China is still considered a problem country. On the street corners of New York, we can see many people protesting Jiang Zemin's persecution of seventy million Falun Gong practitioners during the past five years. At present, Jiang is named in lawsuits in nine countries. I sincerely ask the highly educated Chinese representatives who spoke today and all the China experts to talk to us about how to improve the human rights situation in China and give constructive suggestions."

The inquiry received supportive applause from the audience. After a period of silence, the former ambassador to China repeated his statement that we must exert constant pressure on China. Afterwards, Dr. Yasheng Huang said that he'd like to express his opinion about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. He said that the decision was made by the government leader who was in power at that time; he personally thinks that the decision was a very stupid one, and that it has been very unproductive. He went a step further to say that he knows some human rights workers are helping Falun Gong to initiate more lawsuits and he felt that this was very encouraging.

During the two-day long discussions, Falun Gong practitioner and attorney Theresa Chu had the opportunity to brief Spain's Foreign Minister, H.E. Miguel Angel Moratinos Cuyaube, about the global lawsuit against Jiang, as well as the pending lawsuit against Jiang in Spain. The Foreign Minister indicated that he would pay attention to this matter. Furthermore, Attorney Chu discussed the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners with the United Nations European Committee Representatives. The lead European representative stated that he had seen the Falun Gong practitioners' anti-torture exhibits on New York's street corners and had already learned about the lawsuits against Jiang. He accepted a special edition of the report on the Global Lawsuits against Jiang from Attorney Chu .

Many conference attendees asked Attorney Chu about the persecution of Falun Gong after the meeting was over. After learning about the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, the conference participants were very angry and saddened, and expressed their respect for the human rights work done by Falun Gong practitioners outside of mainland China. They also expressed their wishes that the persecution will come to an end quickly. When asked about whether the new leader would end the persecution, there was a feeling of uncertainty. Attorney Chu said, "Regardless of how the new leader looks at the issue, the legal team is certain that the trials to bring Jiang to justice will continue. He and those government officials who supported him in committing such a monstrous crime must be held responsible for their acts of genocide."

(Clearwisdom.net) "Uncompromising Courage," a fine art exhibit, was held in a peaceful atmosphere in Seoul from Oct. 4 to Oct. 7, 2004.

Opening ceremony of the Fine Art Exhibit

This art exhibit was sponsored by the Falun Dafa Association of Korea. Congressman Shin Hak-yong, Director of the Cultural Academy, and others attended the opening ceremony. The Uri Party Congressmen sent greetings and expressed regret for not being able to attend the ceremony.

Congressman Shin, who was an active supporter of legislation against genocide in September, gave a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony. He praised Falun Gong for being key to solving social problems caused by deteriorating morality. He hoped this art exhibit would allow more people to know Falun Gong.

At an interview with NTDTV after the ceremony, Congressman Shin said he could not understand why Jiang Zemin would have persecuted such a great cultivation method. The director of Amnesty International in Korea, Pu Nanshi, said he had known about the bad human rights situation in China before, but he hadn't realized the persecution was so bad until he visited this art exhibit. As a human rights organization, Amnesty International has great concerns on this issue and is pursuing all possible ways to stop the persecution.

Many people visited the art exhibit. They were amazed to see the two-hundred-square-meter exhibit hall had been filled with such unique and outstanding artwork. They asked about cultivation in Falun Dafa and were reluctant to leave the exhibit.

Upon the closing of the exhibit in Seoul, the art exhibit will continue its tour to Daejon, Gwangju and Busan.

(Clearwisdom.net) Since practitioner Li Liang, brother of Sydney practitioner Li Ying, was illegally abducted in Tianjin on October 2, 2004, Australian practitioners have launched an urgent rescue campaign. At around noon of October 5, Sydney practitioners held a press conference in front of the Chinese Consulate to call for Mr. Li's immediate release.

Practitioners displayed a banner which read "Release Australian family member Li Liang"

Spokesman for Sydney's Falun Gong group, David, gave a speech during the conference, the first lady to the left is Li Ying

Li Ying narrated the details of her brother's abduction. On October 2, 2004, the second day of China's National Holiday period, policeman Geng Tao of Hedong District Police Sub-Division of Tianjin City came to Li Liang's home at about 3:00 p.m. As Li Liang went to work early in the morning, only his elderly parents were at home. The policeman casually chatted with the two seniors, not giving any sign of trouble. At about 4 p.m., two policemen, who claimed to be from Hebei District Police Department, came in to their house. One was named Song Xiaosheng, and the other Liu Guangtao. They started to search the house. Close behind them were Chen Qing from the Hedong Police Sub-Division, Liu Yuying from the local Residential Committee and another staff member. They searched the house for an hour, but they only found 3 copies of Zhuan Falun (the main book of Falun Gong), one address book and some other Falun Gong materials. As an eyewitness, Liu Yuying of the residential committee signed her name on a Tianjin official Receipt of Withholding Items, and Liu Guangtao and Songxiaosheng of the Security Brigade signed as officers handling the case. Li Liang's parents didn't realized that Li Liang was arrested again until the officers came to search their home. Though the exact time of Li Liang's abduction was not clear, they speculated that he was arrested before 3pm of October 2.

Tianjin City Public Security Bureau's official receipt of withholding items

Since the morning of October 3, Sydney practitioners started to call persons related to this case. A policeman on duty at Hedong District public security sub-division confirmed that Geng Tao was on duty on October 2. A police on duty at Hebei District public security sub-division also confirmed that Liu Guangtao and Song Xiaosheng belong to their division. However, after receiving a lot of phone calls from practitioners, they started to deny the fact by claiming that the practitioners had reached the wrong number, and said that there was nobody by the name of Liu Guangtao or Song Xiaosheng.

According to Chinese law, within 24 hours of someone's arrest, the family should be notified. However, by the afternoon of October 3 (more than 24 hours after Li Liang was abducted), police still hadn't informed Li Liang's parents of his whereabouts. In the afternoon of October 3, a policeman on duty at the Tianjin City Public Security Bureau said: "We don't need to inform family members given special circumstances!" However, when questioned by Li Ying, the officer was speechless. Ying told them: "What is defined as special circumstances? You arrest and beat up Falun Gong practitioners at will, and you're just using that as an excuse!"

The local residential committee threatened Li Liang's mother not to spread "false news" to organizations and individuals outside of China. Li's mother said: "I don't know any organizations. My daughter is in Australia, and she cares for the security of her brother. I have to tell her the whereabouts of her brother." The officer then said: "If you spread 'fake news,' you will be punished." Li's mother said: "All I have told others is the truth."

At about 4:00 p.m. on October 3, Li Liang's mother went to Wanghailou Police Station of Hebei District to ask for Li Liang's whereabouts. Policemen Liu Shiwei and Yang Jian said that they were just about to send her the warrant of custody. Though Li Liang was arrested before 3:00 p.m. on October 2, the two policemen argued that the arrest only started at 10:55 a.m. on October 3. They also forced his mother to sign it, threatening that she would not be allowed to bring clothes to Li Liang during the cold weather.

The warrant of custody, which stated that the detention started on October 3, while Li was actually arrested one day earlier

From August 29 to September 29 of 2000, Li Liang's mother was detained for practicing Falun Gong. When she was released, a document claimed that she was only detained for 15 days, and the detention center ordered her to write her "understanding" after detention. She wrote: "What happened to the other 16 days of detention? What should I write about those 16 days? What should I tell others?" The original copy of this "understanding" was confiscated by Liu Guangtao and Song Xiaosheng during the home search on October 2.

On October 4, Li Liang's mother went to the detention center where he was detained with clothes to give to him. However, she was not allowed to see her son.

Sydney practitioners have been continually calling the Tianjin police to clarify the truth about Falun Gong. A practitioner in her 70s called the Tianjin City Public Security Bureau and told the person who answered the phone about Falun Gong and the persecution. That person could only manage to say, "The impact of Falun Gong is not tangible". The practitioner said: "Falun Gong's impact is very tangible. I had to take all kinds of medicine to control my diseases and now I don't need any of them. Isn't this is a concrete and real benefit of practicing Falun Gong? " In the end, the policeman asked: "How should I address you, sister or aunty? Do you have any other specific requests?" The practitioner said: "First, release Li Liang! Release all of the Falun Gong practitioners! Please remember, you should treat Falun Gong well..."

Staff members of Li Liang's local residential committee (Tel: 022-26418379) were quite rude. As soon as practitioners called them, they started to curse Falun Gong. By October 4, however, as more practitioners had called, they were much more restrained and repeatedly said: "This is a residential number." A practitioner told the person who answered the phone: "It is the predestined relationship between us that made you answered my call, and I would like tell you about Falun Gong, please tell this to your local residential community committee."

A person who worked in the police system was surprised after she was told about Li Liang's case. After a practitioner clarified the truth to her, the officer said: "I understand, thank you. I will help you tell more people!"

Li Liang's abduction was only one of the illegal arrests of practitioners during China's National Day Holiday Period.

On September 29, 2004, Wang Tongchun, relative of a Japanese practitioner, was going to go to Beijing with 6 fellow practitioners, and they were arrested even before they left their hometown, Songyuan City of Jilin province. They were arrested by the National Security brigade of Songyuan Oilfield public security sub-division and beaten up. They were then detained at Youshan Detention Center of Songyuan City, and Wang Tongchun's house was searched.

At around noon of October 1, China's National Day, police once again brutally attacked a practitioner in Tiananmen Square, and a lot of tourists witnessed the attack.

Li Ying narrated the details of her brother's detention

A western practitioner talked about a practitioner being attacked in Tiananmen Square on October 1, 2004

Address of where Li Liang is detained:

Hebei District Police Department Detention Center, Tianjin City

Responsible policemen: Song Xiaosheng and Liu Guangtao from National Security Brigade of Hebei District Police Department, Tianjin City.

Telephone of the Detention Center:

Tel: +86 22 26353788

Hebei District Police Department: +86 22 2635 2540

Hedong District Police Department: +86 22 2421 1876

(Clearwisdom.net) On September 30th, Dutch Falun Gong practitioners began a tour through all the major cities in the southern provinces of Holland to raise awareness of the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong in China. The first stop was Maastricht, where we held our activity at a square called 'Square 1992', coincidentally named after the same year that Falun Gong was introduced to the public.

The practitioners used pictorial banners to display the history of Falun Gong and the atrocities that are taking place in China. Many people who passed by expressed their support and commented that the appeal was a valuable and necessary event. The local TV station sent two reporters, who interviewed one of the practitioners. The event was covered the same day in the local news and the event was reported in a local newspaper as follows:

Maastricht -- Tomorrow the Dutch Falun Gong Association will hold an activity on Square 1992. The activity is being held to let the public know more about Falun Gong. The focus is on the persecution of the practitioners of this spiritual teaching in the country of origin, China. Maastricht is the first city that the practitioners will visit during their tour through the Netherlands.

The self-cultivation system of Falun Gong is a way of life in which truthfulness, compassion and forbearance stand central; it finds its origin in traditional Chinese culture and leans heavily on raising one's morality. Since the re-introduction of its teaching, the movement has [attracted] between 70 and 100 million adherents worldwide. In 1999 the Chinese government adopted a law forbidding [Falun Gong] and acted relentlessly against the movement in its own country. [Practitioners] are tortured and imprisoned in large numbers.

The activity is from 13:00 -- 18:00 on Square 1992.

Source http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200410/22331.html

(Clearwisdom.net) After the success of the Falun Gong practitioners' anti-torture exhibition this summer in the 13th district of Paris, where lots of Chinese people live, a group of French practitioners held an anti-torture exhibition once again in Chinatown of Paris--Belleville. Besides telling passers-by about the five-year campaign of genocide that Jiang Zemin has overseen against the 100 million Falun Gong practitioners in China, through the exhibition, practitioners vividly re-enacted the torture methods used by the Jiang regime against practitioners.

The Jiang regime's inhumane persecution of Falun Gong and the practitioners' dignified perseverance in the face of adversity deeply touched a French photographer, Mr. Bernard. He took a large number of photos of the exhibition and allowed practitioners to use them for free. He also encouraged practitioners to carry on the effort of raising public awareness of the persecution.

Below are some of the photographs Mr. Bernard took that day.

Source http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200410/22350.html

(Clearwisdom.net) On the week of the 27th of September 2004, the Labour Party held its annual conference, which lasted for several days. On the final two days of the conference, a small anti-torture exhibition was held by a few Falun Gong practitioners just outside the entrance to the conference hall. The purpose of this activity was to use the opportunity to inform the delegates, public and media about the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China, which has already claimed at least 1059 innocent lives.

Although it used just a single torture exhibit, with a practitioner imprisoned in a small cage, the event was effective in drawing the attention of passers-by and giving a clear message about the way Falun Gong practitioners are tortured in China. Over the two days, in addition to handing out many leaflets, over 600 people signed a petition calling for the chief instigator of the persecution against Falun Gong, former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, to be brought to justice in a court of law. Many people stopped to talk with practitioners and to find out more about the situation, or to take their time in reading through the display boards, which gave a shocking insight into the torture and abuse against Falun Gong practitioners in China.

One delegate, a councilor from Shropshire, returned to the display with a colleague, whom he encouraged to sign the petition. The barbaric nature of one torture method had stuck so strongly in his mind that he asked the practitioners to describe it to his colleague. Upon listening to the description of how bamboo sticks are driven under the nails into the tips of the fingers, they both shook their heads in disbelief and said that such forms of torture were draconian. People all over the world are now coming to see the truly evil nature of this campaign of genocide against people who merely want to practice meditative exercises and live their lives by following the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance.

Source: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200410/22354.html

(Clearwisdom.net) Practitioners, including myself, have all missed many opportunities to clarify the truth due to concerns over safety, lack of an appropriate introduction for the topic, the fear that people may not accept it, or feeling too embarrassed to bring up the topic of Falun Gong. This might have caused people with predestined relationships to miss the opportunity to be saved. I once asked myself, "Why do I need to try so hard to find an appropriate introduction for 'truth clarification'?" After carefully thinking it over, I find that they are but "human attachments" and concepts formed in the human world (also a form of sentiment). Master says in "Environment" in Essentials for Further Advancement:

This is cultivation. Do we also feel "embarrassed" when clarifying the truth to people? Don't we also need to break through this obstacle and get rid of the attachment and give "clarifying the truth" its proper standing?

In "Digging Out the Roots" in Essentials for Further Advancement Master also says:

Let us ask ourselves: are we still keeping the "human notions" when clarifying the truth? Using an example at the level of ordinary people, if you know for sure that your loved one's life is in danger if he continues on the way he is going or that he will definitely lose his life, would you still be "too embarrassed" to stop him? Would you still be aloof and stay at home? Would you watch him lose his life out of concern for your own safety? If that is the case, are you qualified to be a human being, let alone a Dafa practitioner? Lately I have disregarded all the concerns I had in the past, and whenever I have a chance, I openly clarify the truth to strangers or friends, including those who have enlightened on an evil path. (Of course you need to exercise discretion. You can't just say everything to anyone you come across.) The outcome has been good. Obviously it is not that people do not accept the truth, but that most of the time we set up a wall to block ourselves. On the surface it appears as if we do not have enough confidence, but actually it is due to a lack of righteous faith in the Fa and not taking clarifying the truth as seriously as saving sentient beings.

There have been practitioners who said that certain places were not safe because the police were patrolling, etc. It is not wrong to remind fellow practitioners to pay attention to safety, but we need not shun these places just because "they are not safe." The result will be that people from there will not be saved. Didn't Master say not to omit "a single area where there are people?" Do we have to take into account people's environment when saving them? Perhaps these places are indeed evil and treacherous, but aren't these the very places where we need to clarify the truth and break through the evil? We can use different methods, as what we have is wisdom. Actually things at the ordinary people's level may be effective for the everyday people, but they do not have a great deal of effect on practitioners. We all know that practitioners are not moved by superficial phenomena in the human world, and what's more important are the factors behind those phenomena. Some of them are "tests" by the old forces targeting our attachments. If you do not have fear and totally reject it with righteous thoughts, it will not have any effect. You would still be safe, however treacherous those places might be, and fellow practitioners have provided numerous such examples. If your thoughts are not righteous, with too many human attachments and concerns, you might not be safe even in places you think are quite safe. Do not use too much of the human way of thinking to calculate, weigh, and decide what practitioners during Fa rectification should do. When you think that "this place is not safe," or, "I can't do anything here," or, "this person might not have a predestined relationship," or, "this person could not be saved," you are creating obstacles for yourself. How can the righteous gods help you if you do not have righteous beliefs and wishes? Of course we need to avoid the other extreme - "I have strong righteous thoughts and I am not afraid of anything," and disregarding planning or being rational, or always thinking, "With Master's protection everything will be okay."

In short, we need to totally let go of human attachments and comprehensively save sentient beings. There isn't be much time left for us to hesitate. We should have faith in the power of Dafa.

My understanding is limited by my level. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.

(Clearwisdom.net) Many fellow practitioners in Beijing are drawing wisdom from past experiences and clarifying the truth to Beijing's people face to face.

Beijing is the political center of China. People in Beijing are sensitive to social issues and are notably active in their participation compared with the rest of the country. When we speak with them, many people listen intently. When we talk to them face to face, we can see a clear response and react accordingly. In this way, we can clarify the truth more solidly and deeply, and the effect is obvious. Moreover, it does not leave any physical "evidence" that could be used for further persecution. As long as we, ourselves, have righteous hearts, and do things naturally, even when we talk directly to police, they will agree with us and condemn the senseless persecution.

Some fellow practitioners work together in pairs and clarify the truth wherever they go. On a bus, they chat like friends. They speak from a third party point of view, clarifying the truth by talking about the persecution their friends and neighbors have suffered, and then proceed to add in other information about the domestic and international situation, topics which the Beijing people can relate to. Quite often, the people in the front rows turn around to listen while the people in the back crane their necks to listen.

Some fellow practitioners were persecuted and had their families torn apart, so they took this as a reason to consult attorneys on the matter. Moreover, every time they visited a different law office, they told the attorneys in detail the incidents that destroyed their families and asked for their support. Additionally, they talked about the persecution they endured in the detention centers and labor camps. When fellow practitioners work together, they usually talk about the persecution others have suffered and their own sympathy for the atrocities that they have seen, as well as the help they have given to other practitioners. Many attorneys' eyes brimmed with tears after they heard the practitioners' words. They acknowledged that the police beating people who have done nothing more than clarify the truth about Falun Gong are violating the law. Approaching those in the legal profession in this manner has been very effective in clarifying the truth.

There are many more examples of the different ways and the effects of clarifying the truth face to face in Beijing. Of course, the practitioners have such far-reaching influence because they have cultivated well. Not everyone can clarify the truth to so many people at once. As long as you meet someone, it is enough that you just clarify the truth to him. Even during a short encounter, it is a chance for practitioners to tell the other person about the persecution and Falun Gong based on the audience's reactions. Many people showed sympathy for the practitioners suffering and outrage towards the persecution.

Of course, what we share with practitioners is just our own experience. Other fellow practitioners also have their own valuable experiences. We can bring about bigger improvements by sharing our insights together.

(Clearwisdom.net) Since I was teenager, I suffered from all sorts of chronic illnesses. Good friends and colleagues all knew that I was a pill-popper. After I married, my husband refused to allow me to do heavy work, although I was able to go to work normally and perform my household chores. One night when I was thirty-eight years old, I suddenly fell ill. The left side of my body from head to toe felt painful and numb. My left thigh felt as if there was an icicle instead of a bone freezing inside it. The pain was very difficult to bear. I was kept awake the whole night. The specialist in the city used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and other instruments to check my condition and found that there was a deficiency of bone mineral density in my vertebral column, which had become deformed, as well as spondylosis (bone proliferations in the spinal column) from my cervical vertebra to my ischium (from my neck to my hips). The muscles from my head and down my leg on the left side had atrophied. I felt very sluggish. My cerebellum and my left pupil were both affected. The diagnosis was "Encephalomyeloneuropathy," a disease involving the brain, spinal cord and nerves. The doctor told me, "This disease has been with you for at least twenty years, otherwise it could not have developed to this stage. This is a very rare disease and little is known about it. It will cause the muscles to continue to shrivel. There is no cure." The only way to preserve my life was to consume the spinal cord of a deer and trace elements. It was like a lightning bolt out of the blue! I could not do any household chores, and after lying down for a long time, the pain on the left side of my body was unbearable. I could not even sit still for half an hour. It made me feel that I would rather be dead than alive, and I lost all hope. My husband and daughter became very anxious. My good friends and colleagues sympathized with me. Where could I find the spinal cord of a deer? Failing that, I had to make do with the spinal cords of cattle and pigs just to get some relief from the pain.

In 1996, a colleague's mother who was a Falun Gong practitioner presented me with a copy of Zhuan Falun and advised me, "Since you are not able to perform the Falun Gong exercises now, just read the book first." At that time I was confined to bed and I managed to read the whole book all at once. Afterwards I kept reading the book. In the process, I found that my brain was no longer numb, and my left leg was no longer painful. After another two months, I could feel warmth from the bone in my left leg radiating outwards. Then I went to the Falun Gong practice site to learn the exercises. I also practiced the exercises at home. In less than six months, my curved spine became perfectly straight, the proliferations from my vertebrae disappeared and not only did my atrophying muscles stop shriveling, they became normal again. During this period, my thyroid gland that had been swollen for many years completely recovered, while the many chronic illnesses I had also disappeared. In the process of practicing the exercises, I vomited and had dark colored sputum.

I can now do all my household chores and need only five to six hours of sleep daily. I do not need to lie on the bed during the day and no longer feel tired. All those who know me think that it is a miracle. Those who had not seen me for some time thought I had passed away. In fact, I am not only alive, I am full of spirit and even increased my height, which is quite unbelievable! I tell everyone that it is Falun Dafa that brought this blessing to my family; it is Falun Dafa that changed my fate. Falun Dafa gave me a new lease on life.

This is my actual experience. I have written about it to let the people of the world know that Falun Gong is miraculous and great. It is because I truly know the greatness of Falun Dafa, the glory of "Zhen, Shan and Ren" (Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance) that I can shout from the bottom of my heart, "Falun Dafa is great! 'Zhen, Shan, Ren' is good!" I earnestly encourage the people of the world to quickly be aware of this! Distinguish between good and evil, treat Falun Dafa with benevolence, and you will have a wonderful future!

(Clearwisdom.net) Due a convenient situation at work, I clarified the facts of Falun Gong to one of my colleagues on many occasions. She came to understand the truth about the staged self-immolation incident, how Falun Gong can cure illness, etc. "Seeing you being so persistent in telling me about Falun Gong, I believe that it is good," she told me recently. "Your teacher must be very proud of you for your commitment. That's really nice. There were some people at my previous workplace who also practice Falun Gong. But I always found them a bit strange. I just didn't like to listen to them, and this had nothing to do with what they were trying to tell me. Unlike my old colleagues, you seem to be normal, and I think that's good. I enjoy listening to what you say."

I told her, "If you have a chance in the future to really understand everything in depth, you will know how good our Teacher is, and how much he has done for us. Compared to what he has given us, what I have done is very little. It is not that I want you to believe in me, I just want you to know that Falun Dafa is good. We all have benefited from it."

"About those Falun Gong practitioners from your previous workplace," I continued, "Maybe they were just being a little too excited at the beginning of their practice. I think they were overly excited because they suddenly gained a new understanding of the purpose and value of life through practicing Falun Gong; they suddenly realized how good Falun Gong is. After a while, they will calm down. It's just like you've found a very precious thing and you are overcome by joy. When others do not realize how precious it is, they may think you are strange, right? Once they realize it is a precious thing, they will envy you and think you have gained insight and good fortune."

At this time when people are awakening to the truth, setting a high standard for our words and deeds when clarifying the facts is very important. I would like to share with everyone Master's words in "Teaching the Fa (1) at the 2002 Fa Conference in Boston:"

1. Fa: Law and principles; the teachings of Falun Dafa.

(Clearwisdom.net) A few months ago, I asked a five or six year old child whether he knew about Falun Gong. After thinking for a moment, he replied, "Illegal." I felt very sad even after I told him the true story about Falun Gong, because such a little child had been poisoned by the lies. But the child's words awakened me. Speaking for myself, though I have some knowledge about laws and have clarified the truth to many people, in facing ordinary people's questions, I always felt lacking when discussing from the legal perspective. I was not too clear on which laws the evil was violating, so the legal issues on which I could base my clarifying the truth were not clear either. I didn't have a clear understanding of the above issues until I read some articles on Clearwisdom about utilizing legal means to resist and expose the persecution. I realized that I had been unwilling to analyze and look into things from the legal perspective. I also thought that study of the law would be useless because the persecution would never follow the law. Also, I thought that in China these things concerned only Dafa practitioners. These notions had all encouraged a rampant arrogance in the evil. The evil therefore dared to "create the law" to persecute Dafa practitioners (Actually, the Ministry of Public Security's "six prohibitions" violates the constitution, and it is invalid). Many ordinary people who do not know the truth frequently state, "What you are doing is illegal." They regard our truth clarification as an "underground movement," our flyers as "anti-revolutionary flyers," our behavior as anti-government, and so on.

For these reasons, clarifying the truth from the legal perspective becomes especially important. We should help people understand that persecuting Falun Gong violates our nation's Constitution and the law. Jiang Zemin and his followers, who controlled all of the state's resources to persecute Falun Gong, are the ones breaking the law, and the line of attack during the persecution is illegal and criminal. Dafa practitioners' clarifying the truth is reasonable and legitimate. In order to achieve this, we need to get to know some basic legal knowledge. This will be advantageous to us in both utilizing legal means to protect our legitimate rights and interests, and in utilizing legal arguments to speak against the persecution and clarify the truth.

From the law of the universe, all the destructive behavior used against Dafa are the real crimes, and all must receive just consequences for their evil conduct. From the present Chinese law, we can also fully clarify the fact that the persecution of Dafa practitioners is illegal, and the practitioners' efforts to clarify the truth are legitimate. After enduring so much political upheaval and movements in the past few generations, Chinese people dare not even think about taking up legal means to punish the corrupt authorities who bring disaster to the nation and the people, because they are used to thinking that in China, "political power is above the law." However, in today's world, the persecution of Falun Gong by Jiang and his followers is by no means a fight among the people, but an arrogant persecution that totally disregards the law.

As Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples, we are involved in the creation of history, the creation of the future. We must get rid of all the old notions that the old forces imposed upon us. Since that the evil dares to employ legal forms to persecute Dafa, and moreover dares to blatantly violate Chinese law and the international agreements signed by China in its persecution of Dafa disciples, we must make full use of legal means to resist them.

Teacher also said,

If all Dafa disciples can understand the illegality of the Jiang group's persecution of Dafa, and proactively utilize the legal framework to clarify the truth and oppose the persecution, then the human world's law will definitely punish them. In addition, the main body of Dafa disciples is in Mainland China, and all overseas Dafa disciples' actions revolve around the main body. Once the Chinese realize from the legal aspects that the evil's persecution is in fact illegal, combined with the protest of the overseas disciples, a formidable field will be formed and thus push forward the process of bringing the evil to justice.

"...all that you are doing is for the sentient beings, and all that you are doing is creating the future." ("Congratulatory Statement to the New York Fa Conference")

I realize that utilizing the law to clarify the truth and bringing the guilty parties to trial is just one form of opposing the persecution and working toward the salvation of all sentient beings. We should not be attached to any particular form of everyday people. We just need to make good use of it, that's all.

I am not a legal professional. I hope that fellow practitioners can point out with compassion if I have made any errors in my understanding.

(Clearwisdom.net) Fa-rectification has currently reached the final stage. However, there are still some practitioners who are unclear about China's ruling party. They hope that some high-ranking officials in the Party will stand up to support Dafa and bring the persecution to an end. This is an improper thought.

In "Teaching the Fa at the 2002 Fa Conference in Philadelphia, U.S.A." Teacher said,

We have had too many such lessons. We all know that we cannot be attached to someone in the Party or some meeting in the Party. Then, isn't counting on some so-called "upright officials" in the Party also an attachment? Moreover, in "Explaining the Fa During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference," Teacher said,

So we can no longer hold any hope for it, let alone be attached to it.

In addition, the Party was a major tool used by Jiang to persecute Falun Gong, and now it is still being used. Therefore, this ruling party cannot evade its fate, either. In "Coercion Cannot Change People's Hearts" in Essentials for Further Advancement II, Teacher said,

The above is my personal understanding. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.

(Clearwisdom.net) I understand better the seriousness of cultivation and the urgency of saving sentient beings after studying Master's new article, "In Fa-Rectification Your Thoughts Have to be Righteous, Not Human." I should look inward, let go of all human thinking, and purify myself while taking the Fa as the teacher.

Master said,

From Master's Fa, I understand that how Falun Dafa disciples treat Falun Dafa, how they see Dafa, how they see every thing in human society, and how they place themselves correctly in relation to Dafa and human society is fundamental and very important. If one doesn't have a clear understanding about these issues, then it will become an issue of whether one can truly assimilate to Dafa, reach consummation, and return to one's original self.

Recently, when we heard the news about Jiang Zemin's stepping down, did we truly feel unmoved in our hearts without any attachment of pursuit, or did we have a slight heart of zealotry either consciously or unconsciously? Or did we have strong hope that Jiang would die soon, so we could ask the new leaders to "restore" the reputation of Falun Dafa quickly, and thus rely on ordinary human beings to end this persecution? This is also an opportunity to see how each one of us thinks, to check ourselves, and to purify ourselves.

From the Fa, we know that everything in human society today is here for the Fa. Everything is arranged the way it is. Jiang's stepping down and perishing are bound to be that way as a result of history. It is a natural manifestation in the progress of Fa-rectification. It is also predestined that the reputation of Dafa will be restored and that Dafa will win enormous respect in the human world. However, all these are not the final goals of our Dafa practitioners' validating the Fa, as the sacred law of the cosmos should not have been persecuted. In addition, no one can damage the Fa. It is the evil old forces that arranged this unprecedented calamity with the warped principles of the old universe. Their fundamental purpose was to keep their original things unchanged and was done out of selfishness. As a result, they created a huge obstacle for Master's Fa-rectification. Master not only does not acknowledge all of this, but also asks us to completely oppose it.

We must always be clear on this: It is Master who is rectifying the Fa. Dafa practitioners are assimilating to the Fa and validating the Fa. It is we who are the main characters in this historic play. Everything in the universe, including all the things of human beings, is the target of Master's rectification. The purpose of Master's spreading Dafa is to rectify the principles of the universe and to change the cosmos that deviated from the Fa to its original, best state. Meanwhile, we Dafa disciples who came to this human world can truly step out of humanness and become enlightened beings, and can achieve the true elevation of our beings and reach consummation.

Human beings are the lowest level beings in the universe. We are just here using this place temporarily to save the world's people, to realize our great vows, to assimilate to Dafa, and to return home with Master when Dafa is widely spread. How can we rely on ordinary people to take care of a matter as sacred as Fa-rectification? Isn't this the biggest disrespect to Master and Dafa? Where have we placed ourselves?

Master said in "Digging Out the Roots": "From what standpoint you view Dafa is fundamental..." If one tenaciously clings to human notions, viewing Dafa as something that just benefits human beings, to taking this persecution as humans behavior towards humans, hoping ordinary human beings will end the persecution, and forgetting the sacred mission of Dafa disciples' coming to the human world, then one has been sorely mistaken. The fundamental problem with these notions is that they are from the standpoint of human beings and are maintaining human things. It shows one's unrighteous understanding of what cultivation in Fa-rectification is and the essence of the persecution. Master warns us seriously in the article:

"Snap out of it! If even this, the most wicked ordeal ever, can't wake you up, then when the Fa rectifies the human world you will only be able to watch--watch with shock and regret, with angst and lamentful despair for having done so poorly--the magnificent sight of the Consummation of those Dafa disciples who truly cultivated. It's a case of reaping what you sow. I don't want to leave behind even one single Dafa disciple, but you have got to improve yourselves through real Fa-study and cultivation! With validating the Fa, you should save the world's people and do well the three things Dafa disciples are supposed to do. Be diligent! Cast aside your human attachments. Godhood isn't far away." (From "In Fa-Rectification Your Thoughts Have to be Righteous, Not Human.") Cultivation is a serious matter. It is impossible for one to step completely out of humanness if one does not change one's human notions and resolve these issues at their roots. Let's not create eternal regret for ourselves. Now the Fa-rectification is pushing forward rapidly. Few evils are left in other dimensions. The head of the evil stepping down is a sign of this. The environment for letting the world know what's going on and saving sentient beings is getting better and better. This also shows that the Fa-rectification has truly reached the final stage. The time left for saving sentient beings has become very short. We should not take it lightly and slack off at all. We must take it seriously and seize the limited time to clarify the truth comprehensively in order to save more people. At the same time, we should pay attention to cultivating our minds, purifying ourselves, and being diligent until the time when the Fa rectifies the human world.

(Clearwisdom.net) It is an ordinary small house in southern Taiwan. But it often has a group of people there, of different ages and different backgrounds and life experiences. However, the one thing common to all of them is that they are all happy and they cherish getting together to do the most valuable thing in their lives.

This is a group of Falun Gong practitioners. After practicing Falun Gong, they have greatly benefited both spiritually and physically. They view everything in their lives with the principle of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Tolerance," so they can calmly face any difficulties and conflicts. The owner of the house said that Falun Gong saved him from a fatal illness, changed his bad temper, and returned to him a happy life.

Group study

Clarifying the truth over the phone

Young practitioners explaining to the Mainland Chinese the truth about Falun Dafa

The children become friendly and well behaved after learning Falun Gong and they take the initiative to do things and think about other people first. Two young sisters were regular visitors to the group exercises and study. Seeing how their fellow young practitioners in the Mainland are expelled from school, forced into brainwashing classes or tortured, their parents jailed in forced labor camps and sometimes tortured to death, the girls are sad and want to let the Mainland Chinese people know how good Falun Dafa is.

This desire changed the simple book-reading meeting to a sacred project of clarifying the truth to China over the phone. All the practitioners agreed to use the phone to call the Chinese people, police stations, forced labor camps and related authorities.

At the beginning of the phone calls, they could feel the fear of the Chinese people. When the people in China heard the words "Falun Gong," many Chinese were frightened and hurried to say, "I am not practicing Falun Gong. I have no relation to it." Some repeated the lies they heard from Jiang's faction like, "You are a political group and are destroying the national security."

Once, a professor picked up the phone in China. At first, he angrily criticized Falun Gong, repeating the lies of Jiang's faction that Falun Gong was acting in collusion with other nations to defame the reputation of China. Our practitioner patiently listened to him and then shared with him the reports from the World Organization To Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong. He explained the suspicious points in the staged "self-immolation" incident and talked about how kindhearted people the world over are working to rescue persecuted Falun Gong practitioners. The ones who truly defame China are Jiang and his faction. In the end, the professor said calmly that there were many teachers and students practicing Falun Gong in his university. They were honest people with compassionate hearts. So the practitioners asked him to help the practitioners, and the professor agreed.

The phone calls to the Forced Labor Institute and "610 Offices" effectively deterred the evil. Many policemen and jail wardens were shocked to hear that their evil behavior was listed on the Internet in detail. They were afraid they would be prosecuted too, like those after the Cultural Revolution. Some asked, "What can I do?" Some said they would stop persecuting Falun Gong. When the practitioners called them again later, some of them had left the job.

The practitioners in Taiwan have benefited so much from practicing Falun Gong, so they spend their own money and time to help the Chinese people know the truth. Sometimes they encountered people who didn't understand Falun Gong and used bad words to them, but the practitioners knew that it was due to the lies from the state-controlled Chinese media. No matter how difficult the person on the other end of the line, they wanted to clarify the truth, explain the matter clearly and help that person feel their good intention. When they heard the people on the other end say, "Thank you, now I understand," our practitioners' hearts were filled with happiness.

In this group, practitioners understand that the only way to help the Chinese people know that Falun Gong is being slandered is to clarify the truth to them. When more and more people understand and stand up for righteousness, the Jiang faction's persecution will come crashing to an end.

(Clearwisdom.net)

As of date, there are 461 Falun Dafa practitioners imprisoned in the Heilongjiang Women's Prison. Since March 1, 2004, Liu Liping, Wang Hongjie, Ding Yu, Zhang Shuzhe, around seventeen Falun Dafa practitioners have been on a hunger strike to protest the unlawful persecution. Since then, they have been held in solitary confinement. They are cruelly force-fed three times daily. The policemen beat them inhumanly if they do not cooperate. They also suffer the torture "Carrying a Sword on the Back (1)." This torture method is used in the solitary compartment, where the practitioners cannot even stand upright. The practitioners are forced to remain naked. The policemen rip the clothes violently off the practitioners and burn them. Seventeen Falun Dafa practitioners have already been on a hunger strike for around six months, and their lives are in danger. They are imprisoned at Bajianqu in solitary confinement.

The administrators of Heilongjiang Province Women's Prison are Liu Ziqiang and Xu Longjiang

Falun Dafa Practitioner Shao Minggang is imprisoned in the Liaoning Province Jinzhou Correctional Center. He has been on hunger strike for a number of days, and he has become emaciated. He is taken to an emergency ward in Jinzhou Town Center Hospital for force-feeding from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. daily, by the number G00087 police patrol car. This has been happening for the last two weeks. Policemen use handcuffs to shackle him and another convict together in order to prevent him from running away.

Jinzhou Town Center Hospital: 86-416-2393152

Jinzhou Correctional Center

Director Gao's office: 86-416-2393026, 86-416-2326095

Director Jin's office: 86-416-2393108

Secretary Lu's office: 86-416-2393032

Starting on July 20, 2004, members of the "610 Office" in Jiangsu Province's Lianyungang City have arrested several Falun Dafa practitioners. Eight arrest warrants were signed and issued to the Lianyungang City Police Station. There was no legal reason for the arrest of practitioners. Not even their family members know where they are.

Falun Dafa practitioners who were arrested include Du Xiuju, Jiao Jiagan, Liu Shuye, Liu Henai, Zhong Chongbing and Yu Yao. The name of one of the arrested practitioners is unknown. They are all imprisoned in the Lianyungang City Detention Center.

These arrests were broadcasted by the city's radio station as important news.

One of the staff members of Anhui Province's Jiansan Company, Guo Aixin, is a Falun Gong practitioner. On the morning of September 10, ten people from the Wuhulu police station, Wuhulu street committee, and Jiansan Company arrested him. He has been on a huger strike and his life is in danger.

On September 10, the Secretary of Anhui Province Jiansan Company and about ten people from the Wuhulu street Committee and Wuhulu police station broke into Mr. Yu Fengju's house (the dorm of Jiansan Company at building #12, room # 205) without legal justification. These people did not identify themselves or provide legal documents. They forcibly took away Yu Fengju's wife Ms. Guo Aixin and detained her at the Baohe Communist Party School.

Yu Fengju and Guo Aixin did not break any law. During the violent abduction, they injured Yu Fengju's arm and locked his 75-year-old mother inside the room, ignoring the elderly lady's pleading.

Some of the responsible personnel include Zhen Zhong, Yao Bin, Yuan Shengqiu, Peng Zhoulin, Yu Mengsheng and district policeman Deng Xianhui.

Police from Nancheng Police Station arrested practitioner Yu Shujin and detained him in Shulan Detention Center. They interrogated him through torture, and Yu Shujin was severely injured during the process.

When Yu Shujin's family members went to the detention center to visit him, the police refused, fearing that their acts of torture would be exposed. Moreover, the police ransacked Yu Shujin's home and took away a lot of their valuables.

The police broke into another practitioner's home while that practitioner was not at home. The police turned the home upside down and even took away a gas tank. The value of the items confiscated totaled more than 10,000 yuan. When the practitioner came back home, the landlord told him that it was the police from the Shulan City National Security Team that did it.

Recently, the couple Ms. Zhou Huiying and Mr. Zhang Youquan (both are practitioners) from Beichen District of Tianjin City were reported to the police while showing support for Falun Gong in public.

In the afternoon of August 22, Falun Gong practitioner Wang Huaijin, who lived in Dongzhaitang village, Mentougou area, Beijing, was arrested when she distributed Falun Dafa truth clarifying materials in a mountainous area. The police then confiscated her house. Furthermore, they forced her to reveal the names of other Falun Gong practitioners. The same day, the police had Wang Huaijin, while wearing handcuffs, direct them to another practitioner's home. Soon after that, the police confiscated his home too. That Falun Gong practitioner was forced to become homeless.

The telephone number of the Mentougou police station in Beijing:

86-10-69851110 (office)

86-10-69842064 (public security area)

Policemen of Sanlidian Police Station in Gueilin city recently arrested Falun Dafa practitioner Chen Moru of Gueilin City, Guangxi Province. He is now imprisoned in Guangxi Jinjiling Detention Center.

Mr. Jiang Ruishan, 59 years old, lives in the dorm of China Bank, Qixian Village, Haidian Area, Beijing City. On the morning of May 23, 2004, policemen from the Haitien area Enjizhuang police station arrested him.

On June 30, 2004, he was sentenced to two and a half years of forced labor. His family was not informed about the verdict until August 1.

On August 19, 2004, the head of the Yuquan town police station Wang Yuehshan and policeman Di Yufei went to Falun Dafa Practitioner Li Chunxiao's home. They told him and his family to leave Yuquan Town. Li Chunxiao and his family refused, given that there was no legality to this request. Di Yufei threatened him and said, "If you do not leave, we will find gangsters to destroy your house." Li Chunxiao was forced to become homeless, leaving his wife and son behind. However, the police continued to harass his family.

In March of 2004, Falun Dafa practitioner He Jihming of Hefei Province was arrested after the police followed him while he rode a bicycle. The local "610 Office" handcuffed her on the "Dead Person's Bed" for several days and tortured her severely. They unlawfully sent her to Zhangfeng Detention Center for three months without legal evidence. She was then transferred to the First Prison in Hefei City. Now, the police has turned "evidence" they had fabricated over to the People's Court in Baohe Area, Hefei City. The court is going forward with the trial.

Phone number for the People's Court in Baohe Area, Hefei City: 86-551-5530514

Duan Guofu, the Principal of the Yuzhou City Second Senior High School in Henan Province, male, around 40 years old, aggressively participates in persecuting Falun Dafa practitioners.

Ms. Li Xiangzhen, a retired employee of the Yuzhou City Second Senior High, around 50 years old, is very kind-hearted. She has benefited physically and mentally by cultivating Falun Dafa. Her husband passed away some time ago, leave a son behind. Her son works in Xuchang City, and after her retirement, she moved in with her son. In August of 2004, Li was detained in the Xuchang City prison for half a month for clarifying the truth about Falun Gong to people. After being released from prison, Duan Guofu, the Principal of Yuzhou Second Senior High, where she had been employed, instigated staff from the Political Protection Department of the Yuzhou City police station to bring her back. He ordered Li Xiangzhen to return from Xuchang to Yuzhou. Two staff members were assigned to monitor her daily and tried to force her to give up her belief. Li Xiang was monitored by two female staff members living in the school. She was not allowed to communicate to those outside of the school and had her freedom severely restricted.

Related phone numbers:

Office of the Second Senior High school: 86-374-8182032, 2768201

Principal Duan Guofu: 86-13598993237 (mobile phone)

13. [Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province] Practitioner Chen Yujie Is Detained for Over Four Months

Because she refused to give up Falun Gong, Nanjing City practitioner Ms. Chen Yujie was denied her salary by the working unit. Ms. Chen kept telling people the facts about Falun Gong, and about the persecution that was established based on lies and hate-propaganda from China's stated-controlled media.

The Nanjing City "610 Office" has persecuted Ms. Chen many times. Currently, Ms. Chen has been detained at the Nanjing City Brainwashing Center for over four months. The perpetrators have no legal documents to support their illegal actions.

Practitioner Zhao Xiushun is from Zhaojia Village, Gucheng Town, Shouguang City, Weifang of Shandong Province. He was taken away from home on September 9, 2004. Ms. Li Chunling and Ms. Zhao Yuxiang are from Dali village, Suji, Shouguang City, Weifang of Shandong Province. They were abducted on the evening of September 10, 2004.

On August 29 and September 7 respectively, practitioners Ms. Liu Hongmei and Ms. Liu Chuanmei were arrested. In less than six months, the Shouguang Court has given harsh sentences to eight Shouguang City practitioners.

Related phone numbers:

Director of "610 Office" Cheng Angang: 86-536-5260610 (Office), 86-13869690596

(Cell), 86-536- 5232618 (Home)

Main responsible person persecuting Falun Gong practitioners: Li Tongzhong 86-536-5980484

Secretary of Politics and Law Committee: Yang Shusen 86-536- 5265981, 86-13869630996 (Cell), 86-536-5266618

Note:

(1) Carrying a Sword on the Back - The practitioner's hands are tied behind his back with one hand over the shoulder and the other hand against the lower back. The police then apply a great deal of force to pull the two hands toward one another and handcuff the two hands together.

(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."

Here are some examples of the Solemn Declarations:

• Dafa Practitioners' Solemn Statements [8/25/2004]
• Solemn Declarations by Non-Practitioners[9/21/2004]
• Solemn Declarations by Young Dafa Practitioners [8/7/2004]

Please click here for more Solemn Declarations.

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