(Clearwisdom.net) Many articles in Minghui Weekly have talked about the Chinese Communist Party's police officers and government officials going for "return visits" or "long talks" with Falun Gong practitioners. These are catch phrases used by the CCP to disguise the reality that these are acts of brainwashing. This brainwashing is, in fact, illegal, and it is a form of harassment, disturbing Falun Dafa practitioners and their families. Here I'd like to share with you how practitioners in our area have dealt with this situation.

Two practitioners once went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong. After the staged self-immolation incident occurred, a local brainwashing center was opened. CCP officials demanded that these two practitioners attend the brainwashing sessions. The two practitioners shared their understanding from the Fa perspective and concluded that, if they attended the brainwashing sessions, they would be walking the path arranged by the old forces, so they had to negate it. Even from an ordinary legal point of view, the brainwashing sessions were illegal. So from either perspective, they shouldn't attend. They decided that they would not attend the classes or be influenced in any way. If they attended, they would be sending the wrong message to local practitioners. They held a strong belief in Falun Dafa and Master and sent forth strong righteous thoughts. In the end, the officials didn't dare to take them away thanks to Master's compassionate protection. Later on the brainwashing center closed.

Another practitioner was a local coordinator. One night the local practitioners were going to carry out an important truth-clarifying project. While she was out doing other things, she was followed by police officers even though she wasn't participating in the project at that time. Later, after others had completed the project, the CCP officials tried to find out who had carried out the project. After she came back, two policemen knocked on her door, saying that they were there to investigate her. She immediately knew their purpose and didn't open the door. She said to the police, "We are law-abiding citizens. Your coming to my home is harassment, and I hope you will leave immediately. Do not interfere with us." She kept on sending forth righteous thoughts and asked for Master's help. In the end the police had to leave. The reason this practitioner didn't open the door for the police was partly because she knew that the police are not allowed to break into practitioners' homes and that the CCP has no right to know what practitioners are doing. If they were to find out that the coordinator had, in fact, nothing to do with the project, then they would have targeted other practitioners. That would have been irresponsible on her part.

A practitioner who lived in a one-story home was also harassed. One day two policemen came to her home and were about to push her door open. She pushed it back and didn't let them in. She criticized the police for their rudeness and for trying to break into her home without a warrant. She told them how bad a reputation China's police officers have nowadays and how the public often comments on their behavior. She said that she hoped that they would be responsible and not persecute good people. She refused to answer any of their questions. The two officers agreed with what the practitioner said, and, in the end, they had to leave.

Back in 1999, the CCP demanded that everyone in our area state their attitude regarding Falun Gong. Police went to one practitioner's home and asked him whether he would continue practicing Falun Gong. He replied, "Yes." They put him in a forced labor camp, and he was detained there for more than 40 days. They tried to make him guarantee that he would not go to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong after he was released. He said to them firmly, "Yes, I will go to Beijing. Even if I just stayed at home practicing the exercises, you would still arrest me. As soon as I am released, I will go to Beijing." He indeed made the trip to Beijing to validate the Fa in Tiananmen Square after he was released. He was illegally arrested but managed to leave the detention center after going on a hunger strike to protest the persecution.

A particular practitioner who had managed to escape the detention center was never visited by police for brainwashing. In fact, the police actively avoided him. During the CCP's "Two Congresses" this year, officers were given direct orders to go to his home to try to brainwash him. Even so, all they did was go to his home, pretending to want to rent a room from him, just so that they could tell their superiors that they had visited and talked with him.

Several years ago on some sensitive days, some practitioners went to Tiananmen Square with banners in their bags to validate the Fa. The local CCP heads became furious because they were criticized by their superiors. They interrogated the practitioners after they were arrested. They asked, "Why did you go to Tiananmen Square?" The practitioners replied, "Even if we stayed at home, you would arrest us and sent us to the forced labor camp. We might as well go to Tiananmen Square to validate the Fa." The CCP head didn't say anything. Ever since then, the police and local government officials have stopped harassing practitioners.

Although sometimes their righteous thoughts were forced, or their actions were not based on the Fa, the practitioners in the examples above were not afraid of the evil and did not cooperate with it. On the contrary, what would it be like if the authorities could break into practitioners' homes at will? Yes, we should clarify the truth to the police, but we also need to maintain our dignity, because we are Dafa disciples and we need to maintain the dignity of Falun Dafa. If every practitioner says "No" to the harassment by CCP officials, does not cooperate with them, and/or points out their illegal acts, they will be afraid and restrain themselves. Everything they do will end up in vain.

Though some practitioners aren't keeping up with the Fa-rectification process and many practitioners have attachments, we don't allow the evil to arrange the tests of return visits or brainwashing sessions. Master will take care of us and decide what's best for us. We only walk the path that Master has arranged for us. We should improve as one body and do the three things diligently. We are the main actors of the grand play in this world, and we should play the leading role well.