Celebrating the 5th World Falun Dafa Day and the 12th Anniversary of Falun Gong's Introduction to the Public
Facts of the Persecution
Open Forum
Practitioners Exchange Insights and Experiences
News and Events Around the World
News From China
(Clearwisdom.net)
Comment from Master:
If you, as a student [of Dafa], do not follow Master's requirements, it is definitely no simple thing. The old forces have arranged for all Dafa disciples a set of their things, so if a Dafa disciple doesn't follow Master's requirements, he must be following the old forces' arrangements. The old forces are in essence gigantic trials and tribulations that accompany you at all times, focused on whether in Fa-rectification Dafa disciples are able to step forward.
If after going through this ordeal some students are still not clearheaded, then they will miss [the opportunities presented in] all of this. Only when you follow Master's requirements are you validating the Fa and cultivating yourself as a Dafa disciple, and only then are you a true Dafa disciple.
Li Hongzhi
May 8, 2004
By a Jilin City Dafa disciple
A few days ago, two VCD's were passed along from Shanxi Province to our area. One VCD contained Master's lecture at the Lantern Festival, the other Master's exclusive interview with NTDTV. Some practitioners have already viewed the contents, some have planned to circulate them, and some have even supported making copies. After seeing this, we searched through Clearwisdom and all of the other Dafa websites, but did not find the content of these two VCD's anywhere. We hope that the fellow practitioners who are still viewing and passing around these two VCD's can let go of their attachments, strictly take the Fa as Teacher, put a stop to everything from Teacher that was spread to your area but not published on the Web, and immediately destroy it so as to safeguard the correct form of spreading Dafa. Next, let's review and study together Master's scripture "Bear in Mind Forever."
Dafa Society:
I suggest that every disciple immediately, on the spot, destroy everything that I have not publicly issued but that is in circulation without permission, such as: my speeches that came out of Chengde; the things about supernormal abilities that a practitioner from Beijing discussed; the speech of the assistance center coordinator in Dalian; the cave story from the coordinator of the Guizhou assistance center and other speeches; not to mention the speeches made by people in charge of different regions; what was said by students after seeing me; the speech given by people in charge of the Dafa Research Society, and so on, plus texts, recordings, videotapes, etc., that have been transcribed from my speeches without permission. All of these must be destroyed on the spot, and they cannot be kept regardless of the excuse. What is "safeguarding Dafa"? This is most thoroughly a safeguarding of Dafa, and a test of whether you can follow what I tell you and whether you are truly my disciples! Let me tell everyone once again that the Dharma taught by Buddha Sakyamuni was sabotaged this way. This is a lesson in history. From now on, nobody should tape record or videotape speeches given by any of the people in charge in different regions or by any disciples; even less can they be edited into texts or be spread around for people to read. This is not a problem of any particular person, nor is this to criticize any person in particular here; instead, this is rectifying Dafa. Bear in mind: Except for Dafa students' experience sharing conferences for studying the Fa and activities organized by major assistance centers with the endorsement of the Research Society, anything that does not belong to Dafa but is being circulated in Dafa undermines Dafa.
Li Hongzhi
June 18, 1997
(Clearwisdom.net)
All Dafa practitioners from Jilin City respectfully present
May 10, 2004
Assist Master to Go
Waiting for millions of years, how many rounds of samsara
How many deep enmity accumulated, how many civilization remained
Life and death once made an agreement, to assist Master to do Fa-rectification
The day when evils eliminated completely, all disciples will follow Master to
return home
Hard to Return Master's Grace
Black karma covered all over my body in the past, as wandering about in a
bitter sea
Fortunately revered Master fishes me up, teaches me how to be a person
Cleanses my body, bestows me boundless divine power
Consummates his disciple's world, saves countless sentient beings of mine
Millions of thanks, are hard to return revered Master's grace.
Dafa practitioners in Mainland China
May 9, 2004
Revered Master
Going through countless tribulations and breaking through countless hardships
Buddha's boundless grace covers all cosmos
Eliminates all evil and creates the great firmament
Countless sentient beings welcome a new cosmos
Disciples
Pledge to obtain the Fa and come to the human world
Reincarnation and transmigration, hard to describe their bitterness
Happen to meet Falun Dafa's introduction
Assist Master to do Fa-rectification to fulfill our great mission
Dafa practitioners in Wuhan City
May 10, 2004
On the occasion of celebration from Heaven and Earth, we extend our greetings to esteemed Master! Master, you've given us so much! Your disciples miss you!
Dafa practitioners in Fujian Province
May 9, 2004
All Dafa practitioners in Heilongjiang Province congratulate revered Master on the 12th anniversary of Falun Dafa's Introduction. Though the brutal persecution is still going on, we will be worthy of revered Master's boundless grace, cherish such a predestined relationship occurred in billions of years, fulfill the historic mission, strive forward even harder and walk well the last leg of the journey.
Wish Master a Happy Birthday! Master, your disciples miss you!
Master, please rest assured, we will definitely walk well the last leg of Fa-rectification, save sentient beings, we will live up to Master's expectation and benevolent and arduous saving!
Congratulations on the 12th anniversary of Falun Dafa's introduction!
Congratulations on the fifth World Falun Dafa Day!
All Dafa practitioners from Mudanjiang Area
May 10, 2004
All Dafa practitioners in Yilan County, Heilongjiang Province celebrate World Falun Dafa Day along with fellow practitioners around the world, and wish Master a happy birthday.
May 10, 2004
Dafa practitioners in remote area in Heilongjiang Province wish Buddha's light illuminates everywhere and sentient beings be awakened soon on the fifth World Falun Dafa Day. Though we are living in the border area, Master watches us all times. We wish revered Master from afar a happy birthday!
Greetings, Master
Calling revered Master from the bottom of my heart
Tears run down all over the front of my clothes
The divine side is awakening
Clean off haze and strive forward diligently
May 9,2004
All Dafa practitioners from cities of Bei'an, Heihe and Wudalianchi in Heilongjiang Province extend greetings to Master. On the occasion of celebrating the 12th anniversary of Falun Dafa's introduction, Master, please rest assured, we will definitely conduct ourselves according to the standard of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance," do well in the three things (study the Fa, clarify the truth and send righteous thoughts) Master requires us to do, and walk well each step on the path of cultivation.
May 10, 2004
On this occasion, we extend our highest respect and greetings to great revered Master: Greetings, Master! All Dafa practitioners in Shuangcheng City miss you!
All Dafa practitioners in Shuangcheng City
May 10, 2004
Dafa practitioners in Shuangcheng City will definitely coordinate and cooperate and strive forward diligently under Master's guidance. Do well the three things and let Master rest assured.
At the same time, we extend our greetings to benevolent and great Master! At the last moment of Fa-rectification, we will definitely do well the three things Master requires us to do, with our righteous thoughts and righteous actions to fulfill our historic mission.
May 10, 2004
Esteemed Revered Master,
Welcome solemn and great World Falun Dafa Day and the 12th Anniversary of Falun Dafa's Introduction. All Dafa practitioners who are illegally held in prison in Jilin Province extend our highest respect and greetings to revered Master
All Dafa practitioners illegally held in prison in Jilin Province
May 10, 2004
Respected Master,
When the moment of Fa rectifying the human world is approaching, we welcome your great birthday, all Dafa practitioners in Jilin City wish you a happy birthday!
Twelve years ago today, you began to teach the Fa in Changchun City, your hometown, and thus the beginning of the great and splendid journey of Fa-rectification of the entire firmament. During the 12 years, you gave us a universal Dafa, a ladder to the heaven. You guide us on each of our improvements; you watch us at all times; you bestow us infinite capacity, immense wisdom, splendid mighty virtues and boundless glories.
We can only make improvement when we look within and find our weak points. We should rectify every single thought and word and action. Do well the three things you taught us to do, so that we can be worthy of Fa-rectification period Dafa disciples. All Dafa practitioners in Jilin City will coordinate well and walk well and righteously at the last leg of our journey and fulfill our historic mission.
All Dafa practitioners from Jilin City, Heshi
Young Dafa practitioners in Jilin City will study the Fa well, send righteous thoughts and clarify the truth along with Dafa practitioners around the world. We hope fellow practitioners in Minghui Schools cherish what you have possessed now, and let us strive forward together so as to follow Master to return home!
May 8, 2004
Young Dafa practitioners in Jilin City, Heshi
We wish revered Master a happy birthday!
We once failed to live up to Master's grace. With Master's immense mercy, we gradually awakened. With local practitioners' help, we rectified ourselves based on Dafa. We will cherish the opportunity Master creates for us, double my effort to compensate for the damages I have caused Dafa, do well the three things Master requires us to do and follow Master to return home.
Master, whenever your disciples miss you, we would turn such feeling to become an impetus to strive forward even harder. If we can see you one day, we will definitely tell you with one sentence, "Master, we've done what Fa-rectification period Dafa practitioners should do."
May 7, 2004 all Dafa practitioners in Gangyao Town, Longtan District, Jilin City, Heshi
Dafa practitioners' families in Jilin City send greetings to Master Li Hongzhi, and wish Master Li a happy birthday!
Dafa practitioners who are illegally held in Jilin City send greetings to Master and wish revered Master a happy birthday!
Dafa practitioners who are illegally held in Jilin Prison send greetings to Master and wish revered Master a happy birthday!
All Dafa practitioners from Jiaohe City, Panshi City, Shulan City, Huadian and Yongji County send greetings to Master and wish revered Master a happy birthday!
All Dafa practitioners in Beijing who are staying away from home to avoid persecution send greetings to Master and wish revered Master a happy birthday!
No matter where we are, we will do well what Fa-rectification period Dafa practitioners are supposed to do. Disciples miss Master!
May 8, 2004
Dafa practitioners from Jinhua, Zhejiang Province respectfully congratulate Master on the 12th anniversary of Falun Dafa's introduction and respectfully wish Master a happy birthday! We will completely negate old forces' arrangements, and completely eliminate old forces' minions. No matter where Dafa practitioners are, living away from home or being unfortunately abducted and sent to brainwashing classes, we will take righteous actions with righteous thoughts. Master, please rest assured.
All Dafa practitioners in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province
May 10, 2004
When the 12th anniversary of Falun Dafa's introduction and the fifth of the World Falun Dafa Day are coming, All Dafa practitioners who are being held in No. 2 Prison of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, No. 4 Prison, Zhejiang Province Women's Prison, Zhejiang Province's Shiliping Labor Camp, Hangzhou City's Moganshang Women's Labor Camp celebrate along with fellow practitioners around the world the fifth World Falun Dafa Day and extend our greetings to Master! Wish revered Master a happy birthday!
All Dafa practitioners who are illegally held in Zhejiang Province
May 9, 2004
Fifth World Falun Dafa Day and the 12th Anniversary of Falun Dafa's Introduction
Send Greetings to Master and Celebrate the 12th Anniversary of Falun Dafa's Introduction
(Clearwisdom.net) On May 8, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners from Ottawa and Montreal held activities on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to celebrate the 12th anniversary of Falun Dafa's introduction to the public.
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On May 9, Ottawa's annual Tulip Festival was held. The annual festival attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists. Practitioners practiced the exercises and distributed balloons in the busy surroundings to display the beauty of Falun Dafa.
(Clearwsidom.net) On May 9, 2004, Falun Gong practitioners in Washington DC gathered in front of the United States Capitol and celebrated the Fifth World Falun Dafa Day. Large banners that read "World Falun Dafa Day" and "Worldwide Celebration" were hung on tents. The practitioners performed various programs.
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Falun Gong practitioners held various
performances to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day
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|   Beginners learn Falun Gong exercises |
|   Exercise demo |
|  Ms. Fan Yagu call for help to rescue her mother |
Appreciation to Master Li for his spreading Falun Dafa worldwide
The host said that every practitioner has a story. Many people recovered from severe illness after practicing Falun Gong. The more important thing is that everyone understands the real meaning of life and follows the principles Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.
Falun Gong practitioners sang a chorus of Coming for You in both Chinese and English, and performed a dragon dance, fairy dance and Falun Gong exercise demo. Several young Falun Gong practitioners performed solo of bamboo flute, lute, and violin. Students from Minghui School sang a chorus of Pure Flow in Dirty World, and Be Saved.
A grand exhibition of nearly one hundred large photos of The Journey of Falun Dafa was held on the lawn in front of the Capitol. The exhibition showed photos of Falun Dafa, spreading from China in 1992 to around the world, photos of the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China, and the peaceful protest and clarification of the truth by Falun Gong practitioners. Many passers-by including Chinese visitors stopped and looked at the photos.
Falun Dafa Spreads to over 60 Countries
Falun Dafa has spread to over 60 countries and Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Dafa, has been translated to 25 languages. Many governments (including certain government departments in China before the persecution) issued a total of over 1200 awards and proclamations to Falun Gong. A lady said that she recently often received phone calls from people interested in learning Falun Gong. Ms. Yu from Maryland said that recently people came to several practice sites to learn Falun Gong. More and more Westerners are beginning to learn Falun Gong.
Appealing on Mother's Day
Sunday May 9 was Mother's Day. However, Ms. Fan Yagu's mother is being detained in No. 1 Detention Center, Department of Public Security, Zhongzhou, Henan Province, China. She was arrested three times for not giving up Falun Gong practice. She has been detained for over five months this time. Her family members do not have information about her current situation. Ms. Fan lived in Maryland and came to DC to participate in the event and collect signatures to help gain her mom's release. Ms. Fan appealed to people to help rescue her mom. Many passers-by expressed sympathy and signed an appeal letter. More information about Ms. Fan's mother can be found at the report "The Appeal from A Daughter in the U.S.: Please Help Rescue My Mother, Who is Being Persecuted in a Prison in Henan Province, China" http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2004/3/18/46160.html.
In China, many people have similar or even worse suffering than Ms. Fan's mother. Jiang group's persecution of Falun Gong results in many broken families and arrests of many practitioners. So far at least 950 practitioners have been tortured to death and tens of thousands of practitioners are still imprisoned in jails, labor camps and mental hospitals. Jiang Zemin, the culprit of the persecution, and his followers have been charged in lawsuits in over 10 countries for their genocide, torture and crimes against humanity. On May 27, lawsuit in Chicago will have a debate of lawyers from both plaintiff and defendant and judge will make a rule afterwards. Recently, former governor of Liaoning Province, Bo Xilai has been charged in lawsuits in Washington DC and Britain for his persecution of Falun Gong.
Meeting with Congress Representatives
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| Congressman Jim Moran talks with Falun Gong practitioners | Congressman Jim Moran has a group photo with Falun Gong practitioners |
On another lawn in front of the Capitol there was a Rally of One Million Mothers on the same day. Many congressmen came to give speech. Falun Gong practitioners met several representatives from Maryland and Virginia.
A high school student, Falun Gong practitioner Nie Hao talked with Congressman Moran about the Pedals of Peace and the bike ride from Washington DC to Chicago. On May 13th, 2004 a group of teenagers will leave Washington DC to embark on a 700 mile bicycle ride to Chicago. More information can be found at http://www.pedalsofpeace.org/.
Ms. Shi also narrated about her passport issue, whereby the Chinese Embassy has refused renew her passport. Congressman Moran expressed sympathy and said that quite a few Falun Gong practitioners have had a similar experience.
Ms. Fan Yagu also met a congresswoman from Maryland and narrated her mom's suffering. The congresswoman said that she would meet Ms. Fan again in her office to discuss issues related to rescuing Ms. Fan's mother.
(Clearwisdom.net) According to a report from Central News Agency on May 9, the Lotus Flower Dance Troupe from Montreal held performances on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on the afternoon of May 9 to celebrate the "Fifth World Falun Dafa Day". Their marvelous dances won warm applause from Canadian friends and tourists on the spot!
(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Dong Junming, a Falun Dafa practitioner in Qinhuangdao City, Hebei province, is a staff member in the Beishan branch of Hebei Teachers' University of Science & Technology [abbreviated as the University in the following text]. Formerly, the University was Qinhuangdao Vocational Management School of the Coal Industry. Mr. Dong was a retired army officer. He began practicing Falun Dafa in 1998 and found that the practice improved both his mind and body.
In August 2000, Mr. Dong went to Beijing to appeal for Falun Dafa, hoping to tell the government that Falun Dafa teaches people to be good. He was arrested and sent to the Second Detention Center in Qinhuangdao City. He was imprisoned for nearly a month.
In October 2000, Mr. Dong went to Beijing again. In Tiananmen Square, he saw several young men beating a lady whose face was covered with blood. He shouted, "Stop beating that lady!" Several spectators joined in and shouted, "Stop beating that lady!" Mr. Dong then shouted, "Falun Dafa is good!" Several plain-clothes policemen assaulted him and dragged him to a police car. The local police station took him back, and he was illegally detained again in the Second Detention Center in Qinhuangdao City for a month.
One day in June 2001, Mr. Wei, a former political instructor [1] from the Second Detention Center in Qinhuangdao City, and his colleague went to Mr. Dong Junming's workplace. They said that they wanted to find out more about his situation in the detention center. Mr. Dong honestly answered their questions about what went on in the detention center. After hearing Mr. Dong's account, they attacked him, punching him more than twenty times. Mr. Dong's face was swollen and he bled profusely from the mouth.
In early July of 2001, the leaders in Mr. Dong Junming's workplace summoned him to a meeting, but Mr. Dong knew that the police were waiting to arrest him, so he was forced to leave his home. A few days later, he was discovered and arrested by the Beidaihe branch office of the Qinhuangdao City Police Station. The policemen and Mr. Zhou Lianguo, former Section Chief of the Political Security Section of the 2nd Division of Qinhuangdao Police Station, led two teams and ransacked Mr. Dong's home in Qinhuangdao City and his temporary dormitory in the Beishan Branch at the University. They searched and ransacked his dormitory without anyone from his family present, which is an illegal act. Lv Guangxin of the Security Department in the University signed the confiscation list in Mr. Dong's place. Many things were taken. The police sent Mr. Dong to the Qinhuangdao City Police Station, where they beat him and "tied the ropes" [2] on him three times. Mr. Dong's arms were numb and not fully functional for about one year after the torture.
In the spring of 2002, the leaders in Mr. Dong's work place came to him again, trying to force him to give up his practice of Falun Dafa. He was not allowed to go home on weekends, and the University helped the local "610 Offices" [3] by getting some former practitioners who turned against Dafa to try and brainwash Mr. Dong. They tried in vain for a few days, and then locked Mr. Dong in a guest room at a hotel in Baitaling, Qinhuangdao City to continue the torture. Mr. Dong was not released until several days later.
In the summer of 2002, the University leaders came after Mr. Dong again, trying to force him to give up practicing Falun Dafa. Mr. Dong had no choice but to leave his home to avoid further persecution.
In June 2003, the 610 Offices in Qinhuangdao City and the Police Stations in Shanhaiguan of Qinhuangdao City arranged a large-scale arrest of Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Dong Junming was arrested again and sent to the notorious Tanshan Hehuakeng Labor Camp in Tanshan City, Hebei Province. At the end of March 2004, Mr. Dong was bailed out for medical treatment due to his poor condition.
Mr. Dong Junming's wife, Ms. Wang Shumei, is also a Falun Dafa practitioner. She was staying at home to take care of their young child. When her husband left home to avoid arrest in 2002, the University leaders appointed a guard in the Security Department to stake out Mr. Dong's home. One morning in late September of 2002, Ms. Wang was pushing her bicycle with her child on it to go out when the guard from the Security Department of the University detained her. After a while, a white car came and a policeman from the 1st division of the City Police Station, representing the Qinhuangdao 610 Office, got out of the car. He ordered Ms. Wang to send her 3-year old child to her parents-in-law's home in a village in Tanshan City because he planned to send Ms. Wang to Changli Brainwashing Center for two weeks during the "16th Meeting of the People's Congress".
Ms. Wang went back home to store her bicycle. She went to her bedroom and locked the door. She told the guard, "I'm not going anywhere today. My child is too young to be separated from me. You have been harassing me since my husband left home..." The standoff lasted for about half an hour, until the policemen kicked down the door and swarmed into her home. Wang Xianzeng, head of the 1st division of the police station grabbed hold of Ms. Wang's hair and verbally abused her. The police snatched the frightened child from her and handcuffed her from behind. They dragged her to the living room and stuffed a towel in her mouth to silence her. Ms. Wang spit the towel out and Wang Xianzeng stuffed it into her mouth again, using a stainless steel soup ladle to push the towel hard into her mouth. They had ripped out a lot of her hair in the process, and blood dripped onto her clothes. Many neighbors watched in horror. The approximate date was September 30, 2002. Ms. Wang was sent to Changli Brainwashing Center in Qinhuangdao City as a hostage because the police couldn't find her husband. Ms. Wang was not released until August 29, 2003.
During the 10-month illegal imprisonment, Ms. Wang Shumei went on hunger strike many times to protest the torture used to force her to give up her belief. She was force-fed [4] every time she went on hunger strike. Her nose bled profusely because of the rough and careless insertion of the force feeding tubes through her nose.
Ms. Wang's little girl was born in May 1999. Just a few months after her birth, she encountered this inhumane persecution that targeted tens of millions of innocent people. Her kind parents could not provide her with a stable environment simply because they refused to give up their belief in Falun Dafa, which teaches people to reach a higher moral standard and be good people.
Ms. Wang's 3-year old girl witnessed her mom's violent arrest, causing her severe emotional trauma. She screamed in her sleep and awoke from nightmares for more than three weeks. Every time she saw a car, she thought someone was coming to arrest her, and she was so frightened that she cried for her grandparents. She became afraid of strangers. Even when relatives from other cities came to visit her, she was frightened and screamed for grandma.
When Mr. Lv Guangxin from the Security Department of the University sent the little girl to her grandparents, they told him that they had no means to take care of her. Lv signed a written agreement with them to subsidize them 20 Yuan per day, but after a few days, Mr. Dong' parents no longer received any money. They were both in their 60's and had no income to support the child. They had to take the child with them to sell popcorn just to get by. Regardless of the weather, they went out at 6 am and came back home after dark all year long. When the child was sleepy, she rested on the small handcart. When someone wished to buy popcorn, the child had to sleep on the sidewalk. The little girl often complained that her legs hurt from the cold.
Mr. Dong Junming, Ms. Wang Shumei and their little child once had a warm and happy family. Because of Jiang Zemin's brutal persecution, they can't return to their own home and have been separated from each other. Now practitioners in many countries have taken Jiang Zemin and his accomplices to court with charges of genocide, torture, and crimes against humanity.
April 18, 2004
[1] Political instructor: In all government organizations in China, there is a political and ideological instructor, also called counselor, whose duty is to monitor everyone's ideology, and make sure that no one in the organization has any ideology other than what CCP propagates.
[2] "Tied the ropes": a torture name. The police tie up the practitioner with a thin rope, circle the rope around his neck, and tie his hands behind his back. Then the police would use all the force they could muster to tighten the rope. The rope becomes tighter and tighter around the body of the practitioner, and makes it more and more difficult for him to breathe. The pain is so intense that the practitioner sometimes loses control of his bladder. There are instances when the rope was tightened enough to break a practitioner's arm.
[3] "610 offices": an agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.
[4] Force-feeding: They force a tube down into her throat and then put mush or fluids down it. The tube closes off the airway into the throat and suffocates the victims. Because the food or fluid being forced down is not going down the normal way, it further closes the throat as the important initial swallowing muscles are bypassed and the body cannot sent it further down. Many have died from this type of force-feeding.
(Clearwisdom.net) In the fifth brigade of the Changlinzi Labor Camp in Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, the Dafa practitioners who have better eyesight are forced to weld together traffic control batons used by traffic police. The batons are exported to South Korea.
Practitioners with worse eyesight are forced to make toothpicks. The labor camp forces them to work 16-17 hours a day. Those who can't work as fast end up having to work day and night. Corn noodles and bread are the only food ever available. Only on April 24, when higher authorities came to inspect the labor camp, were the practitioners given something better to eat. Practitioners receive electric shock torture and beatings all the time.
The police here have totally lost control in persecuting Dafa practitioners. They often start torturing practitioners after mealtime. Some of them even force-feed practitioners with alcohol.
We call for the support of all kindhearted people to ask the labor camps in China to stop this illegal slavery and persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Wang Dayuan, thirty-six years old, a resident of Harbin, was a lecturer and faculty member in computer studies at Harbin Institute of Technology. On April 2, in order to compel him to write a statement criticizing Falun Gong, the prison police took turns to beat him up and punish him by making him stand in painful postures for a whole day. He was not given any food. On April 3, Wang Dayuan was forced to write a self-criticism statement under undue pressure from the violent beatings. On April 4, he tore up the statement and the prison police increased the intensity of the torture on him. In the end, Wang Dayuan could not stand, so the police made him crawl down the hall and threw him into a storage room. On April 5, Wang Dayuan was in a very bad condition but the police still forced him to work. They also violently beat him in the afternoon. On April 5, 2004, Wang Dayuan stopped breathing.
The police are trying to cover up this news and hide the truth from the world (including from the relatives and friends of Dayuan).
Meanwhile, the police in Harbin Prison are still doing evil things to Dafa practitioners. Since the first day Wang Dayuan arrived in the training team in Harbin Prison with us, the prison police have made us sit on folding chairs every day. We are not allowed to move or else we are beaten up with their fists and kicks. We had to sit there until midnight. For a few days without stop, the duration of the torture kept on increasing. At one point, it started at four in the morning. We were forced to write renouncements of our practice of Falun Gong. Our buttocks were very sore from the long sitting. On the fifth day, we refused to sit like that anymore. A dozen police surrounded us and in the end locked us up in small solitary cells. There, the handcuffs were tied to our leg shackles and then onto metal rings on the ground. Thus we could not stand up nor could we lie down. Two persons took turns to forbid us from sleeping and from having enough food. At the same time, they tried to force us to give up our practice of Falun Gong.
April 9, 2004
(Clearwisdom.net) On April 29, 2004, I left Taiwan with a group of fellow Falun Dafa practitioners for Hong Kong. We planned to attend the 2004 Hong Kong Falun Dafa Cultivation Experience Sharing Conference and the parade in Hong Kong that would be held on May 1 and 2. We boarded Taiwan's China Airlines flight CI619 and shortly arrived in Hong Kong. When we tried to go through customs, the immigration officers refused to let three fellow practitioners and me through. They took us to a room where the Hong Kong police searched each of us twice, and inspected our luggage. They also confiscated our cellular phones and cameras. Thus we were unable to tell anyone what happened to us or take any photographs for evidence.
This is not the first time that the Hong Kong Immigration Office has ill-treated Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioners and denied them entry into Hong Kong. On February 21, 2003, the Hong Kong Immigration Office denied entry to 89 Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioners and sent them back to Taiwan on the same plane they came on even though all of them had obtained legitimate visas and had no criminal records. [1] The Hong Kong Immigration Office has violated Hong Kong's Basic Law in failing to provide any reasonable explanation to justify these actions.
A young airport policeman who appeared to be in charge said to me, "There is no way we can give you entry to Hong Kong." That evening, he repeatedly apologized to me. I asked him, "You know very well that all of us are good people and would never do anything to disrupt the order of Hong Kong. Why must you insist on doing this to us?" He replied, "I have no choice. We have been given orders that we must obey. I am very sorry!"
Why did they receive orders to expel us? We and the airport police all understood why: it was because we were Falun Dafa practitioners. We Falun Dafa practitioners are most proud of our cultivation in Dafa. The world respects and honors Falun Dafa, but Jiang Zemin envies and hates Falun Dafa for its overwhelming popularity. Falun Dafa students are required to cultivate according to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance, a most righteous spiritual path. Teacher Li Hongzhi said,
"all of this is your goodness (shan) made manifest, and it is what evil fears most, as those who attack goodness are bound to be evil."
(From "Rationality" in Essentials for Further Advancement II.)
It is precisely as Teacher said. Jiang Zemin is completely consumed by his jealousy and fear of Falun Dafa. Besides launching the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners in China, Jiang Zemin has also been harassing Falun Gong practitioners outside China through any and all methods available to him. One of the approaches is to obstruct Falun Gong practitioners from attending Falun Dafa cultivation experience sharing conferences in Hong Kong by denying them entry.
I felt really sad for Hong Kong, but not for the treatment I was subject to. I explained to these young Hong Kong police officers, "When you expel Taiwanese Falun Gong practitioners, you are not really hurting us. You are actually hurting Hong Kong's reputation. Yesterday (April 28) the Hong Kong police forcefully administered an unknown drug to a Taiwanese lady and expelled her back to Taiwan. Today (April 29) she held a press conference at Taiwan's Legislative Yuan (similar to the U.S. Congress) revealing to the world Hong Kong's violation of human rights." Their faces sank upon hearing my words. I didn't have the heart to reproach them because they were pressured by their superiors to expel us.
I decided to use an alternative approach to clarify the truth to them. I said to them, "In the past when I frequently took flights to Hong Kong, the planes would be completely packed, and it was usually very difficult to book a flight. Today our flight was half empty. The back cabin was completely empty and there were a lot of empty seats in the front cabin. Aren't you worried about Hong Kong's future? Hong Kong does not value human rights or the law any more, and is losing her charm. What will become of Hong Kong?" In my heart, I was really beginning to cry for Hong Kong. Two policemen answered, "But there is nothing we can do." Although they are still very young, I believe that they are able to tell right from wrong and know there are consequences for every action. Judging from their gloomy faces, I saw that they must feel bad as well.
I continued, "The only way to save Hong Kong is to work cohesively to oppose unreasonable orders. Remember the July 1 march when over 500,000 people in Hong Kong came out to oppose Article 23? You rose up together to oppose Article 23, and the Hong Kong government dared not act against such a weight of public opinion. The only way to save Hong Kong is to fight against the persecution together!" They answered simultaneously, "Yes!" One of the airport police said, "I will tell my colleagues what you have just told us."
People of Hong Kong, please wake up! The persecution against Falun Gong is not limited to several individuals or several regions, but against the fundamental moral values that sustain each and every society! To protect the luster and beauty of Hong Kong, "the Pearl of the Orient," the people of Hong Kong must join Falun Gong practitioners in opposing and ending the persecution! Please accept my heartfelt wishes for Hong Kong. May the Pearl of the Orient remain lustrous forever!
Reference:
[1] Ming Bao (a Hong Kong Chinese Newspaper): Falun Gong Sues Immigration for Discrimination (Photo)
(Clearwisdom.net)
On April 25, 1999, over ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners in China went to the Appeals Office of the State Council in Beijing to peacefully appeal for Falun Gong. This has been known as the "4.25 Appeal." Three months later, on July 20, 1999, Jiang personally plotted and launched the widespread persecution of Falun Gong. Since the April 25 Appeal was the trigger for the subsequent and widespread persecution of Falun Gong, let us review the experiences of some Falun Gong practitioners who participated in the event.
Chen Gang and his wife Bai Pin, who now live in southern New Jersey, were among the ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners who appealed for Falun Gong on April 25 five years ago. With the help of the worldwide campaign to rescue the relatives of overseas Falun Gong practitioners, Chen and his wife were finally able to leave Beijing to join his parents in the US in July of last year.
Because of its great benefits, improving practitioners' physical and mental health, the number of people practicing Falun Gong grew very rapidly since it was first introduced to the public back in 1992. In 1999, the number of people who practiced Falun Gong reached one hundred million.
Chen Gang and Bai Pin recounted their experiences of the April 25 Appeal:
"Back then, at the Beijing Ditan practice site where we regularly went, there used to be about five hundred people who practiced Falun Gong together every day. There used to be many such practice sites in Beijing. It was estimated that at that time, about forty to fifty thousand Falun Gong practitioners went to parks every morning in Beijing to do the Falun Gong exercises. Since we practiced the exercises with the group every day, it was natural that we each knew several fellow practitioners. Therefore, the information about the police in Tianjin arresting Falun Gong practitioners spread very quickly among practitioners in Beijing. Most of us learned it the following morning (April 25, 1999) while some of us had learned the night before, the very evening the incident occurred. Many of us were ready to appeal for the case. Some practitioners went together with their colleagues, some with their neighbors, and I went with my wife. Quickly we had thousands of practitioners going to appeal. If we had had any formal organizers, we would have easily have had many more than ten thousand people going there."
Chen Gang recalled, "The reason for our appeal was very simple. It was because the Tianjin police officers unlawfully beat many practitioners and arrested over forty of them. The authorities in Tianjin told the practitioners there that they were not able to resolve the issue, that only Beijing could resolve it. They encouraged the practitioners to appeal to higher authorities in Beijing."
Regarding why Falun Gong practitioners were said to go to Zhongnanhai, Bai Pin, Chen Gang's wife, explained, "We were all going to the Appeals Office. Most of us gathered on Fuyou Street and in the vicinity, around Zhongnanhai. That is because the Appeals Office is very close to Zhongnanhai. We were maintaining very good order. We were led there by police officers. We stood where the officers told us to stand. It was fully arranged by the police. We were not purposely gathering around Zhongnanhai (the central government compound where China's highest leaders reside)." Describing how orderly the practitioners were during the appeal, she said, "When everyone left in the evening, the street was very clean and neat. The practitioners even picked up the cigarettes that the police officers tossed on the street and put them into the trash bins. This is the demonstration of practitioners' elevated morality after their practice of Falun Gong."
According to Chen Gang, "Later, they accused us of besieging (or surrounding and attacking in Chinese) Zhongnanhai. That's really very unfair. The so called 'surrounding' was merely us following whatever the police instructed us to do. We stood where the police asked us to stand. As for 'attacking', we were just quietly waiting outside for the outcome of the discussions between our representatives and the authorities in the Appeals Office. We didn't take any drastic action, chant slogans, or protest with signs. We didn't even make any loud noises."
The April 25 Appeal was merely an example of Falun Gong practitioners' peaceful appeals. To Jiang Zemin, however, it was used as an excuse to launch his brutal persecution. On July 20, 1999, Jiang personally plotted and launched his "eradication" policy, which included such orders as "Defame their reputation, bankrupt them financially, destroy them physically," "No responsibility if practitioners are beaten to death," "Consider it suicide if practitioners are beaten to death," and "Cremate the body immediately without confirming the identity."
Under his policy, the authorities imprisoned thousands of practitioners. Among them was Chen Gang, who was imprisoned in Beijing Tuanhe Forced Labor Camp for eighteen months. The police officers in the labor camp used eleven high voltage (tens of thousands of volts) electric batons to shock his entire body. His flesh was burned, and every time he was shocked, he felt as if being bitten by snakes.
"I personally experienced the persecution in China for four years. I was on the verge of death. In fact, I was dying at one point. Among the practitioners around me, two of them died of persecution." Chen Gang recalled.
The family members of Falun Gong practitioners that are being persecuted are also under tremendous pressure. "Like Chen Gang, hundreds of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners have been imprisoned in forced labor camps and persecuted, simply because of their belief in 'Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance'. Whenever I recount the time I went through when Chen Gang was imprisoned, I can't help but think of how much the family members of all of these practitioners have suffered." Talking about the months her husband was imprisoned in the forced labor camp, Bai Pin was choked with sobs. She said that the State Security Bureau once came to her work place to investigate her. They installed a video monitoring system in the hallway of her apartment.
Chen Ningfang, Chen Gang's mother, recalled, "We were really worried about him when he was imprisoned, because the authorities there would do anything they could to persecute him and force him to denounce his practice."
Chen Gang pointed out, "I'm fortunate to have been able to come to the United States. Nevertheless, at this very moment, many of my good friends back in China are still being tortured."
During the Falun Gong parade in New York's Chinatown this April, Chen Ningfang, Chen Gang's mother, a former First Class State Performer from the State Orchestra of China, demonstrated one of the brutal tortures that the imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners in China have been suffering.
"When you are gathered with your family members, enjoying the Easter holiday, when you are very happy, can you imagine that at that very moment, thousands of Falun Gong practitioners in forced labor camps are suffering this form of torture!" Mrs. Chen explained, "What we're doing now is stopping the persecution, to make it possible for thousands of the broken families to reunite, and to restore basic human rights and the right to practice Falun Gong to millions in China."
Now this is exactly what the ten thousand Falun Gong practitioners were trying to express on the April 25 Peaceful Appeal five years ago.
(Clearwisdom.net) During the time of the 2002 United Nation Human Rights Convention, Shang Jinggong, 40 year old chairwoman of Jinan City "Anti Cult Association" and chairwoman of Jinan City Science Association, led her subordinates into every forced labor camp in Shandong province. They were looking for prisoners who had renounced their practice of Falun Gong under the coercive pressures of the persecution. Promising them reduced sentences, Shang and her subordinates had them write letters to Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations and US President Bush, requiring them to say that practicing Falun Gong had been to their detriment, and they had come to see that Falun Gong was like the Chinese government said it was, and so forth.
Shang Jinggong took paper and envelopes with her for the former practitioners to write these letters. She collected the letters and sent them. One of the prisoners, an English teacher from Shanghe County, Jinan Province wrote a letter in English to President Bush. He received a reduction in the length of his sentence and was appointed as a team leader in the forced labor camp as a reward.
Originally posted on April 28, 2004
(Clearwisdom.net) Jiang Zemin has been sued for genocide, torture and crimes against humanity. Dafa practitioners have done a lot of truth clarification work, which has helped many Chinese to gradually learn the facts. In our truth clarification materials, we have focused more on genocide and torture, which are easier to perceive directly. Genocide is about Jiang Zemin's order to destroy Falun Gong practitioners both physically and mentally, and torture is to cause various kinds of pain and suffering to Falun Gong practitioners. To a large extent, these two crimes are directly related to Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.
This article intends to deeply dig into Jiang's third crime: crimes against humanity. This is about Jiang's persecution of all the Chinese people and even the people in Western countries.
About five years ago, Jiang launched his catastrophic persecution of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Suddenly, from central government officials to ordinary citizens, from the media, academia and students to the public security and the judiciary, all the people in China were forced to get involved in activities such as exposing, criticizing, and signing petitions against Falun Gong. Many were reluctant but went along in order to protect themselves.
In the past five years, Falun Gong practitioners' persistent efforts have made many people think and awaken. Many people have come to know the truth that Falun Gong practitioners are being persecuted and the suppression is sustained by lies. They sympathize with practitioners and support their courage. However, for many Chinese people, including the thugs and 610 officers involved in persecution, I don't know whether they have truly thought of the following: the victims of this catastrophe are not only limited to Falun Gong practitioners and their families; in fact every Chinese is a victim of this catastrophe personally initiated by Jiang Zemin. Falun Gong practitioners' worldwide lawsuits against Jiang not only seek justice for Falun Gong practitioners, but also for all the Chinese people.
Let's look at the facts:
If you are a news reporter, your professional ethics and morality guide you to make truthful reports. In recent years, however, under Jiang's abuse of power, many media have been forced to lie. I believe nowadays many people are reflecting: what is going on with the society? When reviewing its ten years of achievements, CCTV's "Focal Point Interview" did not mention their anti-Falun Gong programs. Looking back at what they've done in the past several years, wouldn't the producers and reporters in this group feel as if they've betrayed their profession? But who forced them to do so? Who has been limiting the news media's ability to be fair and true?
If you work in public security or the judiciary, you would hope to see that the country is ruled by law. Jiang's suppression of Falun Gong, however, has fundamentally negated this. For example, in the persecution, the rule is that deciding guilt is first, followed by legislation, and the murderers are not investigated. No legal professionals have dared to stand up and speak out. This is a betrayal of the conscience of the entire judiciary system.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is supposed to be China's window to the world, but this window has also been used to extend the suppression of Falun Gong overseas. With Jiang's abuse of power, some diplomats had to betray their motherland's interest to make deals to meet Jiang's personal will.
Today, many have seen the corruption in Chinese society, yet few dig into the root of this corruption. Can a country that suppresses Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and forces its citizens to lie and betray their conscience have a bright future? The root of China's five thousand years of culture and moral standards is being destroyed by Jiang.
Most recently, through the dark minions in the education circle, Jiang's group has struck another vicious blow to all teachers, students and their parents in China.
Now a lot of people are awakening. But most people are learning the truth from the perspective of a by-stander. They are sympathetic and supportive of Falun Gong; however, they haven't realized that everyone in China, and even Western societies (for example Germany, Iceland, France, etc.) themselves are also victims of this persecution. Everyone is an insider, not an outsider. Many people know that Falun Dafa is good, but if you ask them whether they have the courage to practice, they would say "I dare not" or "I only dare to practice behind closed doors" or "I'll wait until the day it is not suppressed and see." Of course, there are courageous people too.
Who has deprived Chinese people's right to freely learn and choose such a good practice to improve health and fitness? People who have experienced the Cultural Revolution, especially the "Red Guards," have painful memories. Only after the Cultural Revolution did they realize that they were a deceived generation. My personal understanding is that, as Dafa disciples, we have the responsibility to let today's people know that they too are a deceived and hurt generation, instead of waiting until the moment when the Fa rectifies the human world. Master said,
"That's the situation we see right now, and going forward it will become even easier for you all to clarify the truth, because the people of the world are becoming more and more aware. People will come to you on their own to hear about the true situation, and people will come to you on their own to learn our practice. That's about to happen, and in Mainland China the entire population is going to step forward to oppose the persecution."
("Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Western U.S. Fa Conference")
Every practitioner has the responsibility to clarify the facts thoroughly and clearly, to let every Chinese truly realize that the persecution is not just directed at Falun Gong practitioners, so as to propel and greet "the entire population stepping forward to oppose the persecution."
Jiang is being sued in many countries. Through more than a year's effort, many Chinese have gotten to know about the lawsuits. Many look on from the perspective of "respecting Falun Gong practitioners' courage," without realizing that these lawsuits are in fact for the sake of all people, and are closely related to themselves - because Jiang is persecuting the entire population in China, including those involved in the persecution, and is attempting to spread it around the world through his Consulates and Embassies.
This article intends to offer a few introductory remarks so that others may offer their valuable ideas. I hope that practitioners of various professions such as teachers, lawyers, news media personnel, etc., can combine their professional expertise and write articles that more deeply awaken people's realization of Jiang's persecution of your profession and of all people in China and even around the world, and to produce truth-clarifying materials and videos that more deeply expose the essence of the persecution.
Above is my personal understanding. Please kindly point out anything inappropriate.
May 1, 2004
(Clearwisdom.net) On March 28, 2004, police officers found Falun Dafa truth clarifying materials on a bus. They then went to my relative's home, and found Dafa materials in her house, so they forced her to tell them my address. The next day I was arrested by the police department and sent back to my hometown. They threatened to send me to prison (I had been illegally sentenced to nine years in March 2002, but was serving the sentence outside the prison).
One week later, on April 7, around 3:00 p.m., four policemen came to notify me that they were taking me to prison. I took some clothes and a quilt and followed them into their police car. I was very calm, and sent forth righteous thoughts to deny their persecution of me. At about 5:00 p.m. we arrived at the detention center. The police officers who had taken me produced documents relating to "administering my sentence outside the prison." They planned to have me admitted, but when the manager read the facts that I had written in advance and produced for him, he did not continue with the admittance procedures.
I knew my righteous thoughts worked. The manager called the director of the detention center, and told the director my situation. The director refused to accept me because I am too old and I have too many health problems. The policemen who took me there were getting very anxious, since it was now 6:00 p.m. Some of them wanted to go home for dinner and others had appointments. Three police officers lost their tempers and began to curse and stamp their feet furiously. They even asked the leader of the district where I live to contact the director of the detention center personally, but the director still would not accept me.
I then understood that the power of righteous thoughts is boundless, so I didn't stop sending forth righteous thoughts. At the same time, I asked Teacher to reinforce me. I silently repeated, "I want to go back home, I want to go back home!" Around 7:00 p.m., the above-mentioned district leader demanded over the phone that I be sent to the First Detention Center, but they refused to admit me. They contacted the local women's prison, and the authorities there also would not accept me. They did not know how to get out of this situation and save face. Finally they told me that there had been some miscommunication within the police department, so they let me go back home.
Just like that, from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., the farce hastily ended. It was midnight when they sent me back home.
I said in my heart: "What a merciful Teacher! Dafa is so amazing!"
Because of my limited education, I cannot completely express my gratitude to Dafa and to Teacher. What I do understand is that when we do things according to Master's teachings, and with strong righteous thoughts, there will be no tribulations that we cannot overcome.
(Clearwisdom.net) I am over 50 and have practiced Falun Dafa for seven years. Comparing my life before and after practicing Dafa, it seems that I have become a new person. Falun Dafa has truly changed me.
I was born with a very strong personality. Since my childhood I have studied very hard, always afraid of lagging behind others. After getting a job, I worked even harder and, very soon, I gained an admirable job and social position. Gradually, I began to put too much importance on my reputation, fame and being well known. I always looked down on others. When I was together with others, I always tried to be right, to not suffer any losses myself. I could not tolerate being treated unfairly to any degree. Of course, I would not forgive anybody if I was in the right. No matter if it was about work or everyday life, I always tried to be better than others. This took a lot of effort and, therefore, I always felt pressured, with the feeling of being tired all the time. Feeling envy towards others, I was also the envy of others, too. Whenever I was in conflict with someone, I had a policy that if you treated me badly I would treat you even worse. In such a vicious circle, my temper became worse and worse and it became easier and easier for me to get mad at others. Sometimes, I would boil with rage even when I was disciplining my child. This created a great deal of tension in our environment, and caused me much pain and suffering. Being a person of knowledge and reason, I knew that I should change my personality, but changing fundamentally is easier said than done.
When I first read the book Zhuan Falun [containing the teachings of Falun Dafa], I thought it would be too hard for me to be a practitioner, since it teaches that one should not fight back when being punched or cursed. Therefore, I missed the chance then and wasted another two years.
I began practicing Falun Dafa again two years later. This time I made up my mind to practice firmly. As soon as I made this decision, I began feeling and realizing the great power and miracles that come from Dafa.
Not long after I started practicing Dafa, I was involved in two car accidents. The first time, my bicycle collided with a mini van that came toward me. A car headlight was damaged and my bicycle was wrecked, but I was not hurt at all. At the very moment when the collision happened, I had no fear, only a clear idea that "I will have no problem." And it happened just exactly in that way. I knew that it was Teacher who was watching over me. The second time, as I was riding my bicycle around a corner, a mini bus came up from behind me and threw me on the ground in a heavy collision. The bus driver left the scene. As a man in his 50's, I would have been hurt seriously even if I was hit while walking, not to mention being hit while riding a bicycle. But I was not hurt at all, and I had no complaint or hatred toward the driver. This is also a miracle of Dafa.
After practicing Dafa, my physical condition improved very much. Before practicing, I had been suffering ailments continuously although I didn't have any big problems. Some of my ailments were persistent, such as neurodermatitis, which could not be cured completely by the hospital, even though I had used medicine for many years. Another problem I had was back and leg pain, which didn't yield to any treatment. Also, I had a problem with my neck. To cure it, I was trying to sleep without a pillow. On the average, I got a cold once a month. For the more serious ones, I would have a fever for as long as I had the cold. Medicine didn't work and my fevers never went away without treatment.
As soon as I started practicing Dafa, I quit taking all the medicine I had used before. Now, I have not gone to the hospital for seven years. This not only saves a lot of money for the country (since I have publicly funded health care), but it also makes me very healthy. As I have continued to practice, I can feel that my body has become purer and purer, which makes me more and more comfortable. This kind of miracle is something people cannot see or imagine; only a practitioner can experience it.
The elevation of xinxing (heart and mind nature, moral character) in practicing Falun Dafa, although not so obvious as the physical improvements, is a solid and gradual process. After going through a stage and looking back, I can also see my changes and improvements. Furthermore, these changes are essential and fundamental, and no outside force can reverse them. I still remember the time when I first started practicing Dafa and read Teacher's article:
"Forbearance is the key to improving one's xinxing. To endure with anger, grievance, or tears is the forbearance of an everyday person who is attached to his concerns. To endure completely without anger or grievance is the forbearance of a cultivator."
("What is Forbearance?")
I thought it would by no means be easy for me to reach this stage, since when faced with conflicts, I had previously been unable to endure anything because I was so concerned with saving face.
I have been requiring myself to live by the standards for practitioners, to lift my xinxing by overcoming the tests one by one. In the beginning, I endured with tears and sometimes I really could not maintain the standard; but afterwards I would realize that I had been wrong.
Teacher said,
"Cultivation itself is not painful--the key lies in your inability to let go of ordinary human attachments. Only when you are about to let go of your reputation, interests, and feelings will you feel pain." ("True Cultivation")
I have come to understand this passage of Teacher's through hard lessons. After going through various kinds of tribulations for a period of time, I felt that my mentality had become totally different from what I had before. Usually I can keep my heart peaceful, without worry or concern, without complaint and hatred, and I always look inside when encountering conflicts. Sometimes while facing impolite and unkind acts from everyday people, I can "listen but not hear, and look but not see" (meaning "not taking the acts to heart.")
Before practicing Dafa, I regarded fame and personal interests as being relatively important. I always stuck to my own views. Governmental work units are very sensitive to politics. Qigong such as Falun Gong had many practitioners who were government workers and didn't want to be known as practitioners, even before the persecution began. [Note: the ideology of the Chinese ruling party is atheism. Therefore people working in government departments who are not atheist often try to hide their belief so as not to be discriminated against.]
After the beginning of the persecution, those who could not persist gave up. To persist in practicing, one must be a person who dares to lose all standing and reputation, and also has courage and a lofty realm. In 2001, because of the arrangement of the old forces, I was sentenced to one and a half years in a labor camp. Although tempted by fame, position, money and love from relatives, I never wavered in my belief in Dafa a tiny bit. The people around me didn't understand me, and some of them, who were kind and nice to me, felt it was a pity. After I got back home last year, a friend of mine was afraid that I might take things too hard. So he came to my home and had a chat with me, finding that I was open and cheerful, without anything weighing on my mind. He could then rest assured. (Of course, I took the chance to tell him the facts about the persecution of Falun Gong.) Sometimes while chatting with friends and hearing them complain to me about their monetary losses, I seemed to feel that I was not on the same level as they were, and felt that it would be really hard to be like them. In the past, I cared too much about money and, just as Teacher said, felt very happy if I got a little and painful if I lost a little. Now I just follow the predestined relationships in all situations. Being persecuted by the evil for several years, I lost tens of thousands of Yuan. Although I don't acknowledge the persecution, I also don't take the loss in human society to heart. I have even contributed tens of thousands of Yuan to my parents and brother to solve their living problems, and to settle family conflicts, helping our large family live in harmony.
I know that I am still far away from the standard of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance." The only purpose for me to write the above facts is to validate Dafa. I know very well why the persistent diseases both in my body and mind had been cured. Teacher said,
"Cultivation depends on one's own efforts, while the transformation of gong is done by one's master." (Zhuan Falun)
As long as one behaves according to the Fa, holds righteous thoughts and keeps doing everything in a righteous way, Dafa can do everything for him. My changes and improvements have truly proved this. Falun Dafa has truly changed me.
Shared at the 2004 New York Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference
(Clearwisdom.net)
Greetings Master!
Greetings fellow practitioners!
In mythology, when the heavenly bird Phoenix is about to be reborn, it will first fly into a gigantic blazing fire and be consumed by the flames. Three days later, a new Phoenix emerges from the ashes. The Gods say it's a renewal of life and a magnificent rebirth, and this is what I feel Falun Dafa has given me.
* * *
The first time I heard the music "Pu Du" was after a group study. When the notes from the solo Chinese flute slowly flowed out, my tears flowed instantly. It seemed like a voice saying to me: It's been a long, long time. You're far, far away. You've been wandering lost and helpless for too long. It's time to go home...
During the first two years of my cultivation, I really wanted very much to cultivate myself, but on the other hand, I really didn't know how to cultivate. My cultivation was very painful. I always felt that my attachments didn't go away no matter how hard I tried. It was very rare for me to get any higher enlightenment while reading Zhuan Falun. What I feared most was that fellow practitioners would tell me that I had attachments again.
That's the way it was for me until the beginning of the persecution in 1999. One day after work, I sat in the lab where I worked and tried to decide whether I should go to an academic conference that was out of town. One minute I thought I should go because it would be beneficial to my work. The next minute I worried that I would miss an important Fa-rectification activity that weekend and so maybe I shouldn't go. While I was caught in this endless back and forth condition, I suddenly realized that actually my whole cultivation so far had been in this kind of state, worrying about loss and gain and weighing one against the other. The starting point of everything was to evaluate how much I could gain without losing anything. Amidst all kinds of truth-clarification events, I had this unconscious mentality of not wanting to be left behind or miss out on anything good.
Right at that moment I thought of Master, and then the entire two years of my cultivation process appeared before my eyes. I couldn't help bursting into tears. Wasn't it true that in the years of cultivation and under the care of Master, everything I obtained was the most beautiful and wonderful--the elevation of my soul? And everything I lost was the dirtiest and filthiest--my attachments and karma. What else should I be worried about? Hadn't I found my heart's destiny? At that moment, I felt a piece of thick shell dissolve away. I truly and vividly experienced Master's grand compassion. Later I realized that a very fundamental attachment in my life had been melted by Master's compassion.
Master told us in the article "Towards Consummation," (from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
"Studying the Fa with attachments is not true cultivation. Yet during the course of cultivation a person may gradually become aware of his fundamental attachments, rid himself of them, and thus meet the standard for a cultivator. What's a fundamental attachment, then? Human beings acquire many notions in this world and are, as a consequence, driven by these notions to pursue what they yearn for. But when a person comes to this world, it is karmic arrangements that determine his course of life and what will be gained and lost in it. How could a person's notions determine each stage of his life? So those so-called 'beautiful dreams and wishes' become pursuits that can never be realized, despite painful attachments."
At a young age, I had developed a deep feeling of insecurity and personal crisis due to the fact that I attended pre-school and kindergarten away from home and was separated from my family for long periods of time. However, with the passage of time, and as I grew older, I couldn't recognize these feelings, as they got covered up by layers and layers of my life experiences and social development. This underlying feeling of insecurity had become a notion that controlled all aspects of my life and the entire process of my development. From childhood to adulthood, it didn't matter if I was in school, at work, traveling abroad, getting married, or even cultivating -- I pursued what I thought was good, because it made me feel secure. In the dog-eat-dog world, in order to protect my selfish self, my brain was trained to be extremely speedy in calculating my personal loss and gain in any situation. I was not about to put myself in any insecure state by any chance. Later I heard the word "sneaky" in one of Master's lectures. It was really like that!
Because of this fundamental attachment, I was unconsciously pursuing what I thought was good in the Fa, which greatly hindered my complete melting into the Fa, and a solid belief in Master and the Fa. That was why I couldn't see much of the higher-level Fa while studying the book -- my true self was masked by my post-natal notions, and I couldn't embrace the Fa whole-heartedly. From then on, I realized that whenever we can't see the Fa's higher principles, we should not go to Master to pursue them; instead, we should ask ourselves if it's because we didn't improve our xinxing. Without the elevation of our xinxing and our realms, the Buddhas, Daos and Gods behind the words of the Book won't give us any hints of the higher content.
As a result of this experience in the lab that day after work, I changed dramatically. It was so apparent that fellow practitioners told me that I seemed to be another person. When I held the book to read it again, I felt every word and sentence was a manifestation of Master's compassion. I felt my life full of happiness from the microcosmic to the macrocosmic, and from the inside out. Happiness and joy flowed in me like a fountain, continually gushing out from the bottom of my heart. I remembered a story from Buddhism: One of Buddha Sakyamuni's disciples was a Prince before his cultivation. One night he sang in the Royal Garden by himself. The guard went up to ask him what was going on. He said, "Previously I was as noble as a Prince. I had a crown, a great fortune, and beauty. I owned everything, but I was very afraid in my heart. I was afraid of being deprived of my crown, fortune, and beauty -- that someone else would take it. Now I'm cultivating Buddhahood. In my heart I have the Law, so I have nothing to be afraid of. That's why I started singing."
I understood the point of this story as I deeply experienced the feeling that my heart was full of brightness even if I was buried by layers and layers of darkness. Those who cultivate Dafa are the most joyful people! And from then on, I knew that as long as I had Master and Dafa, no matter what might arise in front of me in the future, I could stride over it. I also realized that the genuine meaning of life is to assimilate our lives with the principles of "Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance."
Cultivation is no longer an empty word to me. Instead it manifests in great detail in every corner of my daily life. Master told us in Lecture One of Zhuan Falun:
"To tell you the truth, the entire cultivation process for a practitioner is one of constantly giving up human attachments."
My understanding is that as long as we are still cultivating, we should constantly let go of our attachments and strive closer to "Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance." The current Fa-rectification period is different from self-cultivation--my understanding of the difference is that we have larger responsibilities to shoulder. We should clarify the truth and save sentient beings, which is not just about personal consummation and returning. We cannot lower our standards for improving xinxing and eliminating attachments in the Fa-rectification.
When I was doing TV work, I was involved in a big conflict with another practitioner. The focal point of the conflict was the different understandings we had about the direction of the local TV team in clarifying the truth. Although things seem very simple to me now, I was really attached to my position at that time. I even thought that the other practitioner's understanding was a kind of interference. The more I thought about it, the more I felt I was right. I convinced myself that I was really thinking about the well-being of the TV station. After a while, I got busy with other projects and stepped back from the TV team. Gradually I began to see that the other team members were doing a good job clarifying the truth according to the direction suggested by the other practitioner. I realized that the other practitioner's understanding was also right. One day when I was reading Zhuan Falun Lecture Two, "The Issue of the Celestial Eye," I came across this paragraph:
"A practitioner whose cultivation has reached a particular level can only see manifestations at that level. He is unable to see the truth beyond that level, and neither will he believe it. Therefore, he only regards what he sees at his level as correct."
I found that this passage was talking about my problem, and indeed both our understandings were correct. We just saw two different aspects of the same matter. If we really want to do a good job of something, we should do all aspects well. But why was I so attached to my understanding earlier? Fundamentally it was an issue of selfishness. I took my thoughts, my arrangements, and my whole set of working directions too seriously. All those are impurities to be eliminated while doing the sacred Fa-rectification work. Many times I found that we use Fa-rectification as an excuse to cover up our attachments that we don't want to let go of, which causes disharmony among practitioners. This experience gave me a chance to see the importance of mutual harmony amongst ourselves. No matter how good one practitioner's understanding is, it can only represent one cosmic body, and the relative wisdom is linear and one-dimensional. If everyone can fully utilize what he enlightens to in the Fa, the wisdom will be multi-dimensional. That will be the harmony of the whole universe, which I understand to be what Master wants.
Master has told us about the principle of "Formation, Stasis, Degeneration and Destruction," and has given us renewal and recovery instead of "Destruction." My understanding is that Master has given us the mechanism to ensure harmony, recovery, and renewal. The key, however, is that we must constantly compare ourselves with the universal principle to find out where we deviate, and then eliminate these things. Many times, if my cultivation state is good, I can reach the state of looking inside unconditionally. Sometimes, it can become automatic, like a mechanism. When there's a problem, I don't look at others. I only focus on the distance between me and "Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance" to find my problem and eliminate it. Sometimes when I feel uneasy with somebody or something, I immediately ask what's wrong with me. As soon as my thoughts go in that direction, I can see my problem immediately. The uneasiness disappears and I can feel my realm improve. It's just as fast as that. With this kind of mechanism, you can feel the continuous changes every month and every day.
In Fa-rectification cultivation, it's not just while doing Fa-rectification work that we need to improve xinxing. The requirement exists for cultivation in every aspect of ordinary society. Many times I found when I needed to improve my xinxing, a similar problem in my regular job would arise. My job was being used to give me hints. For example at one point in Fa-rectification work, I often complained that other practitioners working on other projects didn't cooperate, and one body could not be formed. At that same time, at work, my department had to work closely with another department. And whenever the experiment did not go smoothly, people in that other department complained that our samples were not good. In return, we told them that it was their system that was problematic. Their problematic system caused our good samples to be bad. It kept going back and forth like this continually. And then I realized that we were one body. We should understand each other and cooperate well. Sometimes we also needed to supplement each other. This was exactly my problem in cultivation, but I couldn't see it until it manifested at work. Also there was a time when I just wanted to do big things in the Fa-rectification, the bigger the better. Best if it's a world-class achievement. And right then, of course, I was assigned a big project at work. Everything was very smooth, and I had reached the end of the project. When I was about to sit back and enjoy the feeling of achievement, my boss asked me to transfer the project to another colleague and gave a very valid reason for it. When this happened, I thought a bit. ...Yes, we can't be attached to anything.
Master said in "Teaching the Fa at the Conference in Vancouver, Canada, in 2003,"
"But no matter how trying it is, your goal is clear: in difficult situations we are able to save sentient beings and to succeed in cultivating ourselves; in this cultivation process we're able to temper ourselves and become purer and purer and more and more able to meet higher standards..."
I think many of us practitioners have had the experience of our hearts becoming more transparent and peaceful while cultivating. Meanwhile, Dafa also opens up greater wisdom in us and bestows us with supreme capabilities.
I would like to share a story about writing an article. Last year two local practitioners on the TV team went to report on an anti-SARS fund-raising concert in the Chinese community. Because the Chinese Consul General in New York attended, the two were refused entry. Later the organizers even called the police to escort them to leave. Due to the propaganda from the Jiang regime, many local Chinese didn't understand us and unknowingly contributed to the persecution. Many local practitioners went to clarify the truth to the local Chinese community leaders, and it was very touching.
At that time I had one thought in my heart--to write an article and publish it in the local newspaper so more Chinese people would understand. I wanted them to know about the "grand compassion and tolerance" that practitioners had manifested over the four years of persecution for the well-being of the Chinese people, and how bad it would be for them to discriminate against or hate Falun Gong practitioners. I wrote very quickly, and knew I didn't write it with my ordinary skills. It was the wisdom that Dafa bestowed on me, because I knew there was no way I could have finished it with my ordinary skills. I sent the article to other practitioners for comments and soon received feedback. I carefully looked at every one of the comments. If it made sense, I changed my wording accordingly. If not, I explained my reason. If this had occurred earlier in my cultivation, I would not have been so open to the comments and would want to leave things as is. However, I felt very different this time. What I saw was that every practitioner tried to help sincerely and from the heart to achieve the best vehicle for truth-clarification. Everyone was using the wisdom they cultivated at their level to supplement the parts where I was lacking. From beginning to end, there were around 30 comments and suggestions, and I treated each of them carefully, making changes where necessary. I worked through them all very quickly and efficiently. In the end, one practitioner suggested to change the title of the article. As soon as I caught myself wondering whether that would change the whole subject of the article, I said to myself, "why not just try it." When I followed the practitioner's suggestion to change the title, it was indeed better than my own. It was very inspiring and enlightening. In the Fa-rectification, if I do something well, it's not because I'm magnificent; instead, it's the Fa that is magnificent.
When my heart is in the Fa, the power of the Fa shows through me. It's just as simple as that. In writing that article, my role was to set up the structure and put the necessary parts together. When other practitioners saw that the surface was rough, they smoothed it out and helped to improve it. When others saw something confusing or messed up, they clarified it or replaced text. The whole process was one of cultivation, in which everyone harmonized for the best results. If we cultivate well, our cooperation will be harmonious; the power will be great and we'll save more sentient beings.
As Master mentioned in the Lecture at the First Conference in North America,
"Since such an immense Fa is being taught in human society, think about how remarkably easy it is to assimilate one person. Let me draw a most simple analogy: If a piece of sawdust drops into a furnace of molten steel, it will vanish in a twinkling. It would be effortless for an immense Fa such as ours to assimilate a person like you, to eliminate your karma, to remove your improper thoughts, and so forth."
My understanding is that cultivation is not difficult. The most important aspect is whether we would like to jump into the molten steel without any reservation and to change our lives, which have been carrying a lot of marks from the old cosmos, according to the principle of "Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance."
Master also said in the article of "In Reference to a Prophecy," (from Essentials for Further Advancement II)
"The process of Master's Fa-rectification among humans is, as Gods see it, just like a process of resurrection."
As beings in the old cosmos, we came to the three realms with "heavenly courage." With the greatest pleasure, we're participating in the Fa-rectification with Master and cultivating in the Fa-rectification. Our lives and the lives of countless cosmic bodies have been reborn -- all because of Master's immense compassion. In the Fa-rectification, the process of eliminating all barriers in the human world with the guidance of "Truthfulness, Benevolence, Forbearance" and elevating to the realms of magnificent enlightened beings is the true practice by which hundreds of millions are validating the magnificence of the universal law.
I know my presentation is so tiny in the boundless Buddha Fa and under the infinite grace of Master. But it's the song of my heart. The purpose of singing it out is to sing the praises of Master and Dafa. Thank you Master, from the bottom of my heart. And thank you, fellow practitioners.
(Clearwisdom.net) I am 37 years old this year. I am a very fortunate person because I began to practice Falun Gong while I was suffering from an incurable illness. That illness, which had not been cured after spending hundreds of thousands of Yuan (1), disappeared after I practiced Falun Gong for a few months.
Having benefited so much from Falun Gong, I feel so sad that such a good practice is being slandered and persecuted by Jiang Zemin's group. Here, I'd like to share my true experience with Falun Dafa, so that those who have been cheated by Jiang's propaganda can have a correct view on it.
In March 2000, I was infected with hepatitis. Upon taking the hospital exam, I was told that the illness was very severe. The doctors introduced me to a retired Chinese medical doctor surnamed Cai, who was claimed to be able to cure the illness. Dr. Cai dealt with my illness for five months, and I spent more than 20,000 Yuan on the medical treatment, but the illness was still unchecked. My family was very worried about me, and they sought everywhere for better treatment. Later, someone introduced me to another retired senior doctor and I took his treatments for 4 months. All the medical expenses cost more than 30,000 Yuan, but the illness didn't subside. My family began to lose hope. All my relatives and friends looked for any special medicines to cure my illness. My family spent another 10,000 Yuan. However, after one year, when I went to the hospital for an exam, the illness was still there. By that time we had no more money to spend on my illness, so I had to stop taking medicine.
In May 2002, I had a relapse of liver disease. A friend introduced me to a Dr. Zhang. With a gleam of hope, I went to see Dr. Zhang. He told me that he was very confident of getting rid of the illness and said, "I have cured of a lot of patients like you. You need to pay 20,000 Yuan first, and you also need to buy drugs to combine with my herbs to achieve better effects. After you are cured of the liver illness, I will call a TV reporter here. Then, please help me to make advertisements about my medical skills." I agreed with his requests and confidently let him treat my illness. However, when I was examined 5 months later, the liver illness had developed to liver cancer.
I had spent more than 100,000 Yuan on the illness, and I never expected that it would be so bad in the end. My whole family lived under the cloud of my illness, as well.
During my time of almost complete despair, one of my relatives introduced Falun Gong to me. It was December 2002. I learned the Falun Gong exercises, and my health began to get better and better. With the support and encouragement of my family, I practiced Falun Gong cultivation very diligently . The illness miraculously disappeared after only a few months of the practice! During this time I spent no money at all on my illness. I am so lucky to practice Falun Gong. All of my neighbors and friends saw me working in the field and going fishing after such a short period of time since I began to practice and they marveled at the power of Falun Gong.
My friends, I am full of gratitude to the founder of Falun Gong, Master Li Hongzhi. It is he who saved me from death. I became a healthy person again, and happiness was restored to my family. Actually, Falun Gong saved my whole family. I must tell all people with my own experience that you should not be taken in by the lies of Jiang's media. One single piece of my own experience outnumbers thousands of their lies.
I assuredly tell all of you that Falun Dafa is a righteous cultivation practice. It is so good, because it teaches people to practice according to "Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance" and upgrades the morality of the society. I cannot understand why such a good practice is being persecuted, instead of being broadly promoted. I think it is completely wrong and unfair.
(1) Yuan: The average monthly income of a Chinese worker is about 500 Yuan
(Clearwisdom.net) On Sunday, May 9, 2004, UK Falun Gong practitioners gathered at the Chinese Embassy in London. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao arrived in England this weekend and Falun Gong practitioners held an appeal with banners displaying three important messages: "UK Falun Gong Practitioners Welcome Wen Jiabao", "Bring Jiang to Justice" and "Falun Gong is Good." However, although their name was missing from the official list of Chinese officials visiting UK, included among the delegation was one of the chief persecutors of Falun Gong, Bo Xilai.
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Bo Xilai enthusiastically follows Jiang Zemin to persecute Falun Gong. During his term as Mayor of Dalian City from 1993 to 2001, Dalian City was one of the cities where the persecution of Falun Gong was most severe. At least fifteen Falun Gong practitioners have been verified as being persecuted to death. During his term as Governor of Liaoning Province from January 2001 to February 2004, Liaoning Province became one of the provinces where the persecution of Falun Gong was the most severe. Up to the 1st of December 2003, it was verified that at least 90 Falun Gong practitioners had been persecuted to death, ranking fourth in the country.
UK practitioners filed a lawsuit against Bo Xilai for his crimes of torture. They then held a press conference on the afternoon of Sunday 9th to let the world know about the lawsuit against Bo Xilai and to expose his vicious crimes. Bo has already been the subject of lawsuits in both USA and Germany as he tours with the Chinese entourage.
During the press conference, speeches were given by Chairman of the European Falun Dafa Association Peter Jauhal and respected former diplomat Lord Thurlow. Lord Thurlow announced that Wen Jiabao's visit to London is welcome and explained the need for a trusting relationship to be developed between the west and China so that both can move forward together. Mr Jauhal's speech announced UK practitioners' intentions to bring Bo to justice and expose his crimes to the world.
During the Embassy appeal, practitioners demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises and sent forth righteous thoughts. Many people accepted leaflets to find out more about Falun Gong. A human rights group was also appealing at the Embassy that day and they openly commented on the peacefulness and beauty of Falun Dafa practitioners' appeal stating that practitioners set a great example for others. The practitioners have now appealed at the Chinese Embassy in London 24 hours a day for 700 days in a row.
Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200405/19544.html
(Clearwisdom.net) On May 6, 2004, the China Human Rights Tour began its journey at Oslo University in the capital of Norway. The tour features a group of lecturers that are mainly brought together by a famous Canadian lawyer, the chairperson of Asia Research Association in America, the chairperson of the Labor Studies Fund Association, as well as Falun Gong practitioners that have been persecuted in China. The speeched aim at helping governments and people in northern Europe to understand more about the current human rights abuses against Falun Gong practitioners, Christians and other minority groups in China, and to adopt more effective approaches to make China improve the its human rights situation.
The talk given in Oslo University was jointly sponsored by Falun Gong practitioners studying in the University. The local students' chapter of Amnesty International very interested in the event. They were shocked by the true state of human rights in China. After the event finished, a lot of the audience stayed and talked to the lecturers, wanting to know more about the situation.
From left to right: Ms. Zhizhen Dai whose husband was persecuted to death and their daughter, Tibet committee representative Mr. Preston, Mr. Brown from the Christian missionary, Falun Gong Association representative Mr. Giertsen, Canadian lawyer Mr. Ansley, Asia Studies chairperson Mr. Erping Zhang and one of the organizers, Ms. Erikson.
Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200405/19533.html
(Clearwisdom.net) Practitioners were invited to attend the Contemporary Human Rights Forum, held at Spain's Comillas University from April 19 to 21, 2004. The forum was held jointly by the Jurisdiction Department of Comillas University, the Human Rights Research Center of the Home of Bartolomé, Carlos III University of Madrid, and the unit of Humanity Support and Social Commitment of the Comillas University. The goal of the forum was to probe into the current situations of human rights, and investigate how to overcome the difficulties that human rights are facing.
The subject of the forum on April 21st was 'The Responsibility of Human Rights Media.' The VIPs invited to the meeting were Mr. Juan Pedro, Director of the News Department at Spanish TV Channel 5, and Mr. Jose Antonio, a prestigious battlefield reporter associated with Spanish National TV. In the meeting, the VIPs delivered speeches about basic human rights, freedom of speech and media, covering news or selling news. They mentioned the decisive role played by the media in a modern society, the important political, social and historic responsibilities that the media have to take on and the dilemma that journalists are facing between business interest and professional ethics in a commercialized society.
In a statement made at the forum, a Falun Gong practitioner gave an account of the ongoing brutal persecution against Falun Gong in China. He said, "In China, all of the media including TV, broadcasting, newspapers, magazines, computer networks, are all controlled and manipulated by the autocracy. The government utilizes these propaganda tools to cover up and distort the truth, deceive the public and spread lies. The Chinese media's freedom of news is seriously infringed, let alone the citizens' rights in knowing the facts and freedom of speech."
"The most recent example is the cover-up by Jiang's group of the facts regarding SARS, so as to protect their interest because they believe stability overwhelms everything. They told lies to the whole world, which led to a rampant spread of SARS virus worldwide, and cost several hundred innocent lives."
Something even more acute and evil is the ongoing brutal persecution that the Jiang's group has conducted against Falun Gong over the past five years. In 1999, out of personal jealousy, Jiang began the genocide against Falun Gong, a very popular cultivation practice with about one hundred million practitioners in China. Jiang's group manipulated and controlled the media so that a series of lies, rumors and slanders were made against Falun Gong.
Shockingly, they even fabricated the so-called 'self-immolation incident' in Tiananmen Square to achieve the goal of confusing the general public, bringing about the people's hostility against Falun Gong, and covering up the monstrous crimes they had committed against several hundred millions of innocent Chinese citizens.
When compared with the well-known massacre of June 4th 1989, the scale of the persecution against Falun Gong is even larger. Its characteristics are more vicious, and the means are far more fierce and concealed. In the June 4 massacre, all the people around the world witnessed on TV the bloody slaughter by the Chinese army of the unarmed democracy advocates and university students. Therefore, every country condemned the atrocity of the Chinese communist regime. However, the persecution against Falun Gong practitioners has been carried out in dark corners. Those Falun Gong practitioners who were illegally imprisoned in labor 're-education' camps or psychiatric hospitals suffered from inhuman brain-washing, forced labor, cruel beating and brutal torture. Some of them were even tortured to death. What is even worse is that Jiang issued the order, 'Beating to death will be treated as suicide'. This order has made the persecution even more unscrupulous. Jiang's group also blocked information channels to prevent the outside world from understanding the truth of the persecution. All of the foreign media reporters and human rights organizations have been forbidden to investigate the persecution independently.
Falun Gong practitioners in China face a tyrannical
dictatorship and a strict information blockade. They constantly face the danger
of being arrested, detained, tortured and persecuted to death. Through various
peaceful approaches, including interrupting TV broadcasts, distributing
materials and publishing information on the Internet, Falun Gong practitioners
clarify the truth to the general public. At the same time, their actions also
defend the citizens' rights to know, freedom of speech, freedom of information,
freedom of belief and freedom of assembly. These basic human rights have been
severely violated in China.
At the meeting, Falun Gong practitioners called upon all of the media and
journalists in the world, "Please carry out your sacred duties. Use your
justice and conscience to unravel the truth of the persecution. Help Falun Gong
practitioners to stop this violent infringement against human rights and
humanity."
The Falun Gong practitioners' statement shocked the participants a great deal. A law school professor said, "Although I have heard about the human rights conditions in China, I did not realize that it was so bad." Another participant added, "Such a major event has occurred in China, but we didn't know. We hope that we can provide help to the people who are suffering from the persecution."
After the forum, practitioners further clarified the truth to the two invited VIPs, and presented them with some leaflets. They told the practitioners that they would read the materials carefully and would forward them to their Consulates in China.
Many forum attendants encircled Falun Gong practitioners for flyers and CDs, hoping to obtain more information about Falun Gong. Because of the untiring efforts of Falun Gong practitioners all over the world, more and more people understand the truth. We strongly believe that when the truth is explicitly known to the world, the evil persecution will be brought to an end.
Source: http://clearharmony.net/articles/200405/19532.html
(Clearwisdom.net) On the afternoon of May 1, in a hall located in the vintage convention centre near the Neckar River in Heidelberg, nearly forty pharmacists and alternative medicine experts, mainly from Germany, attentively watched the Falun Gong exercise demo. They learned the slow-moving and gentle movements, while Falun Gong music gently resounded around the hall.
The two-day International Conference of the International Federation of Professional Aroma Therapists was convened there, and was attended by more than 270 pharmacists and experts in this field from Germany, England, Ireland, Austria and the U.S. According to the agenda, among the twenty five presentations on various kinds of alternative medicines were two reports about Falun Gong. Chinese herbal doctor Zhou Xiu delivered both reports and demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises.
On the evening of April the 30th, a party featuring traditional Chinese culture relaxed the participants after a day long conference. Falun Gong practitioners presented them with a program composed of a traditional Chinese dance, solo playing of a Chinese instrument called the zither and singing. In the main hall, a Dunhuang Flying Fairy Dance was performed together with some long ribbons in seven colors and blossoming pink lotus flowers flying in front of the white screen usually used for projection of professional slides. During the intermission, the spokesman of the Frankfurt-headquarters of Human Rights International, Mr. Lessenthin, was invited to the podium to briefly introduce China's human rights situation. He specially mentioned the cruel persecution of Falun Gong by Jiang's political group during the past five years.
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The report on Falun Gong furnished Ms. Martina Brust, a pharmacist from the Saar State, with fresh feelings and a brand-new knowledge about the Orient. When learning the Falun Gong exercises, she quickly felt a warm stream between her palms. Ms. Brust felt that the performances on April the 30th, "Brought serenity and peacefulness to people." Like many other German people, she had already heard of the persecution through German media reports. She said, "I think the reason for this persecution is that Jiang's political group was afraid that Falun Gong might become a formidable force to threaten its political power. However, it is against Falun Gong's principles of 'Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance.' It is impossible for those who comply with the principles of 'Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance' to overthrow a political power using violence."
Mr. Wollner, one of the conference organizers who invited Falun Gong practitioners to perform, expressed that should there be any similar occasions in the future and he will continue to invite Falun Gong practitioners. Judging from the favorable and positive feedback from those who attended the party, he was firmly convinced that Falun Gong practitioners would convey a peaceful and harmonious artistic conception to the audience again in their performance next time, and present the beauty of oriental traditional culture on the German stage.
Source: http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200405/19486.html
(Clearwisdom.net) On May 7th, 2004, a few young Falun Dafa practitioners participated in a demonstration in Montreal organized by the 2/3 Club, an international youth solidarity group. More than 10,000 teenagers were present to show their support for world peace, sustainable development, human rights and justice.
Young Falun Dafa practitioners held a banner (in French) that read, "Together, We Can End the Genocide against Falun Dafa in China". Throughout a 5.5 mile walk on the streets of Montreal, they distributed Friends of Falun Gong leaflets with the title, "Imagine Being Persecuted for Doing This".
At one point during the march, two practitioners sat down to practice the meditation exercise, while others held the banner behind them. They stayed there for ten minutes while people from the demonstration passed continually in front of them.
The practitioners received a lot of support from people who had just learned the situation of Falun Gong in China that same morning. Learning the facts of the brutal persecution, they naturally decided to lend a hand by holding the banner and distributing leaflets. At the end of the route, the young Falun Gong practitioners hung the banner on the hand rail of the Place des Arts Plaza where hundreds of passersby were able to see it.
(Clearwisdom.net) On April 29, 2004, amateur artist and Falun Gong practitioner Xia Qiongfen was interviewed by the host of a program on TV Channel 21. The topic was the creativity process. Ms. Xia took the opportunity to introduce Falun Gong and Jiang's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners to citizens of Charlotte.
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As an amateur artist, Ms. Xia said that her painting skill was inborn. Before practicing Falun Gong, she painted just to please everyone. Seven years ago, she started to practice Falun Gong and her painting style changed to a serene, steady and joyful one. Ms. Xia said, "Since beginning the practice of Falun Gong, my inner self has changed. I started to feel very tranquil, pure and comfortable in my heart. I wanted to express that feeling for others to see. When I see practitioners practicing the exercises, I can feel their peace and comfort. When I started to paint (a painting of a young girl practicing the exercises), I tried to express the feeling in the painting and really hoped that the viewers could feel the peace and comfort."
She continued, "It has been 12 years since Mr. Li Hongzhi introduced Falun Gong to the world. Nearly five years ago, Jiang and his political group banned the practice and the Chinese media spread lies about it to incite hatred in the public. Many practitioners were tortured and persecuted for their belief. Falun Gong is a mind and body practice. I have just mentioned the body part. The mind part is that we follow the universal principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance."
In answering a question from a reporter why Jiang's political group persecutes Falun Gong, Ms. Xia said, "I think it is because 100 million people practice Falun Gong and the number is far more than the members of Communist Party, which caused Jiang's political group to become jealous. Actually, the practice is nonpolitical. Jiang's persecution resulted in the suffering of many practitioners. Nearly one thousand practitioners died due to police torture and more than 100,000 practitioners are being imprisoned in labor camps."
The day after the interview, on the evening of April 30, the citizens of Charlotte (a city with a population of 550,000) saw the program broadcast on their local television station.
(Clearwisdom.net)
[Beijing City] Falun Dafa Practitioner Su Jing Illegally Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison
Beijing practitioner Su Jing was sentenced to seven years in prison by the Haiding District Procuratorate and Haiding District Court on a fabricated charge. Su Jing was arrested on his way home from work on October 13, 2003. The Haiding District National Security Team abducted him and confiscated his vehicle without justification. Su Jing's vehicle is currently being used by the police.
[Laixi City, Shandong Province] Practitioner Sun Yuzhen on the Verge of Death due to Torture
Ms. Sun Yuzhen was a teacher from Xiagezhuang No.3 High School in Laixi City. Because she insists on upholding her beliefs in Truth-Compassion-Tolerance, she was sent to Wangchun Forced Labor Camp for a three-year term. In the labor camp, Sun Yuzhen has been subjected to various torture and brainwashing in attempt to have her give up Falun Dafa.
Sun Yuzhen began a hunger strike in protest on April 1, 2004, and was consequently force-fed. Because of the brutal tortures, her life was in great danger, and she was recently sent to the hospital for an infusion. According to witnesses, Sun Yuzhen was bound to a bed, with all four limbs, shoulders, and back tied up. She appeared to be near death.
Relevant phone numbers:
Wang Shouhua, head of the "610 Office" in Laixi City, 86-532-8478861 (work), 86-532-8487255 (home), 86-13969791597 (cell)
Laixi City Hall office, 86-532-8483667
Shen Tao, director of Laixi Politics & Law Section, 86-532-8483613 Ext. 9587 (work), 86-13969791597 (cell)
[Wafangdian City, Liaoning Province] The Public Security Bureau Arrests Five Falun Dafa Practitioners Who Were Planting Trees on a Hill
At noon on April 22, Wafangdian Public Security Bureau sent out a large number of policemen and surrounded over 40 people who were planting trees on a hill near Wafangdian Prison. Five Falun Dafa practitioners were arrested. Among them, Wang Xingtian, Wang Dianwen, Senior Zhou and his wife are from Sanshilibao of Jinzhou District. One local practitioner was arrested as well.
Relevant phone numbers:
The "610 Office" in Wafangdian City, 86-411-5627482
Operator of Wafangdian Public Security Bureau, 86-411-5634725
Mayor's number, 86-411-5663966
[Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province] Wang Yingwei and His 8-Year-Old Daughter Arrested
Jinzhou practitioner Wang Yingwei and his 8-year-old daughter, a second grade student, were abducted on the afternoon of April 24 (Saturday) at home. Their current whereabouts are unknown. The daughter is dropped off at school in the morning and picked up at 5:00 p.m. by a woman in her fifties every day.
Wang Yingwei's wife, Li Fengjun, is also a Dafa practitioner. She has been forced to leave home and become destitute for nearly two years due to the persecution.
[Jilin City, Jilin Province] Wang Kai Not Released After Completion of Imposed Term
Jilin practitioner Wang Kai lives at Weichang Street, Changyi District of Jilin City. Wang Kai was sentenced to two years of forced labor on April 19, 2002, for explaining the truth of Falun Dafa. Although the two years of unlawful detention in Jiutai Forced Labor Camp have been completed, Wang Kai has not been released yet.
[Luancheng County, Hebei Province] Cheng Jingshan Unjustly Arrested
At around 9:00 p.m. on April 7, 2004, Hebei practitioner Cheng Jingshan was arrested for distributing truth-clarifying materials at Nanguan of Luancheng County.
[Dalian City, Liaoning Province] Xinghaiwan Police Arrest Two Falun Dafa Practitioners
On April 20, policemen from Xinghaiwan Police Substation arrested Ms. Li Shuzhen and Ms. Qu Shumei, two practitioners from Nansha District. They are currently detained in Yaojia Detention Center in Dalian City.
In the afternoon that same day, about five policemen entered Li Shuzhen's home with keys. There was only a teenager at home at the time. The child was frightened to see so many policemen. Qu Shumei's husband is imprisoned for making truth-clarifying materials.
Phone number of Xinghaiwan Police Substation, 86-411-84802259, 86-411-84803259
[Shiyan City, Hubei Province] Two Falun Dafa Practitioners Detained at Xiajiadian Brainwashing Class
On the afternoon of March 25, Yue Bing and Guan Jijun, two policemen from Dongyue Public Security Branch of Shiyan City, arrested practitioner Guan Changfu from Dongfeng Company and female practitioner Chen Rong. The two practitioners are being detained at Xiajiadian Brainwashing Class and subjected to torture.
(Clearwisdom.net)
Solemn Declaration
In early May 2000, I joined the group arranged by the Party to participate in a Hong Kong parade. It was an immensely damaging act against Dafa. Although few people participated, many media came, and we created a very bad effect in society. Because of my lack of understanding of the principles of Falun Dafa, together with my immense attachments, I followed along with a fellow Macao practitioner's enlightenment along a deviant path and accepted her as my teacher. I feel extremely regretful and shameful because of my unwise actions. I was living in Hong Kong at the time. In order to be able to stay in Hong Kong and to keep the immigration department from sending me back, I helped stage the "July 21" incident. It was broadcast by the western media, creating extremely negative effects around the globe and causing unrecoverable damages against Dafa.
In August of 2000, I went to Beijing. In late August, I was arrested while handing out materials that were against the principles of Falun Dafa, written by that wretch in Hong Kong that I had wrongly taken as my teacher. I was sent to the Beijing Xicheng Detention Center. I was still confused and on a deviant path, and spread similar articles to practitioners in the detention center, which caused two practitioners to go astray. I feel extremely regretful about my actions there too. I was unconstitutionally detained for three months in Xicheng Detention Center, and later was sentenced to one year of forced labor. In early December the authorities sent me to the Tuanhe Relocation Center. There were many practitioners locked up there. We didn't have any rights or freedom. We weren't allowed to talk, wash our clothes or shower; we had no dignity. We had to report if we wanted to leave the room, we were forced to squat if we said anything inappropriate, we couldn't close the door during winter, we had to eat on the floor, we had to work, and when we did not work, we had to sit on short stools. The guards would beat us if we didn't sit up straight, etc. It was hell on earth, and we had no basic human dignity.
Half a month later, I was sent to the Beijing Xinan Labor Camp. As soon as I was settled in, they started brainwashing me. Those who did the brainwashing were former Falun Dafa practitioners who had enlightened along an evil path. Three to four people would surround a practitioner and keep on repeating their deviated understandings. They would let you sleep only if you wrote the "Three Statements" (1). If you refused, they wouldn't let you sleep and they would make you squat and stand, force you to watch defamatory videos against Dafa and force you to write Party principles, etc. For those who refused to be brainwashed they would send them to the "Collective Training Group." I couldn't differentiate right from wrong, and accepted their brainwashing, and I helped them carry out many bad deeds. Because the labor camp wasn't that big, and couldn't contain too many people, they held brainwashing classes in the labor camp. They forcefully took practitioners from their homes according to their districts; many were deceived into coming to the brainwashing class. Each class lasted for fifteen days. Those who refused to give in had to stay longer, and if they still refused, they were sent to labor camps. The number of people sent in each session was different, and they were divided equally among the different groups. Each group would send someone who had enlightened along an evil path to do the brainwashing; I was one of them. I caused a few practitioners to follow the evil path. I hate what I've done. Once a news reporter came to interview us, and I was one of the interviewees. I spread my evil understandings in the media, and created an extremely bad effect, and once again caused unrecoverable damage against the Fa rectification.
During the fifteen months from May of 2000 to August of 2001, my sins were as large as the mountains. I feel shameful towards myself, towards Teacher Li and sentient beings, and I feel unworthy to see Teacher Li. A life like mine has no right to cultivate again. I have asked myself many times why I am such pitiful person. I feel great pain regarding what I've done. These fifteen months have been very painful for me. I hereby declare: all the things that I've said, thought of, written and done, that aren't in accordance with the standard of Dafa, are null and void. I will completely refuse the old force's plans and redouble my efforts to compensate for the damages I've committed against Dafa.
By Cheng Yaqiong, April 9, 2004
http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/4/14/72283.html
(1) The "Three Statements": Practitioners are coerced under brainwashing and torture to write these as proof that they have given up their belief. The three statements consist of a letter of repentance, a guarantee to never again practice Falun Gong, and a list of names and addresses of all family members, friends and acquaintances who are practitioners.
Solemn Declaration
I haven't been diligent in Fa study. I always made sure I read an appropriate quantity but I did not care enough about the quality of my understanding. I didn't make the connection between Fa study and cultivation of my xinxing [mind-heart nature, moral character] as being interrelated. There were many problems that I didn't take care of. Sometimes the interference was huge during my Fa study, and I didn't take that limited time to study the Fa well. My xinxing was deteriorating, and I didn't treasure my opportunity to cultivate. In validating Dafa, I slowly mixed ordinary people's passion and methods used at their jobs with my method of cultivation. I didn't realize that I had fundamental attachments. When facing many problems caused by my attachments, I didn't look within myself. Instead, I tried to find fault in others. In validating Dafa and bringing salvation to the sentient beings, I had many attachments. Hence I took some sidesteps in the process, created pressure for fellow practitioners and created negative effects against Dafa. I was in trouble, but I forgot that cultivation during Fa-rectification requires us to think of others, become selfless and to put others first. I forgot the Fa-rectification practitioner's special historic mission. I thought of giving up while I was in tribulation and forgot what Teacher has gone through for us, his dedication and his hope for the sentient beings. I hereby solemnly declare that, since July 20, 1999, all the things that I've done that aren't in accordance with the standard of Dafa in my company and in the police department's forced brainwashing classes are null and void. I will redouble my effort and compensate for the damages I've committed against Dafa. I will cultivate until the end.
By: Xie Sufen, March 16, 2004
http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2004/4/15/72351.html
(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:
Please click here for more Solemn Declarations.
(Clearwisdom.net)
Facts of the Persecution
1. Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Huang Min from Jiamusi City, Heilongjiang Province was sentenced to prison because he was involved in tapping into the cable TV system to broadcast Falun Dafa truth clarification materials. He is being held in No.11 Ward of the Shandong Provincial Prison. He has been on a hunger strike since April 10, 2004.
2. In February 2004, practitioner Ms. Tian Fang from Tongliao City, Inner Mongolia was detained in Hexi Detention Center in Tongliao City because she had gone to visit her sister, Tian Miao, in Hohhot Prison. Facing such unreasonable persecution, Tian Fang went on a hunger strike on April 16. Police now torture her with force feeding. The severe torture is affecting her both mentally and physically, endangering her life.
3. Practitioner Mr. Yang Kai is 28 years old. He was abducted and sent to the Liuchangshan Labor Camp in Jinan City, Shandong Province in June 2001 and sentenced to a three-year term. His parents and two sisters are all Falun Dafa practitioners. In September 2001 police abducted his father, Mr. Yang Yuexiang, and oldest sister. They are in labor camps as well. His other sister left home to avoid arrest. At the same time, police abducted his mother and sent her to the Liuchangshan Legal Education Center Brainwashing Class. His father had a heart attack in July 2002 and was released on a medical parole. One of his sisters was abducted and sent to the Shandong Provincial Women's No.1 Labor Camp, from which she escaped in April 2003.
4. In June 2001 Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. He Xunming (an officer of the Shandong Provincial Import and Export Committee) was sentenced to three years in a labor camp. He has been imprisoned in the Jinan City Labor Camp and suffers in a Strictly Monitored Group. He has been held in a small cell(1) multiple times. Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Du Zezhou from Jinan City was sentenced to three years in a labor camp beginning in October 2001. He also has been locked in a small cell multiple times. Practitioner Mr. Guan Fagang, has also been sentenced to three years a labor camp beginning in October 2002. He went on hunger strike for three months on May 13, 2003 and is now very weak. Practitioner Mr. Li Jian is a disabled person with only one arm. He was sentenced to two years in a labor camp in October 2002 and suffered from sleep deprivation, beatings, etc.
5. Police Officer Wang Jiushan and others from the Jiaocheng District Station, Haozhou City, Anhui Province forced Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Shi Leimin to make false statements in order to obtain their family's bank account numbers. They beat up Mr. Shi multiple times, until he passed out. Mr. Shi's buttocks were severely bruised as the result of their beatings.
6. On April 21, 2004 practitioner Ms. Li Mingyan from Huludao City, Liaoning Province was arrested and taken to the Lianshan District Police Substation. Police sent her to Masanjian Labor Camp and tried to force her to serve a three-year term without notifying her family. The labor camp refused to take her, since her physical condition was not good, so Lianshan policewoman Li Yajie pulled some strings to have the labor camp admit her. Ms. Li Yanming has now been on a hunger strike for seven days to protest the persecution.
7. Practitioner Mr. Li Wenjun from Jilin City, Jilin Province went to Beijing to appeal three times. He lost his job in June 2000 and was sent to Jilin City Labor Camp for two years. In March 2001 he was transferred to Jilin Provincial Yinmahe Labor Camp in Jiutai City. He walked out of the Labor Camp in June 2002 in a dignified manner (never gave in). He was abducted again on March 17, 2004 and sentenced to another three years in the Yinmahe Labor Camp on April 16, 2004. He has been on hunger strike ever since his arrival.
8. Practitioner Mr. Cheng Dadong is 28 years old and a resident of Xintaimen Town, Lianshan District, Huludao City, Liaoning Province. His father Cheng Guoxue (53 years old), his wife Ren Yuan (25 years old), his mother-in-law Liu Xiuxia (52 years old) and his mother are all Falun Dafa practitioners. In the past three years, they all left home in order to avoid arrest. Despite this, police found and abducted Cheng Dadong, his father and wife on March 15, 2004. Their current whereabouts are unknown.
9. Falun Dafa practitioner Huo Dong (gender unknown) from Lingyuan City, Liaoning Province was detained in No.2 Detention Center in the winter of 1999 because he had gone to Beijing to appeal. Police extorted 4000 yuan(2) from him. He was abducted again in the fall of 2001 because he had gone to Beijing a second time and was sent to the Lingyuan City Mental Hospital. The doctor there injected him with something that made him feel as if he would suffocate and possibly die. The mental hospital extorted more than 800 yuan from him. In the spring of 2002, he was detained again because he appealed a third time. He went on a hunger strike to protest and was force-fed in the mental hospital and again injected with nerve damaging drugs. He escaped from the hospital, but for a long period of time he could not sit still. His memory and ability to walk were both impaired.
10. On March 23, 2004, police from Tieshan Substation, Lushun City, Liaoning Province picked up Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Wang Cuixiang (in her 60's) from Zhangjia Village and took her to the Zhaojiagou Detention Center in Lushun City. After 22 days, following no due process of law, she was sentenced to two years in the Dalian Forced Labor Camp.
11. On February 14, 2004, 4 to 5 police from Weidong District Station, Pingdingshan City, Henan Province went to practitioner Ms. Zhao Lianying's home. They took her husband, Ma Youliang, daughters Ma Shuling and Ma Shujun to the police station, because they had decorated the door of their home with the words "Falun Dafa is good". Police extorted 210 yuan from Ms. Zhao when she sent clothing to her family member in jail that evening. Her husband Ma Youliang and daughter Ma Shujun were detained 15 days with the excuse that they "interfered with public service." Her other daughter, Ma Shuling was detained 10 days.
12. Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Zhao Zhongyu was detained, sent to a labor camp and dismissed from his job. He worked for the Wangtong Company in Anda City, Heilongjiang Province for over 20 years.
(1)The detainee is locked up alone in a very small cell. The guards handcuff practitioners behind their back in a fixed position, in which the practitioners can neither move nor lie down. The small cell is very damp with no sunshine. Detainees have to urinate and defecate in the cell. Only half of a regular meal is served to detainees locked up in a small cell during the daytime. The stench in the small cells is often so bad that it is difficult to breathe.
(2)Yuan: Chinese currency; the average monthly pay of an urban worker is 500 yuan.
