By Dafa Practitioner Liu Jun in Jilin City

(Clearwisdom.net) Preface: In the long, long river of life, it is Teacher who has chosen me and who gives me all that I have. When Dafa and Teacher are defamed, slandered and viciously attacked, I choose a right path to validate Dafa, defend Dafa and assist Teacher in Fa-rectification. Therefore, I named this article "Choice."

During these past four years, we have experienced the most cruel and most vicious torture and persecution of mind and body in the human world. There is no way to imagine how murderous, brutal, and contemptible the means are. The persecution has caused tremendous hurt and pain to me, to a large number of Dafa practitioners, and to their families as well. No matter what kind of threats and persecution I have been faced with, they did not agitate my righteous belief in Dafa and Teacher. Whenever I passed the test, passed the tribulation, suffered the brutal persecution, or endured great pains, what Teacher said at the end of the Fa-Lecture in Chicago, U.S.A., in June 1999 resonated in my ear: "Just by staying unaffected, you will be able to handle all situations"

It is Dafa that gives me confidence, courage and wisdom. This is how I am able to come unhesitatingly through so many huge tribulations. It is the Fa, not some personal effort to create the appearance of being steadfast, which creates all of this. I only did what I should do as a Fa-rectification particle in validating and defending Dafa. As Dafa practitioners, we should only follow Teacher's instruction absolutely and do what we should do, which would just be the most righteous.

I decided to write down the huge mental and physical changes I've experienced after being lucky enough to obtain Falun Dafa and do cultivation, and to also write about the pure and virtuous manifestation of Dafa practitioners' noble sentiment and selflessness. At the same time, I want to expose the fact that Jiang Zemin utilizes the national public security department, the legal system, forced labor camps, detention centers, jails, brainwashing classes, local governments, vicious persons, and police to employ despicable means and conduct inhuman, extremely wicked persecution both of body and spirit of Falun Gong practitioners who stick to the belief of Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance, who do not hit back when beaten and do not talk back when slandered. I am only one of millions of victims. I wrote down the facts of the persecution I personally suffered to let those people in the world, blinded by lies, know the truth and give them a chance to support justice after they learn the facts. I have written down all of my experiences over the past four years to help fellow practitioners, so we can upgrade together. I covered not only what I witnessed when I was illegally detained in prison, but also my experiences from when I clarified the truth to the world's people and exposed evil lies in social circles. I have written down all that I have witnessed during this special historical period to validate Dafa and save the world's people.

I experienced much interference during the entire writing process, from starting to prepare materials to finishing the article. Sometimes it seemed I did not even have the strength to raise a pen and I had to exert great efforts to write out each word. Sometimes I felt extreme pains in my body. Sometimes the pen I used had too much ink. Other times it did not have any ink at all. At times my eyes could not see anything and were blurred. The exterior interference was also very big. I always had work I could not finish piled up around me. However, I felt that all the interference in the world would not be enough to block my resolution to continue writing. Finally, I finished writing down my personal experience from the past several years. My wish is that the practitioners who see it can understand and point out anything inappropriate.

People in the future will remember forever Dafa practitioners' earthshaking and grand feats of assisting Teacher in the Fa-rectification.

December 8, 2003

I am a common farmer from Jilin province. My family consists of four persons, three generations, in my family; my eldery father, my wife, my son and myself. My family belongs to the middle class, just rural country folk. Throughout the year in normal times, although we are not rich, our life is very harmonious and steady. However, unexpected things may always happen. The Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) of 1995 just passed, my wife came down ill and her condition got worse day by day. When she went to the hospital for examination, she was found to have many serious illnesses including heart disease. The doctor warned she could be at death's door at any time. Inflammation of the gall bladder produced sharp pains in her stomach and abdomen and she also experienced aches in her legs. My wife was tortured by her illnesses, feeling she would be better off dead. None of the medicine she took was effective. She could not take care of herself. Her face looked gray and her weight dropped to only 78 lbs. At that time, she was so worried and in tears every day. A dark cloud covered my entire family. It is really true that misfortune never comes alone. At that time, my son also suffered from persistent dermatitis. There were patches of red blotches all over his body, which were extremely itchy. The blotches dripped yellow liquid and any skin the liquid touched began to fester. He went to see a specialist once and the treatment made him feel better for about a month. After that, the situation turned more serious. My son suffered greatly. The mental pressure on me and my wife was even bigger. We did not know what would happen and also the medical bills were very expensive. Every day, we suffered under heavy pressure. It was really true that one day seemed like a year. I drowned my worries by drinking every day, just wasting my life away.

Just at that time, upon someone's recommendation, my wife and son started to practice Falun Gong. A month later, my wife and son both recovered completely from their illnesses. My wife's weight increased to a more healthy weight. She was able to cook, ride a bicycle to do the shopping, and able to assist me with the farming. She was healthy and her life had vigor. My son's skin became smooth. He was not tortured by his illness but grew up healthy (he was 16 years old at that time). The whole family was free from all anxieties and full of happiness and warmth. Our family had no way to express our appreciation to Master Li for his grace in saving our lives. My grateful tears of joy cannot help but fall.

Because my wife and son had recovered from their illnesses, my relatives and fellow villagers were very interested in learning to practice Falun Dafa, convinced of its goodness after witnessing its powerful healing efficacy. Successively, many people obtained the Fa, practiced, and benefited in body and mind. I also witnessed it personally. I did not have any spiritual belief before. In the face of the solid facts, I felt Dafa's efficacy was extraordinary and not a common thing. Several months later, I began to practice Falun Dafa seriously.

The skin irritation from smartweed that I suffered from every year went away. And I recovered completely from rheumatoid arthritis, inflammation in the shoulder and hip joints, kidney chill [a condition diagnosed in Traditional Chinese Medicine], angina, and pains in the lower back, legs and stomach. I have not needed to take any injection or medicine for nine years. I was in good physical and mental condition. I did not feel tired when working. I seemed to rejuvenate. And also, I gave up my 30 year' bad habit of smoking and excessive drinking. My former basic point of conducting myself was that I would not suffer losses but always try to gain extra advantage in doing anything. I always felt myself to be good and boasted about it. In anything, I always vied with others to see who was better. After I began practicing Falun Dafa, I used Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance as my standard to judge everything I came across. I considered others first and I became open-minded, kind and pure. Many people who knew me before said I changed. I just told them it was Dafa that changed me and saved our whole family. Thereby, many people obtained the Fa. Even the persons who did not practice also knew that Falun Dafa is good!

Next, I'll tell of two small stories that happened after I began practicing Falun Dafa and upgraded my Xinxing [mind and heart nature; moral character].

In 1997, our work group redistributed the farm fields. The field that was contracted to me was a second-class water field, which is north of a river. But the field was very fragmented and not suited for farming with a tractor. We rented a bulldozer to work for a day and used a tractor to level it up for more than a month, which changed the former 48 pieces of water fields into 14 rectangular fields. What our family achieved did not come easily. Other people envied us very much. Just at that time, more than ten families in our team at the south of the river did not consult with us but filled up an earthen path on the biggest water field I had just leveled up. And they also set up irrigation pipes and built a small bridge. This path occupied about one Fen of land [type of Chinese acre], which meant our family would lose 165 lbs of paddy rice per year for letting them walk on this path. Only a Falun Dafa practitioner who puts other before himself and does not pursue material advantages could tolerate the loss. Moreover, the people did not give us the courtesy of informing us about their plans in advance.

My father became very angry and asked me to confront them. I explained to my father with good intentions: "They are all fellow villagers. Every year, they are worried about raking the soil and getting the young plants and fertilizer to the fields. If they travel to meet the vehicles delivering plants and supplies, they miss the best planting time. When they carry young plants and fertilizer in Spring, they often fall into the river. This new path can increase their efficiency. Everyone will then be in harmony. We should also be happy to see their happiness." After listening, my father also understood. That year, we had a great bumper harvest of paddy rice, which was the highest yield we had ever experienced. Many people came to ask me about my farming experience. I told them: "Farming does not only depend on technique. What is most important is to value virtues and be a good person. Afterwards, the just are well-rewarded." To this day, whenever the fellow villagers at the south of the river mention this thing, they all say any person who practices Falun Dafa is good, and Falun Gong is really good!

Another event has made an interesting story that is still on everybody's lips today. A road splits into two roads behind our house. Dozens of neighbors dumped garbage in this triangle area over the past ten years, which piled up into a huge garbage heap. In the Spring the wind blew plastic bags and plant ash everywhere. When people passed by it, they had to cover their faces. Since the heap grew bigger and bigger and no one moved the garbage out, the roads on both sides became very narrow. People had to push vehicles coming and going to the side of the steep heap. If they were a bit careless, they could be in danger. In the Summer, the stink made people cover their noses. In the Spring of 1998, three of us used a tractor to work for three days and clear out the garbage heap. The roads become broad, flat and easy to walk. The bad smell is gone. Also, people no longer dump garbage there any more. The environment changed and people feel at ease. Whoever goes there says in full praise: "Falun Gong really teaches people to be good persons. People who practice Dafa are very good."

No matter what work or business I do, I always conduct myself in a peaceful state of mind and use kind words to treat anything and any person. I never argue with others. No matter how much I lose out, I am upbeat and do not mind. I am never concerned about or late paying the yearly tax arranged by the village government. However, the cadres in the village government are worried about collecting taxes every year. They have to hear some offensive words when they meet some unreasonable villagers. The cadres reported to the upper government: "If all persons in our village were like Mr. Liu, everything would be easy. He is never late in paying his taxes. This practitioner is good. Cadres do not need to worry about him."

Due to limited space, I will not write down too many cultivation stories. I felt I should write down these two examples in order to show a practitioner's thoughts, realm, and pure state.

On July 20, 1999, across the nation, those authorities who followed Jiang Zemin's regime suddenly arrested the chief assistants of all local assistance centers and banned any person from openly practicing the Falun Gong exercises in a public group. After I heard the news on July 21, I felt very surprised and also understood the severity of the issue. Our whole family did not stop to prepare anything, taking a taxi straight to Changchun City, the capital of Jilin Province, to appeal and request the provincial committee release the detained practitioners immediately and allow normal practice to resume. When we arrived in Changchun City, it was 10pm. After we heard everyone had gone on to the provincial government, we went there as well. When we arrived there, the sidewalks of several streets were full of Dafa practitioners sitting peacefully.

At about 6am on July 22, many armed and unarmed policemen came and surrounded the practitioners. Soon after, dozens of busses came. The police started to arrest practitioners. I was shocked by what I witnessed on that day. Several policemen caught a girl, approximately 16 years old, by her hair, slapped her across the face, kicked her, and also said very offensive words to her. The girl was very steadfast. No matter how they dragged her, she did not go on the bus. They finally just lifted her off the ground and threw her up into the bus. Just after that, an old woman with white hair was also beaten and thrown on the bus in the same way. The police also beat a young woman who was carrying an infant younger than a month old and took the infant away from her.

No matter whether it was a man, woman, or child, everyone was beaten up. It was very hard for me to believe what I was seeing right in front of me: the policemen were inhuman like madmen and roared irrationally. I was at a loss for what to do. After being hit by several blows, I was also pushed onto a bus. After the bus was full of practitioners, we were sent to Changchun City's, Xinglongshan Police College.

By about 10am, the exercise yard was full of people. And no more practitioners were sent in. The armed policemen and the policemen holding batons ringed the exercise yard. They did not allow us to walk or go to the toilet. I sat at the side and then tried to talk to the policemen who were guarding us. I told them about the changes in my mind and body of our whole family after we practiced Falun Gong. And I introduced Dafa to them. At that time, they were moved and understood us. And they said: "Go back home and practice secretly. The authorities just do not allow you to practice in a group."

At 3pm, a news bulletin went on the air. The content was the declaration by the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Civil Affairs banning Falun Gong. After listening, about 3,000 practitioners present had very serious faces. And someone started to shout: "Falun Gong is so good. Why not allow us to practice? Why ban it?" Any practitioner who stood up was taken away, beaten and cursed. Around 5pm, we were released. After we left, the playground where we sat was very clean. There was no garbage, not even small pieces of paper. It was very hot that day. No one left in advance or compromised. Everyone just quietly sat there for an entire day, was in perfect order and had a peaceful state of mind. The whole field was very good.

After going back home, I was in a very serious mood. The practice site that had more than 30 people before only had the three persons in our family left. Just afterward, the town government sent a gang of people to disturb us daily. The police station came to investigate and asked us to turn in our Falun Dafa books. They also dispatched personnel to monitor us around the clock and did not allow us to practice the Falun Dafa exercises. If anyone saw us practicing, they would take us away for detention. Every day, they tried to force us to write the guarantee statement of "No Practice" [A statement to declare that he or she is remorseful for practicing Falun Gong and guarantees not to practice Falun Gong again, not to go to Beijing to appeal for Falun Gong, and never again associate with any Falun Dafa practitioners.] and told us: "Falun Gong is good and you are good persons. However, Jiang does not allow you to practice and the authorities have given the order to ban Falun Gong. If you want to appeal, you have to go to Beijing to appeal. We are only low-level officers and what we say has no effect. They are the ones who pay our salary, so they are the ones we have to work for."

At that time, I felt very sad. I barely heard what they said. No matter how they bullied me, I would not not write the guarantee statement or turn in my Falun Dafa books. My normal life and work had already been disrupted at that time. When I practiced the exercises and studied the Fa late at night, I had to totally cover the windows. No matter how hot it was, I had to endure it. I could not do it in the daytime at all. Someone watched us around the clock. The environment at that time was such that it seemed the sky had collapsed, and the air felt heavy to the point that it made people feel they couldn't breathe. The people who had been brainwashed by all previous political movements in China were terrified of being implicated if they were associated with Falun Dafa in any way. They were very afraid and defensive. They treated practitioners as if they were treating landlords, rich farmers and the upper class during the time of the Great Cultural Revolution and did not dare to contact practitioners.

Some persons who had suffered from serious illnesses and spent lots of money on cures without recovering had gotten well by practice. However, after they were forced to give up practicing, most of them were once again tortured by illnesses. Every day they suffered in pain and felt they were better off dead. I felt sorry for them in my heart. At the same time, I also felt how unfair it was for them. If practicing Falun Dafa were allowed, many such persons in the whole country could live freely and happily in good health. Who on earth caused all of this?

I could not be silent any more. I wanted to ask for fair treatment for Dafa and Teacher. After I considered the matter carefully, I decided to stand up to say fair words for Dafa no matter what would happen and no matter what the risk to my personal safety would be. Therefore, the three in our family went on the train to Beijing to appeal. When we left, I looked over our house, garden, flowers, grass, and my elderly father and felt very sad to part from them. Although we did not appeal successfully when we went to Beijing the first time, we took the first step after all, which also encouraged other fellow practitioners.

On September 22, 1999, the police searched my home, confiscated my personal property, and detained me. They took the TV and a tape player and recorder from my home. And also, they took away 500 yuan [500 Yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China]. At that time, my wife had gone to Beijing for the second time and was not at home. On October 24, of the same year, my son and I went to Beijing again. When the vehicle arrived in Qinghuangdao City, Hebei Province, passengers were required to show ID cards. My ID card had been confiscated by the local police. I had to get off and find some other way to go to Beijing. After getting off the bus, I went to the bus station to ask for information: all buses to Beijing were required to check ID cards. With no ID, the person could not get on. I had to take a taxi. The price would be between 600 and 700 yuan. Since the money I carried was just enough, I only stopped to consider for a moment before taking a taxi to Beijing.

In Beijing, when I contacted the local practitioners, the secret agents of the Ministry of Public Security arrested us and sent us to a police station. A high-rank cadre interrogated us. He falsely accused of acting wild. Then I told him how good Dafa was. And I said to them: "If the central government allowed us to practice, we would not come here. We come to Beijing to appeal. The aim is letting the leaders of the country to know the voice of the people and to ensure we have a fair practice environment." That cadre said: "What you say is pretty good and reasonable. I can pass it up to the ministry level. You did not make a fruitless trip." After saying this, he left. The policeman who came in later told me: "The person who just left is a cadre of deputy ministry level in the Ministry of National Security. How can you dare say anything to him?" I told him: "I would do the same thing even if I met chairman or premier." That policeman said with a bitter smile: "I see. You really do not fear death."

That night, we were transferred to the office stationed in Beijing. After getting off the police vehicle, we were body-searched. We were ordered to take off all our clothes for the search. Regardless of gender, male or female, everyone was searched. When the police came across a large sum of money on someone, they were happy. I did not have a penny and was given several kicks. They also cursed at us and said some offensive words. They did not offer us any water or food. The next day, a police officer, a town cadre, and a village head came from our local area and took me back to the local police station. I was detained for 15 days this time. On the day when I was released, the local police station fined my son and me 4000 yuan as a security deposit. If we were to go to Beijing again, the deposit would be confiscated. And they also asked me to write the guarantee statement. I refused to write it and I was not wrong. What did I guarantee?

On December 26, 1999, Jilin City's first large-scale Fa-conference since July 20 of 1999 was held under the very tense situation at that time. More than 80 fellow practitioners attended the conference and talked freely about their experiences in a solemn and peaceful atmosphere. We shared our experiences with each other, made the purpose of going to Beijing clear, and purified our own thoughts. The aim of going to Beijing for appeal is to validate and defend Dafa. It was not for the sake of personal consummation. The conference lasted 6 hours and ended safely. No one had a bit of fear.

On December 27, 1999, we three went to Beijing to defend Dafa for the third time. When we arrived in Beijing, it was time for the conference of the National People's Congress. We directly went to the Great Hall of the People and appealed to the National People's Congress (at that time, the Appeals Office had already been full of policemen to arrest the people who came to appeal). Several cadres came out and met us. We told them our purpose of appeal. They told us: "You should go to the Supreme Procuratorate." And they also told us the address of the Supreme Procuratorate. Just on the way to the Supreme Procuratorate, we were taken away by the plainclothes policemen.

On December 29, I was taken back to Jilin City by the local police station and sent illegally to the Jilin City Third Detention Center for criminal detention. I was sent to the fourth prison room. There were over 30 criminal prisoners. When they heard I was a Falun Gong practitioner, they all were curious. The head of the room once dealt in guns in the black market. He just cursed whenever opening his mouth and beat people whenever raising his hands. He said to me: "In this room, just you are special and also you are the oldest. So I will not pour cold water on you (a test that everyone had to face when entering that room). At that time, I was running a fever. My legs were swollen so that it was difficult to even take off my pants. I felt aches all over my body. The guards did not provide water to us. My mouth and throat felt bitter and my tongue was numb. I spent over one week just like this, and then I got better. In the detention center, no toilet paper was provided and we had to use our hands to wipe feces away and then wash our hands. The time to use the toilet was very short. We had to get up after counting to 20. Otherwise, we were beaten. Since my large intestine was very dry, it was difficult for me to pass a bowel movement. I had a bowel movement every ten days, which made me to suffer greatly from abdominal pain. That feeling is very hard to endure. We had only very hard buns to eat, and only a thin broth to drink. We sat in the humid, dim and horrific atmosphere for the entire day and were not allowed to stand.

About January 19, 2000, I received notification that I had been sentenced to two years of forced labor because I "disturbed social order" and called people together for a meeting. I requested reconsideration. The head of the center said: "People who practice Falun Gong are not allowed to have their cases reconsidered. It is stipulated by the upper level." During that period, the head of our prison room always tried to please the guards. One day, after he heard an editorial slandering Falun Gong on the radio, he said to me: "I give you half an hour. You write a guarantee statement just after listening. Otherwise, I will beat you to death." Thirty minutes later, he asked me whether I had written one or not. I seriously said to him: "I did not write the guarantee statement. I will not betray my conscience out of fear of suffering pains of the flesh. I even do not allow you to beat and defame people. You would get karmic retribution for beating a good person." He stood in amazement after listening. After a while, he said with a thumb up: "Ok! I admire you. I do not beat a person who has a conscience like you." I also told him the amazing stories of Dafa's healing diseases. Since then, he has been amiable to me and had a lot of changes. He does not hit and curse people like he used to.

On January 21, I was sent to the Jilin City Forced Labor Camp. In the vehicle, Chief Yang of Judiciary Section told me: "The forced labor camp is very dark. You will break from Falun Gong in a month. The prisoners there won't stop beating you until you are 'transformed'." I said; "You know me. Since that day I came out, I put life and death aside. I don't even fear death. Will I fear beating?"

(To be continued)