Information on Falun Gong and the persecution in China. 2013.
May 19, 2013 Leave a comment
Day 2: 18 March 2013
2013 NYC Dafa Events Parade in Chinatown Day 2, wow 7000 people parade, so cool
Photos below by Edward Dai. Posted with permission from Edward Dai.
Photos above by Edward Dai. Posted with permission from Edward Dai.
May 19, 2013 Leave a comment
Day 1: 17 May 2013
“2013 NYC Dafa Events on front of UN Day 1, feels so far so good
Photos by Edward Dai. Posted with permission from Edward Dai.
Photo by Edward Dai
Photo by Edward Dai
Photo by Edward Dai
All photos above taken by Edward Dai. Posted with permission from Edward Dai.
For more: https://www.facebook.com/edward.dai7
May 19, 2013 Leave a comment
By Shar Adams, Epoch Times | May 18, 2013
Falun Dafa practitioners perform on waist drums during a parade in Manhattan’s Chinatown on May 18. (Matthias Kehrein/The Epoch Times)
NEW YORK—Falun Dafa practitioner Yi Fan did not want to move to America when she left China two-and-a-half years ago because she wished to let more Chinese people know that Falun Dafa is good. Falun Dafa is a self-cultivation practice involving gentle exercise, meditation, and a teaching of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance.
Fan was living under constant threat of arbitrary arrest and torture. She was imprisoned for many years and tortured for telling the truth about Falun Gong, but she said she would have never renounced her belief in the practice or disavowed its principles.
Commemorating Falun Dafa practitioners who lost their lives due to persecution in China. (Hu Chen/The Epoch Times)
“A lot of people in China are fooled by the CCP [Chinese Communist Party], by their lies,” she said through a translator. Fan, nearly 60 years old, finally surrendered to her daughter’s pleas to leave the mainland and move to the United States, and she immediately discovered the joy of freely practicing Falun Dafa again.
(Matthias Kehrein/The Epoch Times)
On Saturday, May 18, Fan was part of an annual Falun Dafa parade, surrounded by hundreds of brightly colored banners, and standing in line with nearly 8,000 other practitioners from all over the world.
After seeing the parade Ms. Zeng, a spectator, said the Chinese government cannot suppress Falun Gong. More and more people are participating and Falun Gong is well respected, she said.
Falun Dafa practitioners commemorate fellow practitioners who lost their lives due to persecution in China, part of a Falun Dafa grand parade in Manhattan’s Chinatown on May 18. (Edward Dai/The Epoch Times)
It is on account of the persecution that Fan suffered, and the communist party’s hurtful propaganda which so contradicts their positive experience of Falun Dafa, that practitioners assemble in Manhattan for a weekend of events every year. Practitioners say they want to clarify to the public what Falun Dafa is, and tell people about the persecution in China.
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Birgitta Karlsson came from Sweden to participate in the parade. After practicing for 11 years she said Falun Dafa had changed her life.
“I have been sick for many years, and I am so fine now,” she said.
Chinese people in Manhattan’s Chinatown enjoy a Falun Dafa grand parade on May 18. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
Reema Dossa, from St. Petersburg in Russia, was among 20 other Russians in the parade. She has also been practicing Falun Gong for 11 years, and noted that a parade would not be possible in Russia. Soviet authorities repress Falun Gong to appease the CCP, she said.
“In this country freedom is good,” she added, struggling to express in English her enthusiasm for the Manhattan parade.
“Falun Dafa taught me to be a caring person and how to behave according to truthfulness, compassion and forbearance,” said Elsa Chen, 28, also from Australia.
Chinese people in Manhattan’s Chinatown enjoy a Falun Dafa grand parade on May 18. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
The parade was filled with exciting, as well as solemn sections representative of the story of Falun Dafa’s journey since its introduction in 1992. It included a marching band, traditional Chinese waist drummers, dancing heavenly beauties, floats, simulations of torture practitioners have suffered in China, memorials for practitioners who lost their lives due to the persecution, and people raising awareness of a movement in China where 138 million Chinese have withdrawn from the CCP and its affiliated organizations.
Bystander Nathan Jarvis, a retail manager visiting New York from Wilmington, North Carolina, said he was surprised at the size and scope of the parade, and the number of countries represented.
Elsa Chen (L) and Linda Huang (R) came from Australia for the annual Falun Dafa parade on May 18. (Shar Adams/The Epoch Times)
“The impressive thing about this is how many people they have in this parade protesting in support of the rights of people in China that are being oppressed.”
“They way they are treated is just crazy too. It’s hard to understand, and it is hard to understand why we just ignore it,” Jarvis added.
Bystander Giulia Baettig, 18, from Switzerland, said she was grateful that the parade had enabled her to find out about Falun Dafa and the persecution in China.
“It is really shocking they are being killed,” she said. “I would have never found out if they had not [had a parade].”
Zeng added “people are getting to know the truth about Falun Gong.”
(Matthias Kehrein/The Epoch Times)
Practicing the third exercise of Falun Dafa during a parade in Manhattan’s Chinatown on May 18. (Matthias Kehrein/The Epoch Times)
(Matthias Kehrein/The Epoch Times)
Falun Dafa practitioners perform on waist drums during a parade in Manhattan’s Chinatown on May 18. (Matthias Kehrein/The Epoch Times)
A marching band performs during a Falun Dafa grand parade in Manhattan’s Chinatown on May 18. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
A marching band performs during a Falun Dafa grand parade in Manhattan’s Chinatown on May 18. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
Falun Dafa practitioners commemorate adherents in China persecuted to death. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
(Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)
With additional reporting by Matthew Little and NTD Television
May 19, 2013 Leave a comment
By Wattana Bo
By Wattana Bo. More drawings at https://www.facebook.com/wattana.bo
May 19, 2013 Leave a comment
Trapped under a Raft in Rapids
(Luoyang City, Henan Province) My aunt is a Falun Gong practitioner. She told me the truth about Falun Gong and asked me to say “Falun Dafa is good” as often as I could. Although I knew the facts, I still did not understand Falun Gong practitioners. I thought to myself, “The practice is good, but the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) does not allow it, and the persecution is so brutal that one could die.
May 19, 2013 Leave a comment
Home > Practicing Falun Dafa > Experience Sharing Conferences Worldwide
December 22, 2012 | By a Dafa practitioner from Kaohsiung
(Minghui.org) Greetings to our compassionate Master and fellow practitioners.
I obtained the Fa three years ago. Looking back at the days prior to my obtaining the Fa, it seems that everything had long been arranged by Master. It is just like what Master has mentioned in the “2008 New York Falun Dafa Experience Sharing Conference,”
“Now is the final moment that concludes arrangements that are eons old. History’s progression to this point today has not been easy, fraught as it’s been with hardship and ups and downs.”
I would like to share with you my experience of how I began Falun Dafa cultivation Practice, along with two touching stories from this summer vacation.
1. My Entire Family is Indeed Very Fortunate to have Obtained the Fa at This Final Stage
I grew up in an affluent environment, and later earned my PhD degree in science and engineering in the United States. Since returning to Taiwan, I have been teaching at a prestigious university. I have two lovely children and a considerate husband, and previously had been satisfied with my achievements. About a year ago, when the American movie 2012 was showing, we noticed how real the natural and man-made disasters all around the world seemed. They showed many earthquakes in Taiwan. One time, when my daughter was alone in the bathroom, there was an earthquake. After that, she was fearful. When an earthquake occurred in the middle of the night, all I could do was comfort my children and pray to heaven. At that time, I suddenly realized that human beings are so fragile. No matter how much one owns in the world, when a sudden powerful natural disaster takes place, we can lose everything. Though both my husband and I have PhD degrees in science, in the face of natural disasters, we are helpless. This made me feel very frustrated.
My husband handed me a copy of the book Zhuan Falun, and I read it through within a very short period of time. It seemed to be quite simple, but it cleared the doubts that had long been in my mind about quantum mechanics. I was surprised to find that natural science, which I have painstakingly studied over the past ten plus years, was so insignificant compared with everything mentioned in Zhuan Falun. I made it a rule to read the Dafa books regularly, so I have put aside all other leisure books and have seriously studied Zhuan Falunrepeatedly every day. I also feel that the teachings in this book have solved many issues in my life, and I am now full of joy and happiness. As my husband, my children, and I obtained the Fa one by one, we studied the Fa together at a fixed time every day. This is now the happiest time of our day. Based on the teachings, we understand that nothing is accidental. We look inward whenever there are conflicts and conduct ourselves according to the universal principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. I noticed that my timid daughter gradually lost her nervousness. Since starting cultivation I have gained the ability to calmly deal with unexpected situations, eliminated unknown fears, and experienced a peaceful mind.
2. Enlightened from the 2012 International Fa Conference at the U.S. Capital
In Mid-July of this year, my entire family went to Washington, DC, to attend the Fahui. Shortly after signing up, a coordinator informed us that my husband and I would be the coordinators for this trip. Later, I thought that we should do everything, including booking hotel rooms and arranging transportation, etc. At first I was afraid and had a negative thought, which was, “Had I known this, I would not have signed up for the trip.” At this point, my daughter said, “We should not have to stop taking baths because there are insects.” (Lecture Seven in Zhuan Falun) It suddenly dawned on me that this was something Master wanted me to enlighten to through my daughter’s words. Because it is such a sacred matter, how could I give it up just because of my own attachment to fear? Didn’t this happen so that I could improve? When I saw my husband busy with collecting information and making plans for the trip, I discovered a gap between us. In this way, our group of around 40 people, ranging in age from 6 to about 80, went ahead with our trip to the Fahui and Fa-validation activities.
In Washington, DC, when we had group Fa study and experience sharing one evening, and some practitioners suggested that our group should do the exercises outside the hotel the next morning, so that more everyday people could see the magnificence of Dafa. My husband and I got up early the following morning. When I noticed that our son and daughter were sleeping soundly, I hesitated whether I should ask them to join the exercises downstairs. Suddenly, the fire alarm sounded and everyone had to evacuate the hotel. We immediately woke the children and followed the crowd downstairs. As it was very crowded in the stairways, many practitioners were already doing the fifth exercise by the time we reached the ground floor square. I realized my own gap. Because I had overslept a few minutes, I was trapped in the crowd of everyday people, as if I was fleeing from a calamity. We quickly joined the other practitioners, and soon noticed that surprisingly all the occupants of the hotel had been evacuated to the square. They surrounded us and stared at us with curiosity and admiration. Some took pictures with their cell phones. Compared to the panicking crowd around us, the cultivators were calm and peaceful. I was touched to tears, stood up right away, took fliers from my bag, and told the people around us the fact about Dafa. In Master’s lecture “What Is a Dafa Disciple,” he mentioned,
“…the people in this world—which encompasses all beings that have a connection with Fa-rectification—are not so ordinary. All have come for the Fa-rectification, were formed for the Fa-rectification, and were forged for the Fa-rectification. Nothing is accidental, and in the future you will see this.”
The fire alarm also caused me to realize that I should let go of my attachment to affection toward my children. Master said,
“Cultivation practice must take place through tribulations so as to test whether you can part with and care less about different kinds of human sentimentality and desires. If you are attached to these things, you will not succeed in cultivation.” (Lecture Four of Zhuan Falun)
I misunderstood and thought if I let my children sleep more that this would be good for them. But as soon as I heard the siren, I woke them up without having a second thought. I was clearly reminded that cultivation is a serious matter, and it is also the only way home. I had been deluded in the illusion of everyday people. I am very thankful to Master for helping me to enlighten.
On our return trip, the airplane was unable to take off due to technical problems, and we had to stay overnight at a transit hotel in New York. Even worse, our luggage was transported to another city. I didn’t feel upset however. Instead, I felt relieved, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. That night, we sat on the floor in the hallway barefooted and opened the doors of our hotel rooms for ventilation. We studied the Fa together and shared the experiences we had gained over the past days. I felt unprecedented relief and calmness. Wasn’t this the lifestyle we are looking forward to, that is, returning to our original true selves, and being able to sleep at night without having to close our doors? I didn’t realize that life could be so simple, just like what Master mentioned,“The more you empty the bottle, the higher it will float in the water. If it is emptied entirely, it will float on the surface completely.” (Lecture One inZhuan Falun) No matter whether we were in the hotel lobby or the airport, fellow practitioners clarified the facts to sentient beings who had a predestined relationship with us. It was amazing that the next day, all of the 40 or so people in our group received replacement tickets for a direct flight to Japan, even though it was in the peak summer season. Thank you, Master!
3. Across Thousands of Miles, I Came for You
Through constant Fa study I have enlightened to the urgency of saving sentient beings through the Shen Yun performances. Master mentioned in “Dafa Disciples Must Study the Fa – Fa Teaching Given at the 2011 Washington DC Metro Area Fa Conference,”
“So that was the period of time when Dafa disciples were able to play a significant role, and they really did have a tremendous impact while promoting Shen Yun—meaning, they helped Shen Yun to save people.”
I have promoted Shen Yun along with other practitioners since last June. Supported by the righteous thoughts of other practitioners, we made appointments with government agencies in about thirty districts of Kaohsiung City. We thus brought the magnificence of Shen Yun to almost every corner of Kaohsiung City, including remote mountainous areas, such as Taoyuan, Liouguei, Maolin, and Namaxia. I still remember when we scheduled a visit to the chief of the Namaxia District, which is adjacent to Xiaolin Village, on a Friday in mid-August. A few days before that the weather forecast predicted that Typhoon Kai Tak was approaching, and it might hit the entire Kaohsiung area on Thursday. The day before the typhoon struck the area, a practitioner called me early in the morning, saying he enlightened to the fact that we should go to Namaxia immediately, as saving sentient beings is something that cannot be delayed. With that, I found the gap between other practitioners and me.
Along the way, we sang Dedu (Be Saved), and we successfully made it over the rugged winding roads with many detours. Because of the typhoons and torrential rain, the existing roads had been washed away, and the car’s navigation system didn’t work at all. When we were at the juncture of two roads, suddenly a car appeared in front of us, as if the driver was waiting for us purposely. When we approached him and asked for directions, he led us over a series of hills. He then told us that he was supposed to go into the mountains in a hurry, but had a strong feeling that he had to lead us to the mountainous village. The other practitioners and I smiled at each other, knowing that our compassionate Master is always with us. After overcoming obstacles, we realized that our destination was only a ten-minute drive away, but the road had collapsed. The alternative road was very steep and slippery, and because our car was not a four-wheel-drive vehicle, we couldn’t make it, though we tried various ways. However, we never considered abandoning our goal. Fortunately, a practitioner intercepted a patrol car, which belonged to the Chunghwa Telecom Co., and it took us to the first village.
After arriving at the office of the district government, we were received by the chief secretary. After talking with us for a while, he answered an incoming phone call. He then told us that the district chief had already returned and invited us to his office upstairs. We went to the chief’s office. But much to our surprise, in addition to the chief, those who were left behind, including my husband, our children, and another practitioner, were in the chief’s office. They were chatting happily, as if they were old friends. Our daughter told me that our car was there, too.
The following events had occurred after we left them: While my husband was trying hard to start the car, suddenly another car pulled over. In addition to the driver, there were a man and a woman inside the car. The man got out of his car and asked about the situation. He said that he had driven the same model car. Thus, after asking another practitioner and my daughter to get into his car, he drove our car along with my husband. Being experienced, he made it through the steep slope. But due to the steepness of the road, they drove very cautiously all the way. Arriving at the flat section, he sighed in relief and asked, “With the weather so terrible, why is it so important for you to go to Namaxia?” My husband explained to him our purpose for going there, and told him that we were supposed to meet with the district chief, but he was out of town, etc. The man then replied slowly, “I am the chief of the Namaxia District.” My husband was so surprised that he asked, “Aren’t you attending a series of meetings in Kaohsiung City?” He replied, “Yes. I left for the meetings early in the morning, but I didn’t know that all the meetings had been cancelled unexpectedly. I thus rushed back to Namaxia. That’s why I met you there.” We shared with him the magnificence of Shen Yun and told him the facts about Dafa. We also ate noodle soup together in the only restaurant in Namaxia. The chief sincerely acknowledged the magnificence of Shen Yun and Falun Dafa.
On our return trip, we got lost for a while, as the road seemed to be washed away. With our righteous thoughts, suddenly a truck appeared to lead us. I will never forget the driver’s look when he stood on the roadside, waved, and bid us farewell. When we returned to Kaohsiung City, it was already about 8:00 p.m. It should have taken us about five hours to get back, but it took 12 hours, yet all of us were still in good spirits. When we returned home, we were surprised to hear the news on TV that said that the typhoon had left Taiwan through a magical route.
This reminds me of my entire family’s trip to New York for the Fa-conference in late August last year. During that time, it was reported that the powerful Hurricane Irene was approaching. The weather forecast had predicted that the entire Manhattan area in New York City would very likely suffer from flooding. Therefore, the biggest evacuation plan in U.S. history was being carried out. While others were evacuated from Manhattan, our group was not affected at all. We went to Central Park to do the exercises, study the Fa, and send forth righteous thoughts together as scheduled. Afterward, the TV news started to report that the hurricane had weakened and disappeared surprisingly. This phenomenon still left many doubts in the minds of everyday people. Dafa practitioners are most fortunate. When we let go of fame, personal interest, and sentimentality, we have nothing to fear. Master said,
“‘What is a Dafa disciple? Who is worthy of being a Dafa disciple?’ If one doesn’t have the requisite predestined relationship, he really cannot come in, and this is the case for those who have just come in, as well.” (“What is a Dafa Disciple”)
I still feel that it is indeed not easy to obtain the Fa at this final stage. I also enlightened that I should further make good use of my own capabilities and help Master to validate the Fa and save sentient beings. In the “Fa-Lecture During the 2003 Lantern Festival at the U.S. West Fa Conference,” Master said, “Make your own contributions based on your individual abilities and specific talents in different areas.” I will be more diligent, be a qualified Dafa disciple, and act according to Master’s requirements.
Thank you, Revered Master. Thank you, fellow practitioners.
Please kindly point out the areas that I need to improve.
(From the Taiwan Fahui)
April 25, 2013 Leave a comment
This article was first published in May 2010.
(Minghui.org) Appealing to the government is a citizen’s constitutional right. On April 25, 1999, about 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners went to appeal at the State Council on Fuyou Street in Beijing. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) media then fabricated a lie that Falun Gong had organized an attack on Zhongnanhai. As a result, many people were fooled by the CCP and said that if practitioners hadn’t organized such an “attack”, there wouldn’t be a persecution.
The April 25 appeal isn’t the real reason why the CCP began its persecution of Falun Gong. The CCP had been trying unsuccessfully for several years to find an excuse to ban the practice. Using the April 25 incident as reason for the persecution was intentionally planned by Luo Gan and his gang.
Before April 25, 1999
The cultivation environment for Falun Gong began to deteriorate in 1996. It began with the Guangming Daily publishing an article that slandered Falun Gong. Then, the CCP’s Central Propaganda Department prohibited the publication of any Falun Gong books and audio-visual materials. In early 1997, Luo Gan ordered the Public Security Bureau to search for any evidence to use against Falun Gong. In May of 1998, Luo Gan’s relative, He Zuoxiu, who works at Beijing Television Station, appeared on “Beijing Express” to slander Falun Gong. By July 1998, the Public Security Bureau issued Public Administration No. 555 with the title, “On Notice to Investigate Falun Gong”. On April 11, 1999, He Zuoxiu published another article in a magazine sponsored by the Education College in Tianjin City to attack Falun Gong. By April 23, Tianjin police officers had arrested over 40 practitioners who went to the Education College to clarify the facts about Falun Gong.
Why did practitioners appeal on April 25, 1999?
I am a practitioner in Beijing and participated in the April 25 appeal. I vividly remember what happened. On April 24, 1999, I went to group study and a fellow practitioner told me about Tianjin police officers physically assaulting practitioners who went to clarify the facts about Dafa at the Education College. Many practitioners were hurt and 45 were arrested. When other practitioners went to ask the city government to the release the detained practitioners, they were told that they couldn’t release them because the Public Security Bureau was involved. The police said that the practitioners should go to Beijing to appeal to higher authorities.
For many of us, we thought it would be a good opportunity to clarify the facts to the government to clear up any misunderstanding. Our local coordinator said it was up to each of us to decide what to do and how to do it. We weren’t going to coordinate or organize an approach. Shortly after 5:00 a.m. the next day, I was at the bus station along with everyone from our group study. Everyone made their own decision to go to Beijing based on Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Cultivating Dafa is about improving oneself and one’s mind. We do not believe in rituals, record keeping, or being an organization. Everyone freely comes or goes, and knows what to do based on the Fa. If there was an effort to organize people to appeal in Beijing, there would have been more than ten thousand practitioners. In the Beijing area alone, there are thousands of practitioners in every district. A large district would already have about ten thousand practitioners.
On April 25, 1999, we arrived at Fuyou Street shortly after 6:00 a.m. A short distance from the bus station, police officers were waiting to direct practitioners to an area outside a door on the west side of Zhongnanhai. Many practitioners were already there and the number continued to increase. Everyone stood there quietly because we didn’t want to cause any inconvenience to the public living in that district. We kept the sidewalks and entrances to lanes open. Lunch boxes were kept in large plastic bags. Some practitioners were studying the Fa while standing, while elderly practitioners sat on the ground in the back row. I quietly stood in the front row. With practitioners following Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance, the environment was purified wherever we were.
At around 5:00 p.m., the local people came to tell us, “[They told us to] go home now. We were told to lock our doors and stay home. No matter what happens outside don’t go out.” Since the June 4, 1989 massacre, the public knew what might happen and many of them came to advise us to go home. We weren’t moved and waited until the appeal was over. After returning home, the message from the local police department was that if practitioners had stayed after 9:00 p.m., they might have used force.
Practitioners’ display of compassion and forbearance created a harmonized field during the appeal. Their actions were respected and praised by the international community.
Related Articles
- Witness to the Peaceful Appeal on April 25, 1999
- Recalling “April 25″
- Why Falun Gong Practitioners Appealed to Higher Authorities on April 25, 1999
- Interview with a Participant of the April 25 Appeal (Photo)
- Interview With a U.S. Writer Who Discusses the “April 25, 1999 Appeal” (Photo)
- April 25, 1999 – What Happened and Why Does It Matter?
April 24, 2013 Leave a comment
April 29, 2012 | By a Falun Gong practitioner from Beijing
This article was first published in April 2008.
(Minghui.org) Nine years ago, on April 25, 1999, in order to appeal for justice for Falun Gong and its practitioners and to ask for an open cultivation environment, around 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners went to peacefully report and clarify the facts to the government in good faith, and requested the government to stop the unfair treatment of practitioners by those who had ulterior motives. This led to the “April 25” incident.
I was a participant and a witness of the “April 25″ incident. Although many practitioners have already reported about this incident objectively and truthfully, I still would like to write down my own experience and tell what I saw and heard at that time, and post it on Clearwisdom.net.
The Cause of the “April 25″ incident
On April 24, 1999, reliable news from Tianjin said that the Public Security Bureau in Tianjin City unlawfully arrested many Falun Gong practitioners under the direction of higher authorities. Earlier, He Zuoxiu published an article entitled “I do not agree with adolescents practicing qigong” in the magazine Science and Technology for Youth in Tianjin. The article used base and shameless means to attack Falun Gong with fabricated stories, slander and false accusations and to vilify Falun Gong and its founder. The magazine is a nationwide publication for primary and high school students. Due to the coercive subscription imposed by administrations at various levels, the magazine has a large distribution. He Zuoxiu’s article was very misleading and had a very adverse impact upon the great number of readers who did not know the facts, and it was especially poisonous to the minds of young people. At the same time, it had brought some very negative effects to Falun Gong. Seeing the adverse situation, many practitioners became very concerned.
I would like to point out that He Zuoxiu’s article had a deep political background and purpose. He is known to be an academician from the Chinese Science Academy, and is engaged in science research. However, his academic level is very inferior. He used to engage in political affairs in the Chinese Energy Research Institute (currently known as Chinese Research Institute of Nuclear Energy), and he is the brother-in-law of Luo Gan, the then Minister of Public Security of the Communist regime. Luo Gan is the very political opportunist who had long harbored a desire to suppress Falun Gong. Because Falun Gong is very righteous, Luo Gan could not find anything he could use as an excuse to defame Falun Gong no matter how hard he tried. He tried every means, by hook or by crook, to provoke incidents, and He Zuoxiu acted as his willing accomplice. The Ministry of Public Security had issued many internal documents, assigned people and planted them as agents among Falun Gong practitioners, in an attempt to investigate Falun Gong, check out how many people were practicing, the number of practice sites, who were the “organizers,” if Falun Gong charged fees, how they contacted each other, what materials they used, and more. In their documents, it was made very clear that they would ban the practice first, then collect evidence to support the ban. The National Security Section (formerly called the Political Security Section) of the local Public Security Bureau where I live contacted me many times, and the local police also asked me for a list of names of Falun Gong practitioners (I never gave it to them). Many incidents took place around the country in which the police harassed people at practice sites, dispersed practitioners, seized tape recorders, or used high-pressure hoses to hose down practitioners. Several newspapers, magazines, TV and radio stations openly distorted the image of the Falun Gong practice. He Zuoxiu alone made false accusations in his speeches on numerous occasions. He rushed around to inflame and agitate people, trying to stir up incidents. Many practitioners went to talk to him and told him the facts, but he would not listen and went from bad to worse in slandering Falun Gong. He was a political club in Luo Gan’s hand to attack and suppress Falun Gong.
When He’s article was published, many practitioners in Tianjin, feeling responsible to society and Dafa, started to call or write to the magazine to clarify the facts. Some also went there in person to request that the magazine correct their false report. Because there were so many people calling, the phone became really busy and many calls could not get through, so more and more people decided to go to the office in person. During the whole process, the authorities of the magazine never gave people a clear answer nor did they take an equivocal position. They kept going back on their own words. As the magazine’s office was located in a school where other work units shared the same space, when there were many people gathering there, it would inevitably have an impact on other work units (it was said that several thousand people went to appeal at the time). Being anxious about any possible incident, the school called the Bureau of Public Security in Tianjin to send personnel to intervene. As a result, on April 24, 1999, an incident took place in which the police came to disperse people. They used clubs, high-pressure water guns and handcuffs to hit practitioners and they arrested more than forty practitioners. This incident directly caused a large number of practitioners to gather together, and many went to appeal at the Tianjin Municipality. As the incident expanded, departments concerned started to shift blame onto each other. In the end, the Bureau of Public Security and the Tianjin Municipality told Falun Gong practitioners, “We cannot take responsibility for this matter. Go to Beijing, the Ministry of Public Security already knows about this.” This is what triggered the “April 25″ incident.
The Group of Falun Gong Practitioners Is A Pure Land
I arrived at the south end of Fuyou Street in Beijing around 8:00 a.m. on April 25. There was a desk in the northwest corner of the footpath, where two or three policemen were sitting around and chatting with one another. Clearly, they had been assigned to be on duty there. A few practitioners and I walked along the footpath on the east side of the street towards the north, hoping to go to the west entrance of the State Council to directly report the incident to the reception office and to ask for the release of our fellow practitioners who had been unlawfully arrested. We would also request that such incidents never happen again and that Falun Gong practitioners be given an open and non-threatening environment in which to practice. We wanted to tell the state leaders how beautiful our lives had become through practicing Falun Gong. At the same time, we wanted to warn the government to guard against a small number of people with ulterior motives who aimed to use Falun Gong for their own political gains. We were thinking about how to explain this to the government as we walked along. When we were about three or four hundred meters from the west entrance of the State Council, a young lady walked out from a group of people standing on the west side of the street. She crossed the street and walked toward us. She asked us with a smile, “May I know if you are fellow practitioners who have come to appeal?” I did not say anything for fear that she would stop us. One practitioner who came with us told her, “We are from xx district, we are here to appeal.” The young lady said, “If that is the case, then please join us in the group.” I said, “We will go to the reception office of the State Council to report the situation. We did not come to stand in a group.” The young lady said, “I understand how you feel. Now that we are here, we are one body. We have all come for the same purpose. We have the same Master and cultivate the same Fa. We need to consider Dafa and the image as one body, and must not let bad people take advantage of any loophole.” I immediately said, “Yes, you are right.” Then we followed her and joined the appealing group of practitioners.
The number of practitioners increased rapidly. When we joined in, there were already three rows, stretching to four or five hundred meters long. Soon afterwards, another row was added and the gathering became wider and longer. Later, even the side lanes were crowded with people sitting by either side. Many were elderly people. At that point, some people suggested that we let the young people stand in the front four rows so that the elderly practitioners could sit down in the back. It was a very touching scene to see practitioners showing such respect to each other. From time to time, there would be a reminder passed along from the front rows: Please keep quiet and try not to move about too much. One young man was holding a poster board with characters: Quiet. Do not move about. He walked quietly back and forth in the gathering.
After lunch time, there was much litter that needed to be taken away. A few older practitioners bought some big black bags and walked around to collect litter and put it in the rubbish bins on the roadside. However, most practitioners put their litter in their own bags. People picked up every piece of litter where they were, even the cigarette butts thrown down by the police. When passersby saw this, they said with admiration: “Falun Gong is truly a field of pure land.”
The Police Officers Wanted to Read the Book Zhuan Falun
As the number of practitioners increased, the number of policemen and their cars also increased, and all the major intersections in Beijing set up check points. By around 11:00 a.m., buses driving past Zhongnanhai (the central government compound) and Fuyou Street were canceled, and road entrances all had check points to question people who came to appeal. There was a police van parked near where I was, and five or six policemen were standing around. In the beginning, they looked rather tense and kept staring at practitioners. Later, they became more relaxed and started chatting and joking with us. At around 2:00 p.m., one of them, a relatively tall and overweight officer walked towards me. He stopped when he was about one and a half meter away and asked, “You are the group leader, aren’t you?” I said, “We don’t have any leaders. We are all Falun Gong practitioners.” He then asked, ” What is Falun Gong? Did you come here to practice Falun Gong?” I told him, “Falun Gong is a cultivation practice of the Buddha School. It can help people get rid of illnesses and become healthy. Most importantly it teaches people to be good people. We did not come here to practice Falun Gong, but to report to the appeal office of the State Council about the incident in Tianjin where the Bureau of Public Security beat and arrested people.” He was surprised and asked, “Tianjin dared to beat and arrest people?” I said, “Yes, they did. The matter has to be handled by the State Council.” He then asked, “You don’t have any leaders, how come you act as one? Do you have any books? Let me take a look.” I said, “It’s a pity I didn’t bring mine. Let me see if someone else has one.” He said, “Thank you.” As I was talking, a few people behind me said they had the book. I took a copy of “Zhuan Falun” from a female practitioner and presented it to the policeman with both hands. He also received the book with both hands and quickly browsed through it. He then said to two other policemen, “You two keep an eye on them. I’ll go and take a look at the book in the van.” The policemen looked at each other and smiled, and then they all went into the van.
Premier Zhu Rongji Received Practitioners
As more and more practitioners joined in, by 11:00 a.m., about 150 meters south of the west entrance to Zhongnanhai, countless people had gathered around. It was said that the crowd stretched from the south entrance of Fuyou Street to as far as the fly-over at Fuxinmen and to the north of Dahongluochang.
While we were waiting, I remember a few groups of representatives were called into the reception office of the State Council. Once, when a representative came out, he said, “We need practitioners who specialize in law. Those inside do not have much legal knowledge. We need to have law professional practitioners.” Another time, a representative came out and said, “We do not have practitioners from the Research Association among us inside. Leaders of the State Council require that we must have responsible people among the representatives.” He said if anyone knew Wang Zhiwen or the head of the general practice site, please call them to come straight away; otherwise the State Council would not receive us.
At around two or three o’clock, applause burst out among practitioners near the west entrance. I turned and looked, and saw a big group of people coming out from the west entrance and crossing over to the east side of the street. Regular police officers and armed policemen were standing outside. I heard people say that Premier Zhu Rongji had come out to meet the practitioners. Zhu Rongji went to greet and shake hands with practitioners, then he went back in. (I think the process lasted 1-3 minutes.)
Later, one practitioner asked, “Is Li Xiaomei here?” (Li was a Beijing practitioner. Later she was brainwashed in prison and did many bad things to help the evil. I hope she will soon become clear-headed again.) The reason they looked for Li Xiaomei was because representatives from the Tianjin Bureau of Public Security denied that they had beaten and arrested people. When the State Council leaders asked them if they had arrested people, they denied it. Practitioners wanted Li Xiaomei to give evidence to expose their lies. (Li Xiaomei had gone to appeal in Tianjin and was beaten and arrested.) Practitioner representative Li Chang said to the representatives from the Tianjin Bureau of Public Security, “In front of the leaders of the State Council, I should make a responsible statement. You say you did not arrest any practitioners, I say you did. There were practitioners from Beijing among those you arrested. We can call them to be witnesses.” The representatives from Tianjin were speechless.
A Miraculous Scene That Deeply Touched Our Hearts
Although there were many of us, the scene was very quiet and peaceful. A little after four o’clock in the afternoon, people around me suddenly started to clap their hands. Some shouted quietly, “Look, quickly, there are Falun everywhere! There are Falun on the leaves, on the wall!” Just then, rosy clouds floated softly in the sky, countless Falun were flying in the air, and at the far end of the clouds, sat our great benevolent Master’s Fashen, in a red robe. He looked immensely compassionate and dignified. The whole group was aroused and excited. The spectacular scene was beyond description. This sacred scene lasted for about half an hour. Not only practitioners witnessed it, an elderly lady and her grandson living nearby saw it too. They shouted excitedly, “It’s so beautiful, so very beautiful!” When we went to fetch drinking water from the tap in their yard, she refused to take any more money from us.
Luo Gan Sets Up the Trap; Jiang Zemin enraged
I would like to make it very clear here that although the number of practitioners continuously increased, all of us kept good order. We wanted to be responsible to Dafa, and to society and establish a good image of Dafa and practitioners to the people and the government, and at the same time, to guard against any bad people who wanted to make trouble and frame Falun Gong. Indeed, there were agents who mixed in among practitioners and tried to cause trouble and disturbances. About 50 meters from where I was, I saw a young man in the morning, who did not behave like a practitioner at all. He talked nonsense and encouraged people to go home. Later he took out a lighter and lit a cigarette [Falun Gong practitioners do not smoke]. His actions revealed his true identity, and he was driven out of the group. Although we identified some individual agents, we failed to recognize the political trap that was set up by the CCP.
This is what happened on that day: in the morning, as more and more people joined in, the police on duty at the south entrance of Fuyou Street asked the crowd to extend to the west on the north side of the road and did not allow people to come near the side of Zhongnanhai with the red wall. But later on, there appeared policemen who told the crowd to move eastwards along the red wall of Zhongnanhai. Looking back, their purpose was very clear. It was a trap set up by the Public Security Bureau to deliberately lead the crowd to surround Zhongnanhai. Later, the CCP indeed fabricated malicious lies in their propaganda media and documents about Falun Gong “surrounding Zhongnanhai.”
At around five o’clock in the afternoon on April 25, Jiang Zemin secretly inspected the crowd in a bullet-proof car and he saw with his own eyes that among the appealing crowd there were army officers and police offers in uniform. He was enraged by that sight. Later, he shouted during a central committee meeting: “Falun Gong’s contingent stood in such neat lines and had such good discipline, better even than our army troops. It would be good if our army troops and police forces could line up that neatly. There were even officers ranking higher than commanding officers in the crowd. You must check them out and strictly deal with them.” (This is what the Party Secretary in my work unit told me in person when he called me in for a talk.)
Practitioners Went Home, the Street Was Clean, People Praised Practitioners for Their Exemplary Behavior
At around three or four o’clock in the afternoon on April 25, a flyer was circulated among practitioners. It was a united notice from the central government, the State Council and the Public Security Bureau in Beijing. The general content of the notice included: Reinstate the three “no” policies towards qigong; the opinions of the appealers are clear; the gathering should be dismissed as soon as possible. As for the yet-to-be-reported incidents in various places where Falun Gong practitioners were harassed, people can send representatives to report them to the central government level by level. People from other cities or provinces may go back and report the incidents to the appeal offices in their own province. In Beijing, each county and district can send their representatives to report directly to the reception office of the appeal office of the State Council, and the director of the appeal office will receive them.
Practitioners remained calm and quiet after seeing the notice, and yet nobody left the scene because we knew that practitioners arrested in Tianjin were yet to be released. We would not leave until the issue of the arrested practitioners was resolved, and we even planned to stay overnight.
At around nine o’clock in the evening, a practitioner representative came out from the west entrance of Zhongnanhai and encouraged practitioners to leave and told us that all the practitioners arrested in Tianjin were released. Because practitioners did not know each other, and we did not know the name of the representative who was telling us this, it was not easy to move practitioners in the beginning. Questioned by practitioners, Li Chang announced loudly, “Please believe what I said. My name is Li Chang. I take full responsibility for what I’m saying. Tomorrow morning, at eight o’clock, each district and county in Beijing may send two representatives to gather at the appeals office in Yongdingmen, so that we can continue to report to the central government. Practitioners from other provinces and cities, please go back to your own province and city and report incidents to the local appeals office. Now please leave here.” As soon as practitioners heard what he said, they started to leave. The whole process was very quiet and peaceful. After practitioners left, the whole street was very clean, without any litter left behind.
Related Articles
- The April 25 Appeal Was for the Legitimate Rights of all Chinese People
- Witness to the Peaceful Appeal on April 25, 1999
- Recalling “April 25″
- Why Falun Gong Practitioners Appealed to Higher Authorities on April 25, 1999
- Interview with a Participant of the April 25 Appeal (Photo)
- Interview With a U.S. Writer Who Discusses the “April 25, 1999 Appeal” (Photo)
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