Concerned People Telling the World about Falun Gong and the Persecution in China: Clear Wisdom [ Sunday, September 04, 2005]

(Clearwisdom.net) Before the arrival of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Hu Jintao to Canada, the Chinese human rights issue, especially the CCP's six-year-long persecution of Falun Gong, has again caught the attention of Canadian political circles and citizens.

On September 1, 2005, practitioners held a large rally in front of Parliament to call on Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin to urge Hu Jintao to end the persecution of Falun Gong during his meeting with Hu. Three senior Members of Parliament, David Kilgour, Ed Broadbent, and Scott Reid, Alex Neve, Director of Amnesty International Canada, and Chairman Warran Allmand of World Federation Movement Canada attended the rally and gave speeches. As of September 1, 2005, over 85,000 letters of appeal were collected from across Canada.

MP Ed Broadbent

MP Scott Reid

Practitioner spokesperson

At the press conference on the same day, the three MPs and practitioners answered questions from Canadian Press, CTV and Central News Agency. Practitioners also explained the facts of the persecution to people through a signature drive and anti-torture exhibitions in front of Parliament, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Immigration. In the afternoon, about 200 practitioners from eastern Canada held a march in Ottawa.

March to call for an end to the persecution

March to call for the end of the persecution

MP Urges Prime Minister Martin to Place Human Rights above Trade

MP Scott Reid said in the press conference that the systemic persecution of Falun Gong is not only documented by Falun Gong practitioners, but also by three of the world's leading human rights organizations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Rights and Democracy. The victims in the systemic persecution are not just dozens or hundreds, but number in the tens of thousands of Chinese citizens who peacefully practice Falun Gong. Prime Minister Paul Martin should not only talk about trade with Hu Jintao; he has the important responsibility to make human rights a top priority.

MP Ed Broadbent

MP Ed Broadbent said, "The violation of the right of conscience, violation of freedom of association, violation of freedom of expression, systematic torture, the total abuse and ignoring of the principle of having an independent judiciary as in a democracy particularly underlined the fact that the Chinese government has sent instructions to their own courts at one time and said it was the "political duty" of members of the judiciary in China to punish members simply for being members of Falun Gong. That in itself is a total abuse, a total mockery, of the principle of having an independent judiciary." He further said, "Prime Minister Martin should insist, certainly, that China live up to its obligations as a member of the United Nations and its Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Covenant of Political and Civil Rights."

MP David Kilgour

MP David Kilgour said, "First of all, as I said, Truth, Compassion, and Forbearance are Canadian values and the world needs more of these things obviously. But if the government of China wants to be part of the rule of law nations of the world, they must stop the persecution of Falun Gong immediately."

MP Kilgour said, "Risking trade agreements, fears of offending guilty regimes, and a preference for non-committal policies of conceptive engagement cannot hinder our efforts to ensure that everyone is accorded the individual and independent human rights."

Director of Amnesty International Canada: Brutal Repression of Falun Gong Practitioners in China is a Human Rights Catastrophe

Director Alex Neve of Amnesty International Canada

Director Alex Neve of Amnesty International Canada said, "There's no question that the ongoing brutal repression of Falun Gong practitioners in China is a human rights catastrophe by any measure. And it is unacceptable that it has been allowed to continue and deepen over the past many years. Canada needs to redouble its efforts to press for an end to the human rights violations against Falun Gong practitioners in China."

MP Scott Reid proposed the motion in the House of Commons in 2002 to rescue Falun Gong practitioners who were persecuted in China and had family links to Canada. He said in his speech that he hoped Prime Minister Martin will speak out to Hu Jintao to release the18 Falun Gong practitioners with links and family ties to Canada who are suffering in China.

He also put forward the issue of stopping the CCP's hate propaganda and harassment, intimidation and surveillance of practitioners in Canada.

During recent the days, MPs who have written to Prime Minister Martin asking him to call for the end of the persecution of Falun Gong include Scott Reid, Libby Davies, Rob Anders, Peter Julian, Bill Siksay, Pierre Poilievre, Tony Martin, and Alexa McDonough. Peter R Coffin, a pastor in Ottawa also wrote to the Prime Minister to urge him to help end the persecution.

Washington, DC: Practitioners Call for End to the Persecution of Falun Gong before the Visit of Chinese Leader Hu Jintao (Photos)

(Clearwisdom.net) Prior to the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to the United States, Falun Gong practitioners in Washington, DC held a rally in front of the Chinese Embassy on September 1, to call for an end to the persecution of Falun Gong. They held banners worded, "Bring to Justice Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang," "Bring to Justice the Ruthless Police and Others Who Persecute Falun Gong," and "Hu Jintao: The Time Given to You by Heaven's and the People's Mandate is Limited"

The press conference site

The Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) persecution of Falun Gong has lasted for six years. More than 2,800 practitioners are verified to have died from the persecution. The actual death toll is likely to be much larger. Hu Jintao took power two years ago. During these two years, the persecution of Falun Gong has not stopped but rather, has continued and is ongoing, although the means are more covert.

Dr. Liu, Associate Professor at American University said, "Much of the two-year-long persecution of Falun Gong was conducted by Jiang's faction, but Hu Jintao has his responsibility as well. We know that in the CCP environment, he may be participating involuntarily and that he objected the motion of persecution when Jiang Zemin first initiated it. We think he is being given more opportunities [to end the persecution], but it cannot last forever because heaven's principle, 'Good is rewarded with good and evil meets with retribution' is an eternal truth and anyone committing wrongdoing will be punished by the heavenly principle."

Appeal to Hu Jintao: "Hu Jintao: The Time Given to You by Heaven's and the People's Mandate Is Limited" and "Stop persecution of Falun Gong"

"The persecution of Falun Gong is becoming more and more unpopular," said Chen Jun, a computer engineer in Virginia. "For the CCP officials at each level, the six-year persecution has made many officials tired of this kind of meaningless struggle. Many of them have contact with Falun Gong practitioners and know the truth, making them sympathetic to Falun Gong and to object to the persecution. The three former CCP officials, Chen Yonglin, Hao Fengjun and Han Guangsheng, who recently renounced the CCP, are good examples. Mr. Chen was a former CCP diplomat in the Chinese Consulate in Sydney in charge of surveillance of practitioners in Australia. Mr. Hao was a former 610 Office policeman. Mr. Han was the former Director of the Shenyang Judicial Bureau of Liaoning Province. They were all former CCP officials involved in the persecution of Falun Gong."

Mr. Chen further stated, "The persecution will end in the near future. Falun Gong practitioners do not beg or depend on anyone, but before the persecution ends, it is an opportunity for CCP officials and leaders. The best choice for them would be to end all aspects of the persecution immediately and to spread the truth of Falun Gong worldwide, bring the chief perpetrators of the persecution - Jiang Zemin, Luo Gan, Liu Jing and Zhou Yongkang - to justice, bring to justice the ruthless police officers and others who persecute Falun Gong, and compensate all practitioners who have been persecuted."

Mr. Jared Pearman gave an address urging President Bush to protect America's values and not to slacken on our mission of safeguarding human rights, for any temporary economic returns.

Children appeal to rescue orphans of persecuted Falun Gong practitioners

Keith Ware, representative of the Global Coalition to Rescue Falun Gong Practitioners, said that in China many practitioners are tortured to death or imprisoned in labor camps. Their children thus become orphans. He called upon President Bush to urge the CCP regime to allow these orphans to be rescued out of China and have them grow up in a free country like the U.S.A. Mr. Ware said that ending the persecution of Falun Gong is an opportunity for Hu Jintao to redeem himself and to leave a good name in history.

Among the officials accompanying Hu to visit the U.S.A. is Bo Xilai who has been sued in many countries for his crimes in the persecution of Falun Gong. Practitioners in the U.S. have requested the State Department to deny Bo entry. Mr. Jason Dzubow, a human rights lawyer in Washington, DC said that the request was based on a law passed seven years ago, which stipulates that foreign officials involved in religious persecution cannot enter the U.S.A. Bo Xilai committed countless crimes when he was Mayor of Dalian, Secretary of the Dalian City Party Committee and Governor of Liaoning Province. Lawyer Dzubow said that he was helping Falun Gong practitioners because he is Jewish and his relatives were persecuted during World War II. He said that people learned from this tragedy in which so many innocent people died under the hidden persecution. Mr. Dzubow said that Falun Gong practitioners had done well in exposing the CCP's persecution, and he felt honored to contribute his efforts.

Anti-torture exhibition in front of the Chinese Embassy

Banner calling for the rescue of Falun Gong practitioners

Banner to bar Bo Xilai from entry into the U.S.

American citizen Charles Li was unlawfully arrested by Chinese police at Guangzhou Airport and sentenced to three years in prison when he returned China to visit his parents on January 22, 2003. He has spent two years and eight months in prison, where he has been beaten, subjected to brainwashing attempts and forced to perform slave labor. He is deprived of reading Falun Gong books. The organization, Friends of Falun Gong, wrote to President Bush and asked him to urge Hu Jintao to release Charles Li. Ms. Laura Hatton, a representative of Friends of Falun Gong, read a letter to Hu Jintao from Ms. Yeong-Ching Foo, fiancée of Charles Li.

Jared Pearman gives a speech

Lawyer Jason Dzubow gives a speech

Ms. Laura Hatton reads a letter on behalf of Charles Li

At the end of the press conference, Dr. Liu hoped that Hu Jintao would cherish the very precious opportunity to break away from the control of the CCP and make a good choice for the future.

Taiwan: Over 2,000 People Support the Rescue of Orphans of Persecuted Practitioners in China (Photo)

(Clearwisdom.net) To rescue orphans of practitioners persecuted in China, the Minghui School and the Taiwan Association for Rescuing Falun Gong Practitioners Being Persecuted initiated a signature drive and rescue activities. The activities started on August 25, 2005, and lasted until September 2. Altogether, the association received signature lists and cloth pieces with a total of 2,000 signatures from children and people from each county and city.

As Chinese leader Hu Jintao will soon visit the USA, practitioners are calling upon President George Bush to urge the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to stop the persecution of Falun Gong and issue passports to orphans of practitioners. The Taiwan Association to Rescue Falun Gong Practitioners Being Persecuted and Minghui School took advantage of the start of school after summer vacation to help the schoolchildren learn about the plight of Falun Gong orphans in China. They showed a VCD about rescuing orphans, and explained the hardships faced by the orphans of persecuted practitioners. They called upon everyone to help rescue little practitioners being persecuted in China. The association has submitted a letter of appeal to President Bush and the 2,000 signatures, organized in a booklet.

September 3, 2005

Durban, South Africa: Practitioners Participate in Health Expo (Photos)

(Clearwisdom.net) On August 28, 2005, practitioners participated in the Durban Health Expo in South Africa. They held a photo exhibition entitled, "The Journey of Falun Dafa" and set up a booth to facilitate communication with visitors.

Falun Gong practitioners' booth

Many visitors learned about the persecution of Falun Gong in China for the first time and were shocked by the brutality of it. Some visitors brought friends to look, and some said that they would join the group practice on the beach on Sunday.

Falun Gong workshop

During the expo, practitioners held a workshop to help people learn more about Falun Gong and the Chinese Communist Party's brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. Many visitors enjoyed the practitioners' hand-made paper lotus flowers, which were given to people to express the practitioners' best wishes.

September 3, 2005

Finland: Falun Gong Practitioners Invited to Attend an Exhibition in Tornio (Photos)

(Clearwisdom.net) Between July 29 and August 1, 2005, practitioners in Finland took part in an exhibition in Tornio, a city in northern Finland, near the border with Sweden. There were around 170 exhibitors, and Falun Gong was invited to be one of them.

The exhibition organizer made contact with a Falun Gong practitioner and inquired if we could attend and introduce Falun Gong at the exhibition. Practitioners happily accepted this offer, as this would give more people a chance to know about Falun Gong.

The weather was sunny during the four days and we had a nice area with lot of space to demonstrate the exercises. At our booth people learned about the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong in China, and had the opportunity to sign their names to a petition to help stop the persecution. Many people showed their support by signing their names.

We demonstrated the Falun Gong exercises on the stage on two of the days. One lady told us that she needed just this kind of practice to improve her forbearance. She told a practitioner how impatient she was when having conversations with other people, and that she seldom had time to wait for her turn. This had caused her a lot of problems. The other thing that caught her interest and made an impression was the young child who demonstrated the exercises along with the adults.

One young man had seen Falun Gong being practiced in a park in Turku, a city in southern Finland. He said he was always busy working and he talked about how stressed he was. He wondered if he could become calmer by practicing Falun Gong. When he understood that he could learn the exercises right on the spot he said, "Let's go and try." He asked his friend to join, and they learned the first set of the exercises. When we began to demonstrate the movements it was cloudy, and after finishing, the sun was shining. One of the young men opened his eyes and remarked that the movements really were powerful.

Many people had already heard about Falun Gong and about the persecution in China, and they just could not accept the evilness and cruelty against such a peaceful practice. One man knew about the persecution and how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) used lies and propaganda to defame Falun Gong. He wished us good luck.

In the eyes of the former head of the CCP and Chinese President Jiang Zemin, the greatest threat was the popularity and respect that Falun Gong held among the Chinese population. Once the number of Falun Gong practitioners reached between seventy and one hundred million, and became larger than the CCP membership, Jiang Zemin began his brutal persecution of these peaceful people.

When people learned about this, they showed their concern and said that the persecution will never succeed.

An elderly gentleman told us sadly how he had seen in Beijing's Tiananmen Square a practitioner holding a banner and how the police had pulled up and forced the practitioner into the van. "I can't understand why they did things like that." he said sadly. This elderly man was one of the exhibitors and every time he passed our booth he smiled compassionately. His kind heart could be seen in the expression on his face.

One man stopped at our booth and said he had seen Falun Gong in Philadelphia. He had been talking with practitioners in the U.S. and learned about Falun Gong. He was very surprised to see Falun Gong in Finnish Lapland.

We handed out leaflets to exhibitors and some of them came to sign their names to the petition in support of Falun Gong. One gentleman told us he supported us one hundred percent. "You are doing good work, I know all about it."

Practitioners who attended the exhibition learned how important it is to let more people know about Falun Gong and to let the light of goodness shine by following "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" in their own actions.

Originally published in Finnish at:http://fi.clearharmony.net/articles/200508/3117.html

http://www.clearharmony.net/articles/200509/28585.html

Media Coverage

Radio Free Asia (RFA): Canadian Prime Minister Promises to Discuss China's Human Rights Issues with Hu Jintao

(Clearwisdom.net) The Canadian Prime Minister promised to discuss China's human rights issues with the head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Hu Jintao, during his state visit to Canada. Falun Gong practitioners requested the Canadian government to deny entry to Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai. Chairman of Canadian Falun Dafa Association Li Xun expressed that Bo Xilai has been found guilty of persecuting Falun Gong practitioners by a court of law, and it would be a disgrace if Canada received a criminal.

According to RFA's report on September 2, 2005, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin publicly promised that when the head of the CCP, Hu Jintao, comes to visit Canada, he would discuss China's human rights issues with him. Prime Minister Martin said that he believed the CCP understood that without progress in the field of human rights, simply pursuing reform in other areas would be not enough.

According to an itinerary officially released by the Canadian authorities, Hu Jintao will conduct a state visit to Canada on September 8-11, and 16-17, 2005. Hu Jintao will arrive in Ottawa, the capital of Canada on September 8 to attend a welcome ceremony and state banquet hosted by the Governor General of Canada, Adrienne Clarkson. On September 9, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and related cabinet members will have an official talk with Hu Jintao. Topics for discussion will include bilateral relationships and important international issues. Martin expressed that the human rights issue has been officially listed as one of topics for discussion.

Prime Minister Martin stated that they will definitely discuss issues important to both countries, and they also hoped to see that China makes important progress in the field of human rights.

Canadian Falun Gong practitioners held a press conference in front of Parliament Hill, requesting the government to deny entry to Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai who is to accompany Hu Jintao. Bo Xilai has been sued in several countries by Falun Gong practitioners for his role in the brutal persecution of Falun Gong. During his term as Dalian City Mayor, City Party Committee Secretary and Governor of Liaoning Province, Bo Xilai participated in the persecution of Falun Gong, which made Liaoning Province one of the provinces where the persecution of Falun Gong has been the most severe.

On July 28, 2004, the U.S. District of Columbia Court convicted Bo Xilai for crimes of torture and murder. In March 2004, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police included Bo Xilai on a list of 45 CCP officials who persecute Falun Gong.

Chairman of the Canadian Falun Dafa Association Li Xun expressed that Bo Xilai has been found guilty by the court. If Canada officially receives a criminal, it would be a disgrace.

Canadian MP and former Secretary of State, David Kilgour, expressed at the press conference that Falun Gong is legal in any other country around the world, but it has been subjected to brutal persecution in China. He called upon the CCP authorities to respect people's basic human rights and stop the persecution.

(Compiled according to RFA correspondent Xi Hong's report)

Seattle Times: Groups urge tough questions for Hu

September 3, 2005

Hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners perform a slow-motion meditation in a park in Taipei. Hundreds of Falun Gong followers in Taiwan and Hong Kong held peaceful protests Sunday as they marked the [sixth] anniversary of Beijing's ban on the movement.

Leading human-rights groups have called on President Bush to press China's visiting president next week over what they say are widespread abuses of political prisoners, including Tibetans, Muslim Uighurs and members of the Falun Gong movement.

"Failing to mention [rights] in a very strong way will give the wrong information to President Hu Jintao that the United States is not concerned about the way Chinese government is treating its own people," Amnesty International official T. Kumar told a news conference in Washington, D.C.

In a letter echoing Amnesty's concern that the U.S. had lowered the priority of rights in dealings with China, Human Rights Watch urged Bush to press Hu on issues including freedom of religion, freedom expression and rule of law.

"While there has been progress in many areas of Chinese life, the human-rights situation in China remains dire," the group wrote.

Sources familiar with U.S. planning for Hu's visit say Bush is personally concerned about human rights and especially freedom of worship and will raise those issues with Hu in an agenda largely devoted to North Korea and trade issues. Hu arrives in Seattle on Monday for a two-day visit before leaving for Washington, D.C. Among those planning demonstrations in Seattle are local followers of Falun Gong and those supporting independence for Taiwan and Tibet.

Though China's economic boom has lifted millions out of poverty, attracted billions in foreign investment and furnished the masses with cellphones, computers and even cars, the explosive growth hasn't brought about major political change. People deemed a threat to China's one-party state still are routinely jailed.

A key advocate in the United States for such prisoners has been John Kamm, head of the nonprofit Dui Hua Foundation in San Francisco. An intermediary between Washington and Beijing on human-rights matters, Kamm has, over the past 15 years, helped persuade China's communist leaders to show clemency toward hundreds of prisoners of conscience.

Last year, he was awarded a $500,000 MacArthur "genius" grant for his work.

"If we've achieved nothing else, I think we've impressed on the Chinese government that people around the world care about individuals," said Kamm, 54.

The Chinese Justice Ministry, which oversees China's prisons, declined to say how many people are serving terms for political offenses. But Kamm estimates there are between 15,000 and 25,000 political or religious prisoners in China, about half jailed for their links to Falun Gong.

"The pace of political change has not kept up with the pace of economic change," Kamm said. "China's economic development, in my opinion, has not translated into improvements in civil and political rights."

Kamm and his small band of researchers scour China's newspapers and Internet sites in search of names of citizens jailed for political or religious reasons. Then he presents those prisoner lists to Chinese officials asking for information, better treatment or reduced sentences.

"If you ask about a prisoner, they become an important prisoner in the Chinese system," said Kamm. "If you know that simply asking about a prisoner helps them, why not ask about as many as possible?"

Sharon Hom, who heads the New York-based advocacy group Human Rights in China, said Kamm's direct lobbying helps individuals but doesn't address the deeper problem.

"The relationship, backdoor approach does not contribute to the kind of systemic reform and building of rule of law that's ultimately needed for real institutional protections for human rights," Hom said.

Kamm counters that his advocacy for individuals helps promote transparency, accountability and humane treatment in Chinese prisons. He points out that earlier this year, China for the first time voluntarily released a list with names of 56 political prisoners.

Independent human-rights groups say that practitioners of Falun Gong in China have been sent to labor camps, subjected to physical and psychological torture and killed since the Chinese government cracked down on the movement.

While the situation in China attracted much attention in 1999 and 2000, it has largely fallen off the radar screen as the Chinese government has repressed the movement there, human-rights officials say. The newspaper said that has led to demonstrations in New York, which play out in parks and on street corners from City Hall to the Museum of Natural History.

Material from Reuters, The Associated Press and The New York Times was included in this report.

Facts of the Persecution

Zhaoyuan City 610 Office Abducts Middle School Student, Sends Her to a Brainwashing Center

(Clearwisdom.net) On August 12, 2005, officials of the 610 Office in Zhaoyuan City, Shandong Province, abducted Sun Yanpei from her class in middle school and confined her in a brainwashing center just because she practices Falun Gong.

Her father, Sun Guo, has been detained at the Shandong Province Prison while her mother, Teng Yingfen, has been forced to live in away from home for the past four years, leaving young Sun Yanpei at home by herself. Although she was only sixteen and already enduring what is probably the most difficult time of anyone's life, the 610 officials in Zhaoyuan City still persisted in persecuting young Sun Yanpei because she practices Falun Dafa. Because of her illegal abduction, confinement, and attempts to shake her belief, Sun Yanpei is protesting with a hunger strike that has already lasted for several days. She is in dire need of urgent rescue.

Contact Information for Zhaoyuan City:
Country code: 86, City code: 535
Wang Shiliang, Party Secretary of the City Committee: 8232868 (office)
Zhang Wei, Mayor: 8211771 (office)
Jiang Zhongqin, Deputy Party Secretary of the Judicial and Political Committee: 8210955 (office), 8236878 (home)
Xu Linhong, Party Secretary of the Judicial and Political Committee: 8216988 (home) 86-13808910011 (cell)
Cai Ping, Director of Zhaoyuan City Police Department: 8213899 (office) 86-13705358566 (cell)

August 14, 2005

My Personal Experiences with 20 Torture Methods -- Changlinzi Forced Labor Camp Treats Human Life as Worthless

(Clearwisdom.net) I was detained and brutally tortured in the 5th and 1st brigades at Changlinzi Forced Labor Camp. In the end, my heart disease recurred due to the persecution. Because the labor camp officials do not care about human life, they agreed to release me only after two more deaths were registered. After two more deaths they would have reached their allowable quota for deaths, and to avoid having to answer for my death, they said they would release me.

I began practicing Falun Dafa in 1998. Before learning Dafa I had been very weak due to suffering from many illnesses. I needed frequent injections, took medicines and spent time hospitalized. I had a very hot temper and frequently argued with others. After I became a Falun Dafa practitioner, I benefited both physically and mentally. My many diseases disappeared without further treatment. My temperament brightened and I was able to treat other people kindly.

After the persecution of Falun Gong began on July 20, 1999, I suffered persecution many times. Specifically in August 2002, the local police led two superintendents on a raid of my home. They tried to force me to write the Three Statements. When I refused, they called for more policemen, who forcibly took me to the police car and handcuffed me. They coerced my family into opening the door of my room, and they grabbed my Dafa books and cassettes. At the police station I was forced to sit in an iron chair, with both of my hands were shackled behind the back of the chair. Later, I was moved to the detention center of the sub-bureau.

During my detention at the sub-bureau, the police interrogated me to obtain information on fellow practitioners. They wanted information such contact names and the methods we used to contact each other. I did not reveal any information that could hurt others.

When I was detained the last time, my workplace gave me only 200 yuan for living expenses because I refused to write the "Guarantee Statement." I still persisted in practicing Falun Gong. I could not support myself otherwise, so I had to stay at work. I was then arrested, sentenced to one year of forced labor and brutally persecuted.

At Wanjia Training Center, because I refused to write the Three Statements, I was forced to squat within a space that is only 30 centimeters (1 foot) square until late at night.

Torture Specialists Moved to the 5th Brigade in Changlinzi Forced Labor Camp

In mid-October, I was transferred to the 5th Brigade at the Changlinzi Forced Labor Camp. There was a newly established team there created specifically for persecuting Dafa practitioners. The team was comprised of Captain Zhao Shuang, political instructor Zhang Chunliang, and Deputy Captain Yang Yu. They also transferred the most brutal criminal prisoners from each of the other brigades to the 5th Brigade to assist in the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners.

The Persecution Methods of the 5th Brigade

First, the practitioners are stripped and body-searched . Then they are subjected to more than 20 different tortures. They use psychological tactics against practitioners as well. They say such things as, "You knew so and so, right? She was such a firm practitioner; even she could not bear the torture, can you endure it?"

The actual torture means used are as follows:

Pushing: The perpetrators fill the practitioner's mouth with long cloth strips and then force the practitioner down on their hands and knees with their head touching the floor. Then someone sits in a chair placed over the practitioner's head, locking it in place. Then they push the practitioner's arms from behind, to the front of the head.

Pinching: Pinching the legs.

Breaking the Feet

(Many people are needed to simultaneously implement the pushing, pinching, and foot breaking tortures).

Numbness: Numbness is caused by the smashing of the veins and nerve endings.

Check: The knob of a tea pot lid is used to drill in between the ribs from top to bottom. This is also called "Checking Short Ribs."

Smashing: Beating a person's back with the legs of a tall stool.

Chopping: Chopping the back of the neck with a board or a wooden block.

Electric shock: Using electric batons to shock practitioners, especially the sensitive parts of the body such as the genitals, until they are burned. (They sometimes pour cold or hot water on someone first to intensify the electric shock.)

Whipping: Whipping a practitioner's head using a rubber stick or rubber bar. Sometimes one's head becomes very swollen with internal bleeding that takes weeks to go down.

Pricking: The use of needles to prick the body.

Slapping: Slapping the face.

Beating: Beating with fists.

Kicking

Dousing with Water: Pouring cold water on the body, wetting cotton clothes, and forcing practitioners to keep wearing the cold wet clothes.

Freezing: Stripping off or wetting all the clothes and then opening the window to freeze the victim.

Squatting: Punishing people by making them squat inside a space that is only 30 centimeters (about 1 foot) square for long periods of time.

Hammering: Hammering toothpicks under the fingernails.

Hanging Up: Handcuffing both hands to the top bunk beds for several days and nights. The victim hangs there and the perpetrators keep them awake the entire time.

Wiping the Eyes with Irritants: If a practitioner closes their eyes, the guards wipe the eyes with chilli sauce, which causes continuous tearing.

Brushing: After a practitioner's neck is swollen from being chopped, the guards use toothbrushes to roughly abrade the skin until the flesh and blood are intermingled.

Force-feeding: The perpetrators force-feed mustard oil into the nose, which causes long-term loss of smell. To practitioners who are on hunger strike, the guards force-feed fluids mixed with a great deal of salt through a tube inserted into the nose. Sometimes the tube is even plunged into the lung, causing death.

Elbowing: Using the elbow to hit practitioners in the breast.

Stomping: Stepping on a practitioner while wearing heavy shoes or boots.

Twisting: Pinching the handle of a toothbrush between the base of two fingers and twisting it until the bones of the fingers are exposed.

Rat Bites: Putting a 5 to 6-inch rat inside the person's pants.

Once when Deputy Captain Yang Yu was on the nightshift, I was called to the guard's room. They tried to force me to write the Three Statements by torturing all my sensitive places (such as my neck and private parts) with an electric baton.

I refused to write the Three Statements, so I was hung up for three days and nights. During that period, I was also tortured with many of the above-mentioned methods. On the ninth day after I arrived at the 5th Brigade, both of my hands were swollen to two inches thick, and the skin was so swollen that it appeared to be transparent. The back of my left hand festered with infection and my wrists were torn by the handcuffs. I had many canker sores inside of my mouth and I could not eat for several days. After being let down, because I could not stand, I sat on the ground and later fainted. They left me lying on the ground for a day. On the second day, I was sent to Wanjia Forced Labor Camp Hospital for further persecution.

The Persecution Methods of Wanjia Forced Labor Camp Hospital

The doctors tortured the practitioners who were on hunger strike (to protest the persecution) by force-feeding them with lots of salt. They forced practitioners to squat and deprived them of sleep if they did not write the Three Statements. As soon as a practitioner so much as blinked their eyes, they were pricked with needles. In the winter, many practitioners suffered from being hosed down with cold water. Some non-practitioner inmates also suffered this torture; they usually died after several rounds of this torture. Their dead bodies were simply carried to the iron coffins in the backyard.

The hospital only allowed two family visits each month. Food, clothes and other belongings delivered by family members were taken by the duty officers at will. Practitioners were not allowed to shower or wash their clothes. They had to get permission from the doctors to use the toilets. Several severely sick people could not hold back their urine and wet the bed. Then the perpetrators simply threw away the bedding and let them freeze in the cold of winter. I did not have bedding with me, so I froze for a night. On the second day, my family asked to visit me and brought me bedding. I was not allowed to see my family because I did not write the Three Statements in the hospital. Later, my bedding was taken by the prisoners and I endured more than 20 cold days.

The hospital charged 300 to 500 yuan for a single bed every month, otherwise the bed remained vacant. A bunk bed sometimes had 5 to 6 people sleeping in just the lower bed. Their calves and legs would stretch beyond the bed. Usually, 2 to 4 people had to sleep on their sides and some people with many injuries from torture were tied to the headboard of the bed. While inspecting the hospital wards, the head of the hospital, a man with the surname Song, told the duty officers to pay attention not to leave any external injury evident when torturing practitioners. They wanted to avoid having the families checking over the bodies of their loved ones after death. The medical treatment and living conditions were very bad and the persecution was so brutal that on average, one person died every five days. Sometimes one coffin would contain as many as three bodies.

We were not allowed to shower and wash our clothes (except for prisoners with "special privileges"). There was a lot of body lice and many people had scabies and festering growths on their bodies. The doctors used a long-handled steel spoon to scratch the wounds until they bled profusely. In the tuberculosis wards (Wards 309 and 314) and the heavy discipline ward (Ward 307), practitioners were not allowed to lie down during the daytime, but squatted a lot, causing the wounds on their buttocks to bleed. This caused the underwear to stick to the wounds, which caused extreme pain when practitioners took off their pants.

Breakfast and dinner in the hospital consisted of half a bun, a bowl of porridge and a few pieces of pickles. Lunch was a small bun and a bowl of vegetable soup. If anything remained, it would be thrown away in order to starve Dafa practitioners and patients. The duty officer told the patients to ask their families for money when they visited. Then he would give the money to the head duty officer. The head duty officer was Zhang Jun, a drug dealer who was bailed out on medical treatment. Not long after he was bailed out, he was sentenced to death for selling huge amounts of drugs. Zhang Jun bribes Police Captain Chen 5,000 yuan every month.

The Persecution Suffered in the 1st Brigade in Changlinzi Labor Camp

I was persecuted for more than seven months in Wanjia Forced Labor Camp Hospital. Six Dafa practitioners and I were sent to Changlinzi Forced Labor Camp because we fell behind in paying the medical expenses. This time I was allocated to the 1st Brigade. This brigade was responsible for the supervision of practitioners at night. Two guards slept on each side of me. During the daytime, four to five people monitored me and did not allow me to speak to other practitioners.

We worked overtime from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day and when it was busy, I even worked until 11 p.m. or midnight. Tuberculosis patients also sorted toothpicks. Other people undertook the manufacture and transportation of the toothpicks. The production workshop had massive amounts of sawdust produced by the lathe shaping the toothpicks. The extremely loud noise level caused many people to become sick, especially those with lung diseases.

On visiting day, Dafa practitioners were strictly monitored and the items delivered by their families were carefully checked. Guo Richeng even pulled apart the packages of instant noodles to inspect them and searched my whole body. He randomly touched and pinched everywhere on my body, claiming to be looking for cash and articles by Teacher.

Changlinzi Forced Labor Camp never gives the practitioners the money for medical expenses or the pocket money provided them by the families, but they asked practitioners to sign their names for all the items their families brought them. Then they charged the families 300 yuan for "baggage expenses," but they did not give us the things our families brought. This extortion was said to be the idea of Superintendent Shi Yingbai; he was the behind-the-scenes commander of the labor camp police. If the family did not pay the labor camp personnel, they were not allowed to visit.

Breakfast was porridge, which consisted of corn kernels with some husks and pickles. For lunch and dinner, we were given a cake or steamed bun which was often sour and sticky (old corn flour and old flour), vegetable soup, cabbage or carrots which had been cooked for so long that the smell was disgusting. People needed more food and were not given any more. An elderly person kept crying because of hunger. Not long after that, he was hospitalized and died.

Many practitioners are detained beyond their terms. As far as I know, practitioners who were due to be released on November 1, 2002, could not leave until the 17th because they refused to write the Three Statements. Luo Li was detained for an extra month. A practitioner in the 2nd Brigade was not set free when the term was up, because he would not write the Three Statements. Later, he was released after many days of being on a hunger strike. I was held for three more months after the date that I should have been released on medical bail. Detaining practitioners beyond their terms is another means of persecuting Dafa practitioners.

In the 1st Brigade, because I had not entirely recuperated from all the tortures, I could not take care of myself. I could not complete the work quota, so I was punished many times by having to stand outdoors in the cold. I practiced the exercises and refused to wear the name tag of a prisoner, so I was cruelly beaten by Deputy Captain Guo Richeng, Zhang (surname) and Captain Yang Jintang. After New Year's Day 2004, Yang Yu was transferred to the 1st Brigade as Deputy Captain. Yang Jintang ordered Yang Yu to persecute me. At that time, I already suffered from heart disease and anemia due to the persecution. I had to support myself on the wall when walking and I could not go to the canteen to eat. Yang Yu handcuffed me and attempted to torture me using an electric baton. I said, "I now have heart disease; if you torture me with that electric baton, it may take my life." He said, "Even if you die, I will still torture you." I shouted loudly and called for help, but he taped my mouth shut. A practitioner opened the door and saw what was happening. Afterwards, Yang Yu looked for that practitioner many times to persecute him.

Yang Yu's plan failed and he had others carry me to room 201. The instructors were going to put me in bed, but he told them to lay me on the bare floor. Furthermore, he wrote on a piece of fabric "prisoner so-and-so" and sewed it to the back of my clothes. On the third day, Yang Jintang saw that I was almost dead and sent me for a checkup. I described the persecution I had suffered to my mother, because they wanted my family to pay the examination fee. My mother argued strongly against paying, based on the reasoning I provided. The physical examination showed that I had double pulmonary tuberculosis. I was moved to Ward 206 for tuberculosis sufferers and was forced to sit on a small stool. Later, after negotiations with my family, I was allowed to rest in a bed. Yang Yu brutally persecuted and tortured Dafa practitioners many times. He received retribution in the form of severe hemorrhoids. He was hospitalized for a month and had to rest at home for a month.

In early February 2004, Yang Jintang told my family to bail me out. My family went to the work unit to sign and get the release stamped. The manager said, "It's better for her to die in there. I can't sign." Afterwards, an administrative official acted on my workplace's behalf; and only then did they agree to sign for my release. Through early April, we obtained the signatures of more than ten work units. During that period, we had to pay 800 yuan in judicial checkup fees, fares, form fees, treatment expenses and so on. The brigade leader told me that I could go home soon, however, after May 1, 2004, the other people on bail all went home, but I remained. I asked Yang Jintang for the reason, and he said he needed the approval of a superior. Later, he said that my term could be reduced only if I wrote the Three Statements.

At the end of June, my heart disease returned and I lost control of my bowels. Yang Jintang did not want to let me go, but the 1st Brigade had already killed Dafa practitioner Tian Baobin and an instructor. On July 2, 2004, they notified my family that I needed another health checkup. On the same day, staff from my workplace and my family came to pick me up. My mother saw that I was on the verge of death. She requested that they send me to the hospital, so they found people to carry me to the ambulance. The ambulance attendants put an oxygen mask on me and delivered me to the pulmonary section of the hospital.

I was finally free.

The above is just some of the brutal persecution I suffered at Changlinzi Forced Labor Camp. It is a living hell for Dafa practitioners. Its 5th Brigade is the most vicious in persecuting practitioners. Many practitioners died or became disabled there.

Here, I would like to call on all just people, who love peace and respect human rights, to come together in stopping the brutal persecution of Dafa practitioners in China. Let us bring these evildoers to justice.

I Was Tortured 26 Different Ways during My Two Years of Detention in the Xishanping Forced Labor Camp, Chongqing City - Part 1

(Clearwisdom.net) My name is Zhang Hongxu. I was born on October 1, 1966. I lived at No. 29 Wachangwan in Tongnan County, Chongqing City and worked for the Tongnan County Coal Company. I started smoking at age 11 and often drank and got into fights. I was diagnosed with Hepatitis B when I was 17. After I started practicing Falun Dafa on March 14, 1998, I quit drinking, smoking and fighting. The Hepatitis B disappeared several months after I started Dafa practice. Now my whole family practices Falun Gong.

In July 1999, former president Jiang Zemin started persecuting 100 million Dafa practitioners, and that was the end of my family's peaceful and happy life. My mother, wife and daughter were arrested, and to this day my wife and I live away from home to avoid persecution.

I was arrested and held at the Xishanping Forced Labor Camp for two years and was subjected to 26 different kinds of torture, summarized below:

I was tied up. The guard then elbowed my spine with brute force and punched my chest heavily with his fists. I had to stand in the military posture, sit upright and march using three different kinds of steps; I was exposed to mosquitoes, was forced to carry sandbags, stand against a wall, run on the drill ground, do push-ups, jump like a frog, walk like a duck and stand in sweltering heat; the perpetrators choked me and hit my face until my front teeth were broken; they force-fed me, pulled my ears, hit and broke my nose; they hit me with spiked clubs and jammed their knees into my sides; they starved me and forced me to squat. I was emaciated and was force-fed three times (twice the force-feeding caused hemorrhaging and I was rushed to the emergency room). I was on the brink of death. More than 50 different perpetrators personally tortured me. When they sent me home, one perpetrator said to me, "Zhang Hongxu, you probably only weigh 50 jin [55 lbs] now."

1. Twice arrested and sent to labor camp; the whole family suffers persecution

On July 20, 1999, Jiang Zemin and the CCP started persecuting Falun Gong. I felt I had to speak the truth, "Falun Dafa is good." On the afternoon of July 20, I took my newly born baby, my five-day-old daughter Zhang Yuanyuan, and went to the Xuetianwan Auditorium in Chongqing City to appeal. After I returned home, I was arrested twice in July and was sent to a labor camp each time.

At the appeal, it was raining, but many Falun Gong practitioners were there. The government refused to give us a clear response. In the evening, a dozen of us went to a local practitioner's home. About 15 minutes after we arrived, two male police officers broke in and interrogated me. They tried to arrest me. Fellow practitioners all said, "We are all good people." They took one practitioner's ID number before they left.

On the morning of December 19, 1999, three police officers including Li Hengyi from the No. 1 Section of the Tongnan Police Department and Zeng Zhiping from the No. 1 Police Station came to my home and tricked me into going to the police department. Zhong Ming, Deputy Head of the No. 1 Section said, "We'll fine you 200 yuan for practicing Falun Gong, or we'll detain you for 15 days." In the afternoon, Zhang Liang, the head of No. 1 Section not only asked me to hand money over to them but also told me to write a guarantee statement. I refused, and Zhang Liang said to me at the section office, "Zhang Hongxu, next time I'll have you arrested and sent to a labor camp." Later, Zhang Liang called a 110 Emergency Dispatch Police Car to take me away and I was detained me for 15 days. I was released on January 2, 2000.

About three months before my arrest, on September 14, my mother Ms. Fu Ruxian and my fifth aunt Ms. Fu Rufen set off on a trip to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Dafa. Zhang Liang arrested them at the Chongqing Train Station. Then they were brought back to Tongnan County and were detained for 35 days. The police extorted over 8,650 yuan from them. On the fifth day after my arrest, December 24, my mother-in-law Ms. Fu Ruhuan and my aunt were arrested in Tiananmen Square. The police struck my mother-in-law's head and violently kicked my aunt's chest. On the evening of December 26, my aunt and mother-in-law were held at the Tongnan Detention Center. On January 10, 2000, my aunt was one of the first in a group of Falun Gong practitioners to be sent to forced labor. One month later, my mother-in-law was transferred to a drug rehabilitation center and was released in early June 2001.

Within two months of my release, on the morning of February 29, 2000, police officers Li Hengyi, Zeng Zhiping and Liu Yong broke into my home and took me to the police department. Zhang Liang asked me, "Zhang Hongxu, are you still practicing Falun Gong?" I said, "Of course I am; why wouldn't I practice since Falun Gong is so wonderful?" Zhang Liang cursed me and ordered Liu Yong to record my words; then he sent me to a custody center to be detained for an open-ended time, without any due process. They didn't inform my family. My wife Wu Yongmei asked many people about my whereabouts before finally learning that I was being held at a custody center. She was not allowed to visit me.

On the afternoon of April 9, the custody center head Liu Zhongming told me to pack my things, and Zhang Liang's subordinates sent me to a detention center. Zhang Liang insisted on sentencing me to forced labor. On the morning of April 10, fellow practitioner Ms. Huang Xiuqiong, wife of the deputy head of the Tongnan County Court and practitioner Dai Xiaorong were sent to a labor camp in Chongqing City. The three of us were the second group of practitioners in Tongnan County to be sent to forced labor. At the time, my mother-in-law was being held at a drug rehabilitation center and my aunt was being held at a custody center. My unemployed wife and my nine-month-old daughter were left at home alone. Five months later, my sixth aunt Fu Rufang was again arrested and sentenced to one year of forced labor.

The first group of Dafa practitioners from Tongnan County were sent to forced labor on January 10, 2000. They were: Zhou Jian, Wei Xiaojun, Liao Xiaoying, Cao Hui, Fu Rufen, and Wang Jianguo. Wei Xiaojun and Cao Huiwere sent to forced labor on two occasions. Right now, Zhou Jian, Fu Rufen and Wang Jianguo are living in exile to avoid recapture and persecution. Wei Xiaojun was sentenced to seven years in prison.

2. Xishanping Forced Labor Camp: The So-Called "Drill" is Torture

On the afternoon of April 10, 2000, I was sent to the group drill exercise field at the No. 11 Team of the Xishanping Forced Labor Camp. Right after we got off the bus, six inmates on duty and the guard on duty screamed at us, "Squat and put your arms around your head!" They beat and kicked us whenever we didn't do something exactly as they wanted. The inmates searched me and threw my things on the ground. They took one bag of detergent, one bar of soap, four ballpoint pens, three pencil leads and one notebook from me. The guards didn't stop them. The inmates then took me to the No. 7 Cell and forced me to say, "reporting" on entering the door. The No. 11 Team is used to torture Dafa practitioners and it is also the "exemplary" team at the labor camp that is inspected by government officials. Newly arrived practitioners are tortured there.

The guards and inmates shouted, "We have 108 kinds of 'medicine' here at the Xishanping Labor Camp, so we can fix any problem." They meant that they could break any detainee's spirit by using 108 kinds of torture and would cause injury using these torture methods if the detainee didn't obey the guards. They named some of the tortures after Chinese medicines such as the Chuanxiong Rhizome, and also others: fritillaria, lotus through the chest, kick-flower soup, peanuts, dumpling, spicy chicken, hot pepper, small cell, fist combination, slapping, forced sitting and standing, starvation, riding an airplane, etc. For the "lotus seed " torture, we were first forced to stand up straight while the perpetrators violently struck our chests with their fists. They kept counting the number of times they struck us; each strike was called "one time through the chest." After that we were forced into the "bent over" position. In this torture, the perpetrators jumped up and elbowed our spines with brute force, and each strike was called a fritillaria. [Translator's note: The pronunciations of these "medicines" are similar to "penetrating one's chest," "penetrating one's heart," etc. The perpetrators were making fun of the victims by using the pun, which was to name the torture method after these herbs.]

The bent over position meant our heels were touching and we were bent at a 90-degree angle. Our fingers reached down to our toes (sometimes we folded our arms on the back of our necks). We were not allowed to bend our knees although our legs were touching each other. We were forced to stay in this position for hours at a time. To make it more agonizing, the perpetrators sometimes forced us to hold a book between our legs and sometimes they put a glass of water on our heads. If the book fell or the water spilled, we were beaten and kicked.

When arriving at the cell, the inmate on duty shouted, "Stand up! Bend over!" Right after we bent over, five inmates barged in and took turns hitting my chest. Zhang Bojun hit me ten times and nearly knocked the wind out of me. Chu Ming hit me twice with even greater force. They forced me to stay in the bent position for 30 minutes after the beating.

Several bumps as well as swelling appeared on my back, and later the skin turned black and blue. I couldn't straighten my back for two months. I felt pain when walking and sleeping. The next day Zhang Bojun came in and asked, "Who still practices Falun Gong?" I said, "I do." He struck my chest and the skin on my chest turned black and blue. I had chest pain for three days. In May 2001, Chu Ming struck practitioner Chen Shuangfei's chest seven times. Chen Shuangfei's face turned pale and he had difficulty breathing.

About 17 people are held in each cell. Each cell contains six metal double-bunk beds. The cells are very crowded and only the hallway remains clear. One bunk is used for storage, and it is also where the toilet bucket is placed. We had to defecate and urinate in the bucket. Falun Gong practitioners usually shared bunks and were only allowed to sleep on a lower bunk because it was easier for the perpetrators to monitor the practitioners this way.

The guards "drilled" us. They forced us to squat, bend over, stand, sit and march during the first ten days. We squatted, sat (on small stools) and stood in military posture. While sitting, we had to have our feet and knees close together; our calves vertical to the floor and our fingers together and placed on our knees; we had to keep our backs and necks straight, our eyes had to look straight ahead; we couldn't close our eyes or speak; we had to stay in this rigid posture for hours without the slightest movement or we would be beaten and kicked. We walked various military marches incessantly for hours. We stood in military posture for one hour at a time. My weight dropped to around 40 jin [54 lbs.]. The inmates on duty were in charge of drilling us and the guards only sat outside their office. Sometimes we didn't even see them.

In June 2000, the guards took practitioner Jiang Zaihong's Dafa books, and more than 20 practitioners held a group hunger strike in protest. Two days later the guards sent the practitioners to different groups. Practitioner Cao Xianlu and I were sent to a shoe-making workshop at the No. 12 Team. I was sent to Workshop 5 and Cao Xianlu was held at Workshop 3. The team leader, in his 40s, is nicknamed Steel Chen. He is well known for his insidiousness and cruelty. A group of inmates sentenced to forced labor, who were held at the Xishanping Forced Labor Camp before 2001, were taken elsewhere. The inmates on duty in the No. 12 Team included Liu Song from Chongqing City, who is in his 30s, Wu Yong in his 20s, and Wang Xiaochun from Shapingba who is about 30 years old.

The next day a fellow practitioner and I got up at 3:00 a.m. and did the Dafa exercises. Inmate Liu Song saw us and made us stay outside, where lots of mosquitoes swarmed, until dawn. From then on, six guards would ask us each day, "Will you still do the exercises tonight?" We always said, "Yes." We were forced to stand until 11:00 p.m. If they saw us doing the exercises at 3:00 a.m. they would force us to stand until breakfast. We were tortured this way for one month. One day in June, Steel Chen stopped practitioner Cao Xianlu at the restroom and stripped him of his clothes to expose him to the mosquitoes.

In the daytime we were forced to walk a military march and carry sandbags, each weighing 300 jin [150 kg/approximately 320 lbs]. The guards issued orders and the inmates carried them out. At first, Cao Xianlu and I were forced to carry the sandbags and walk around the basketball court eight times. After we were discovered doing the Falun Gong exercises, we were forced to carry a bag around the court 18 times. We were then forced to stand against a wall with the tip of our nose, our chest and toes touching the wall for long periods of time. We stood until 11:00 p.m. Steel Chen would scream at us if we didn't stand upright.

Because of the grubby condition at the labor camp, many bedbugs bred freely and bit us. Their bites caused redness, swelling, itching, pain and other symptoms, similar to scabies. The lesions they cause don't heal for many days and oftentimes new bites lay on top of old ones, sometimes causing ulceration and infection.

While I was in the No. 12 Team, my whole body developed scabies that caused unbearable itching. The more I scratched, the more they itched. They first grew on my lower body and under my nails; then they spread to my abdomen, thighs and the rest of my body. Pea-sized white pus exudations were all over my body and increased in number and proximity. A hole would appear if I scratched the pus. In the end, I did not have a single spot of intact skin on my body. Usually we were tortured for several months, half a year or longer. After the scabies healed, finger-sized black scars would remain. Many practitioners including Liu Wenxue, Zhou Jian and Xie Jin had scabies. Whoever was to sit on a stool used by someone who has scabies can get it, as it is highly contagious.

Chongqing City summers are known for their scorching heat. The ground temperature in Chongqing reached 40⁰C [104⁰ Fahrenheit]. When standing, pus, blood, sweat and yellow fluid seeped down my legs. My pants formed a hard crust against my legs, and some areas festered so severely, they left thumb-sized holes in my legs. Even now I have many scars on my legs. My legs were so swollen that the inmates called them elephant legs. I couldn't fit my feet into the slippers. The swelling went down slowly in late July but the scabies remained.

After my feet became swollen, they forced me to carry the sandbags and circle the court 20 times, sometimes 25 times. I faltered and the muscles on my shoulders turned black and hurt terribly when touched. Once, Steel Chen saw me doing the Falun Gong exercises at 3:00 a.m. He forced the other four detainees in my cell to carry sandbags and walk around the court four times along with me, in order to incite hatred against me. They tortured me this way until late July.

Soon after I arrived at the No. 12 Team, Liu Song shouted my name when I went to the restroom. When I came out of the restroom he violently struck my chest and I saw stars. I held my chest and squatted. My chest hurt and I had difficulty breathing. I almost passed out from the pain.

On August 10, 2000 the central Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government issued orders to "reform" Falun Gong practitioners. Cao Xianlu and I were transferred back to the No. 11 Team where we were abused and persecuted even more severely. Cao Xianlu was not allowed to attend his father's funeral, even though drug addicts' same requests were approved. Group head Xu Guangfu, deputy group head Le Kejin and guards Liu Qidou, Li Yong and Tian Xiaohai were especially vicious in persecuting the practitioners. Tian Xiaohai was later promoted to be the deputy head of the No. 11 Team and specialized in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners. After a Strictly Controlled Team was established to persecute practitioners, Xu Guangfu remained at the No. 11 Team; the other guards were transferred to the Education Division.

I was forced to run around the perimeter of the basketball court 100 times a day, do 75 push-ups and stand in military posture for one hour. Moreover, I was also forced to jump like a frog, do high-steps and waddle like a duck. Sometimes I was forced to stand motionless under the sun for one hour. The concrete ground was very hot in mid-August. In May 2001, practitioner Xiao Zeju in his 60s fainted after standing on the ground in 38⁰C (approximately 90⁰ F) heat for one hour.

It should be noted that the inmates on duty are usually drug addicts. Their privileges include better food, sentence reductions, contact with the outside and access to extra food, alcohol and even illicit drugs. Drug abuse is prevalent among the inmates on duty. The guards use and protect them. The guards at the No. 11 Team let the inmates carry out almost all of their orders and the head inmates rule over the other inmates from dawn to dusk. The guards rarely issue orders themselves. The inmates in charge are sometimes related to the guards, and some have bribed the guards. Inmate Long Haibo, around 30 years of age, was sentenced to forced labor for using drugs. From 2001 to 2002, he was in charge of the No. 11 Team and is the nephew of Xu Guangfu, the head of the No. 11 Team. Zeng Qingliang, 20 years old, lives in Qinggang, Bishan, Chongqing City. He was sentenced to forced labor for robbery. He was the head inmate at Group 2 of the Education Division in 2002, and is related to Lei Kejin (or Lei Keji), a guard at the Education Division. Other inmates are not allowed to report to the guards directly but only through the head inmates. They would be punished for "skipping over" if they tried to talk to the guards directly. The head inmates extort money and other things from the other inmates and often used physical and verbal abuse to control them. Their persecution of Falun Gong practitioners reveals their nature, but they also follow the guard's orders. They, too, are afraid of being sent to the production group for "poor performance."

The Civil Administration Committee that exists at the labor camp is a façade that the labor camp uses to fool the detainees' families. The perpetrators claim this committee is made up of detainees who monitor and report unlawful incidents at the labor camp. The guards make up a list of "Members of the Civil Administration Committee" many of whom are head inmates. Sometimes they also write down Falun Gong practitioners' names while in fact the practitioners are deprived of all personal rights and are followed and monitored everywhere they go.

(To be continued)

Wu Renhui's Account of Persecution Suffered in Zhongba Forced Labor Camp, Guizhou Province

(Clearwisdom.net) My name is Wu Renhui. I was unlawfully arrested and incarcerated in the Zhongba Forced Labor Camp in Guizhou Province on April 26, 2004, simply because I believe in "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." I was held at the No. 1 Section of the Fifth Division.

In less than one and a half years, I was taken to the so-called "Intensive Assault Unit" three times, where I was tortured and was forced to write "reports on being "transformed"" (including ideological understanding, a guarantee statement and confessions) against my will. I was kept in the Intensive Assault Unit the first time from April 26 to May 17, 2004. Political instructor Huang Xianyue, in an attempt to make me renounce Falun Gong, forced me to write some statements. They ordered the inmates, Yang Tingdong, Sun Hongwei and Wang Hao to be my "personal cangues" (1) and to monitor me. They forced me to stand in a military posture for a long time and deprived me of sleep. The physical abuse lasted for 15 days. My calves were swollen to the size of my thighs. Once, they beat me from the evening of May 16^th until the morning of the 17^th. Before the beating, Yang Tingdong talked to me alone. He said, "If you still refuse to renounce Falun Gong, we may do you bodily harm." Political instructor Huang told us, "The process is not important, what we care about is the result. We can't drag on with him like this forever." After this, they turned violent, physically assaulting me as well as coercing me to write the "five statements" (2). Afterwards, I suffered from back pain for more than two weeks.

On October 26, 2004, I was transferred to the section's Intensive Assault Unit for the second time. Wang Gan told me, "The leaders of the section decided after a discussion to employ Wang Hao, Zhang Bo, and Gong Qiang to help 'transform' you. You must follow their orders." During the nine days from October 26 to November 3, they forced me to read their slanderous books every day, to stand in a military posture and they did not let me go to bed. They beat me and threatened me every day. They said that only when I wrote a statement saying that I was "transformed" would I be allowed to rest, sleep and be spared the physical abuse. The various tortures were too much for me to bear, so I was finally forced to compromise and write the "five statements." I had pain in the left side of my chest from the torture for nearly a month.

In January 2005, Dafa practitioners were ordered to write a summary of our thoughts for the year 2004. To expose their atrocities, I wrote about the abuse I suffered during my two detentions in the Intensive Assault Unit. The head of the section, surnamed Long, forced me to rewrite my statement because he said I did not write any "understanding" on Falun Gong.

In March 1, 2005, I was taken to the Intensive Assault Unit for the third time. Since I held firmly to my belief that Falun Dafa is good, expressed my strong will to practice Falun Gong and made it clear that under no circumstances would I give up Falun Gong, I was tortured once again. They forced me to stand in the military posture all day. Every day I was allowed only three to four hours of rest and sleep. They hung a placard with the words "Strike the diehard" in front of my chest. They put a pillowcase on my head and a bowl on top of my head. They threatened me loudly. About a week later, they refused to let me sleep. The prison guards also incited inmates Chen Bin and Wang Hao to beat me up. On March 8, political instructor Huang was on duty. Wang Hao came to the Intensive Assault Unit to urge Huang to go and have lunch. After Huang left, Wang Hao punched and kicked me. Since I could not bear the physical pain any longer, I was forced to write "transformation" statements. The physical assault they used to reach their goal injured me severely, both mentally and physically. I had pain in the left side of my chest again for nearly one month. I also suffered from insomnia, headaches and absent-mindedness over a long period of time.

In the past I suffered from chronic illness and bad headaches which affected my work and study. After practicing Falun Gong I changed from being a sick person to a healthy one. I experienced the miracles of being illness-free and healthy from practicing Falun Gong. I believe that Falun Gong is able to achieve what modern medicine fails to achieve. Falun Gong is also able to help people change from being hurtful people into kind people, and to help people improve their moral standards. This is why I am determined to practice Falun Gong. Because of this thought and understanding, I was inhumanly tortured at the Intensive Assault Unit of the No. 1 Section of the Fifth Division of the Zhongba Forced Labor Camp. The physical and mental damage from being tortured and forced to "transform" on three different occasions is beyond description.

Notes:

(1) Personal cangues - "Cangue" is the name of an instrument of torture. In this case it is used to indicate the person designated to supervise the behavior of practitioners.

(2) Five statements - practitioners are forced to write statements promising not to practice Falun Gong, stating regret over practicing in the past, declaring separation from Falun Gong, and denouncing Falun Gong.

Tortured with Exposure to Minus 16-Degrees Fahrenheit Weather

(Clearwisdom.net) A group of us had just been beaten by four guards in a detention center in Yushu City, Jilin Province. Then the guards forced us to stand outside wearing only thin clothes. The temperature was about minus16 degrees Celsius that winter at around 4 or 5 a.m. Another practitioner and I fainted from the severe cold.

My experience while detained in detention centers

Jiang Zemin and his followers started the persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999. On August 26, 1999, I went to Beijing to appeal for justice for Falun Gong. When I got to Beijing I didn't know exactly what I should do. I went to Tiananmen Square in the daytime, and went back to my living quarters at night. One day, the Beijing City government started registering people from out of town. When the police came to our place and asked me and the other six practitioners what we were there for, we answered, we came here to validate Falun Dafa. After registering us, they took us to the Jilin Province Liaison Office in Beijing where our identification cards were taken away. I was then sent to a detention center back in my hometown. My ID card has yet to be returned to me.

The chief and guards in that detention center yelled at us all the time, which made us live in a fear-filled environment. They forced us to do heavy labor such as building a fish pond, digging holes and other manual labor. I refused to obey their orders. They were afraid that other practitioners would follow my example, so after ten days of incarceration, they sent me to another detention center.

Because in that detention center I did the sitting meditation when I was subjected to a torture called "sitting on the board" (forced to sit erect and motionless on a hard board, 18 hours a day), I was put in shackles and tortured with the "big hang up" for more than 20 hours (1). One guard slapped me, making my nose bleed. Later, they allowed another practitioner and me to stand up while others were still "sitting on the board," so we did the standing exercises. We always did the exercises, no matter whether we had to sit down or stand up, and later the guards didn't stop us when seeing us do the exercises.

In order to monitor practitioners, they installed a video camera in every room. The one in our cell did not work, so they changed it to a new one. When they were installing it, two other practitioners and I had the same thought: "It won't work, and they cannot watch us." And it really didn't work! They put another video camera into our cell, and it didn't work either; then they gave up. Now, I know that it was due to our righteous thoughts.

There were other tortures they subjected us to. Once, officers in the Political and Security Section interrogated me. When I stepped out of the room. a guard cursed me for no reason and acted as if he was going to beat me. They also forced me to sew 400 prison uniforms.

After being jailed for 50 days, I was sent back to the first detention center I was in. They were afraid that I would lead other practitioners to disobey their orders, so they locked me and another practitioner, also from the second detention center, into an isolated small cell.

Once, since I did the meditation and recited the Fa, one guard reported this to the chief and to another guard. That guard beat me with a broom and slammed my feet with shackles weighing ten pounds. Then they subjected me to the "big hang up" for over 20 hours. After that, I was detained for ten more days before I was released. In total, I was jailed for more than 70 days.

The torture of being exposed to minus 16-degrees Fahrenheit freezing weather

In February 2000 I was again in a detention center. I saw that practitioners were carrying snow. Other practitioners told me that those practitioners had been on a hunger strike for more than two days in protest of the illegal deprivation of freedom, but the guards still forced them to do heavy labor.

Since all of us did the exercises and recited the Fa, the chief ordered guards to beat us with plastic pipes filled with lead, which made us black and blue. Another time when we did the exercises the guards forced eight of us to wear only underclothes, and four guards beat us like that for one and a half hours. Afterwards they forced us to stand outside in the cold winter with thin clothes on. The temperature was about minus 16 degrees Fahrenheit (-27 Celsius) that winter morning around 4:00 a.m. Another practitioner and I fainted from the cold. Guard Xu claimed, "It is not illegal to make a Falun Gong practitioner die. According to the quotas we received, we can still make three die." Later, when they saw that we were really close to dying, they finally let us go inside. Two more practitioners fainted. We checked our injuries after dawn and discovered that our feet had turned black. We could hardly go to bathroom. Even three years later, one practitioner still had a big tumor on his leg.

The second day, my whole body was in pain and sore, so another practitioner and I did the first set of exercises to refresh our bodies. As a result, four guards took us to a small room. To avoid being seen, they closed the curtain and again beat us with a plastic pipe filled with lead.

In the Heizuizi Forced Labor Camp

Later, I was illegally sentenced to one year in a labor camp. When undergoing the physical examination in the Heizuizi Labor Camp in Changchun they saw that my whole body was covered in wounds, so they refused to take me. The officers from the Political and Security Section in Yushu City begged them to take me; I was therefore imprisoned in that labor camp for seven months.

During those seven months the labor camp police beat us and ordered other inmates to monitor us. The criminal inmates cursed us and sometimes beat us. Their sentences were reduced for torturing us.

Later, a lawyer who is also a practitioner listed all the laws that Jiang Zemin had violated. So, I also wrote a statement of complaint against Jiang and submitted it to the authorities in the labor camp. I also told other practitioners to write such statements. The policemen in that labor camp eventually received more than ten complaint statements, which really shocked the evil.

Once, since we did the exercises in the labor camp, three guards beat me and another two practitioners with electric batons in an office. I felt the electric current entering my body. My heart couldn't tolerate it. It took me two weeks to recover from the beating.

Once, a criminal kicked us for doing the exercises. We had to do heavy labor for 16 or 17 hours every day. Sometimes, if the workload was heavy, we had to work over 20 hours a day. The prolonged heavy labor and short breaks exhausted me.

A few months later, they tried being phony and nice and attempted to "reform" me by appealing to my emotions. They showed me a video of practitioners being "reformed." Since I did not take the "Fa" as Master at that time, I was moved and wrote the "Five Statements" (similar to the Three Statements), although it did not truly come from my heart.

Being forced into homelessness

For half a year after I got home I just hid at home, reading the Fa by myself, and did not validate Dafa with other practitioners. Fellow practitioners came to see me and eventually convinced me to come back to Fa-rectification cultivation. Gradually, I realized that I need to validate Dafa. By then Master's new article, "A Suggestion" (Essentials for Further Advancement II) was published, which awakened me completely and made me see through the evil and phony nice-nature of the guards in the labor camp. I rejoined the immense current of Fa-rectification, and the evil started a new round of persecution against me.

One night at the end of 2001, I was reading the Fa at home, when four policemen broke into my house. They tried to take away the book I was holding, and I refused to let go. Then they searched my house, making a mess, and took away one picture of Master.

On March 7, 2002, at 11:20 p.m., six policemen broke into my house and told me that their supervisor wanted to talk to me. My husband said, "What are you doing in my house so late? You searched my house and made a mess. I will sue you tomorrow!" Since they refused to leave, my husband got up, put on his clothes and said, "I will go with you. I can answer all the questions your supervisor would ask." The policemen saw that my husband was tough, so they left with some phony nice words. We could not fall asleep until dawn. Any noise outside would make us think that they were back again.

Someone said that after leaving my house, the police went to another practitioner's house and took away two practitioners. They released these two practitioners after extorting a few thousand yuan from them.

From then on, there were always four or five policemen coming to my house and harassing me day and night. Because of this, I chose to leave home and became homeless.

Since the police could not find me at home, they asked my relatives but got no information. Their harassment significantly disordered our normal lives. One year later we moved, and our lives became relatively more peaceful. My relatives and old neighbors told me that the police went to my old house looking for me and asking for information about me.

(1) Big Hang Up: There are two forms of this torture: 1) Handcuffed with both hands behind the back and only the toes touching the ground, one is hung up by a rope that is tied to a metal window frame; 2) One hand of a practitioner is shackled to one bunk bed and the other hand to another bed, and the two beds are pulled in the opposite directions. One feels extreme pain as the body is pulled apart.

August 26, 2005

Hu Qingjun Falls Unconscious During Forced Labor

(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Hu Qingjun, a Falun Gong practitioner in Jixi City, was illegally detained in the Jixi City Forced Labor Camp, where he was forced to do heavy labor as long as 12 hours a day. He fainted due to sudden angina. The guards of the Jixi Forced Labor Camp told Mr. Hu's family that if they would give them some money, Mr. Hu would be released. Mr. Hu's family refused to go along with this extortion. Now there is no guarantee of Hu Qingjun's survival. It is an urgent situation.

Mr. Hu Qingjun, 43, is from the Youyi Community in the Hengshan District of Jixi City. He was detained illegally for 15 days in both 2001 and 2003 for clarifying the truth about Falun Gong.

Around 5:00 p.m. on May 17, 2005, Mr. Hu was arrested for distributing materials explaining the truth about Falun Gong and the persecution. Within ten days, he was sentenced to two years of forced labor. His wife, Wang Jinxia, could not find him and went to the police station, but nobody told her where her husband was. After six weeks Ms. Wang Jinxia learned that her husband had been sentenced to forced labor. She did not receive any notice of her husband's sentencing procedure. Mr. Hu has developed sores due to the severe and unsanitary conditions in the camp. Ms. Wang Jinxia is requesting the forced labor camp to release her husband because he is innocent.

The last time Ms. Wang went to see her husband, a labor camp staff member named Xu told her, "If you give us 10,000 yuan, Mr. Hu can go home." Ms. Wang said that she could not give them even 100 yuan. She said, "You know that my husband is innocent. If he were guilty, even if I gave you the money, you could not release him."

Mr. Hu Qingjun's boss wrote to the police station, telling them that they should not be detaining good men in the camp. and asking them to arrange Mr. Hu Qingjun's immediate release. Neighbors supported Ms. Wang Jinxia when she went to ask for her husband in the camp.

Before practicing Falun Gong, Mr. Hu suffered from serious heart disease, and was close to death. Mr. Hu related that his recent loss of consciousness this time was more serious than before. After he was detained, Mr. Hu's family lost his income, so his two children will probably not be able to continue going to school. As Mr. Hu and his family have a very good reputation locally, many people have shown their concern and sympathy for his illegal detention.

Hu Qingjun's family is now negotiating with the forced labor camp for his freedom.

Relevant agencies and personnel:

Dahengshan Police Station, Jixi City, Heilongjiang Province

Zhou Tianshi, Jiang Haiyang: 86-453-2460151 (Office)

Li Hongxu, Secretary of the Chinese Communist Political and Judicial Committee, and Secretary of the Chinese Communist Discipline Supervision Committee: 86-453-2462402 (Office), 86-453-2360586 (Home), 86-13836597776 (Cell)

Guan Qingfeng, District 610 Office: 86-453-2462218 (Office), 86-13199439958 (Cell)

Chen Bo: 86-453-2462218 (Office), 86-453-2352611 (Office), 86-13836577815 (Cell)

Yang Ying, Commissar of District Police Department: 86-453-2462292 (Office), 86-453-2380688 (Office), 86-13704686666 (Cell)

Zhao Zhenhua, Chief of the District Police Department: 86-453-2462386 (Office), 86-453-2375289 (Office), 86-13846098288 (Cell)

Sun Mengshan, Deputy Chief of the District Police Department: 6-453-2462146 (Office), 86-453-2463150 (Office), 86-13359956781 (Cell)

Feng Chenglin, Heng Shan District Police Station: 86-453-2460151 (Office), 86-453-2772958 (Office), 86-13846008792 (Cell)

August 25, 2005

Practitioners Exchange Insights and Experiences

What is Our Basis for Cultivation?

(Clearwisdom.net) I often think about the foundation of our cultivation: Should we put Teacher's requirements first and do our best to get there? Or should we give the highest priority to our personal gains and losses, our consummation, or the advancement of our understanding of the principles of Dafa, and then selectively do the three things that Teacher asked?

Teacher told us in "Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)" (from Essentials for Further Advancement II):

"Then is being attached to reaching Consummation an attachment? Isn't it also an attachment born of human desire? Would a Buddha be attached to reaching Consummation? As a matter of fact, those cultivators who are truly approaching Consummation don't have this attachment."

Teacher also told us in "Teaching and Explaining the Fa at the Metropolitan New York Fa Conference" (in 2003):

"An article published on the Minghui website described a student who told people the facts about Dafa and shouted "Dafa is good" wherever she went. "No matter where they take me, I'll ignore everything the vicious policemen say, and no matter how violently you beat me or how terribly you swear at me, I'll remain just as I am." The labor camp was so scared that they sent her back in a hurry--"We don't want her." It's because they figured, "We won't be able to convert her, and on top of that she'll influence a large number of people." (People laugh) And they won't be able to get a bonus, either. (Applause) They had no way to handle it--where could the local police station put her? They had no way to handle it, so they sent her home.

That looks like human conduct, but in fact it's not. That was because she reached that point through cultivation and truly arrived at that realm--'Now that you've arrested me, I haven't thought at all about going back. Now that I've come here, I've come to validate the Fa.' So the evil was scared. Also, the number of evil beings is quite small now. The more we eliminate them the less of them there are."

Because this practitioner has reached that realm, the evil in other dimensions could not stand her. Why couldn't they stand her? I recalled Teacher's words in "Also in a Few Words" (from Essentials for Further Advancement II):

"The article 'Good People' doesn't use a lot of words, but it illustrates an underlying principle. Indestructible righteous faith in the cosmos's Truth forms benevolent Dafa disciples' rock-solid, Diamond-Like Bodies, it frightens all evil, and the light of Truth it emanates makes the unrighteous elements in all beings' thoughts disintegrate. However strong the righteous thoughts are, that's how great the power is. Dafa disciples are truly stepping forward out of ordinary humanness."

The Minghui/Clearwisdom website has reported many stories. A practitioner with strong righteous thoughts changed her antagonistic family members into being understanding and supportive, and her boss and colleagues even provided transportation to support her truth clarification activities. Practitioners' righteous thoughts and truth clarification efforts made the police change their minds and stop their attempts to arrest practitioners. In one instance, more than 20 practitioners were arrested at a Fa conference. One practitioner there took complete responsibility by saying, "I invited everyone." Despite her suffering violent torture that lasted six days and nights, she did not say another word. In the end, the police released her while sending everyone else to a forced labor camp. One practitioner and his wife both foresaw an evil arrangement in which he would be arrested during his trip to the Forestry University to distribute flyers. Instead of panicking, they sent forth righteous thoughts to eliminate the possibility and went on the trip. He returned safely. Another example is that a practitioner corrected an internal error in a printer with his righteous thoughts.

In contrast, evil forces dare to attack some practitioners who always claimed to have "looked inside for fault in all situations." Have these practitioners really reached state of being unshakable?

Teacher said,

"When your minds are very righteous, a special agent wouldn't dare to stay where you are. He only has two options. One is to be assimilated by the righteous field, since the pure and righteous field that Dafa disciples give off purges everything that's bad in a person's mind. The pure, righteous field would disintegrate it, disintegrate everything that's unrighteous in the person's consciousness, and that's another manifestation of salvation and a reflection of compassion." ("Teaching the Fa at the 2003 Midwest-U.S. Fa Conference")

Teacher also told us,

"Forbearance (ren) is not cowardice, much less is it resigning oneself to adversity." ("Beyond the Limits of Forbearance" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)

We Dafa disciples of the Fa-rectification period should look deeply at our attachments and in our hearts: When we cannot overcome the evil, is it because of our fear or lack of righteous thoughts?

Teacher said,

"If a cultivator can let go of the thought of life and death under any circumstance, evil is sure to be afraid of him. If every student is able to do this, evil will of itself no longer exist." ("Eliminate Your Last Attachment(s)" in Essentials for Further Advancement II)

Have we all met the requirement of "looking inside of ourselves"?

Some practitioners were very firm after they were arrested and tortured, yet they were detained for a long time.

Teacher said,

"Now that the persecution has happened, I've made use of it so as to have Dafa disciples nullify the persecution while validating the Fa, thus establishing the mighty virtue of Dafa disciples." ("My Version of a 'Stick Wake-up' ")

Then is it possible that, although we have let go of life and death, we put the effort of nullifying the persecution, denying the so-called test and clarifying the truth with dignity at a lower priority? Which task is more important, our own personal cultivation or validating the Fa and saving people's lives?

At present, the Fa-rectification has gotten to a point where the evil is no longer so rampant. The persecution and the CCP cannot survive much longer. Some practitioners have become so complacent about it that they are enthusiastically talking about this subject.

Teacher told us in "Teaching the Fa at the 2004 Washington DC Fa Conference:"

"No matter what big things are happening, pretend nothing is going on and just go about, as usual, doing what a Dafa disciple should do."

Why don't we think about how to use this last chance to save more people?

Teacher told us clearly,

"That being the case, all the more so should you do well the three things that Dafa disciples should do,..." ("New Year's Greetings" in 2005)

If someone is sitting idly while waiting for something or if that person is afraid of being persecuted at this last stage of Fa-rectification for doing more Dafa work, then what is their basis for cultivation? Is it for personal gain or for Dafa?

Some practitioners like to talk about "sentient beings" as if they were talking about their personal property. As enlightened beings who cultivated according to Dafa, we are responsible for countless sentient beings, aren't we? That is the responsibility bestowed upon us by the future universe. If we still forget to consider the total image of Dafa, forget to validate Dafa as a whole body and do not coordinate well to do the three things, do we still have any right to talk about such responsibilities?

Teacher told us,

"whereas real Buddhas are guardians of the cosmos and are responsible for all righteous elements in the cosmos." (Guarding the Voyage "Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference, 2000")

Teacher also said,

"As you know, a Buddha or a God can give up his life for living beings and for the interest of the universe -- they can give up anything, and remain unperturbed nonetheless." ("Lecture at the Western United States Fa Conference, 1999")

Some practitioners think, "Even if I die, I can still reach consummation." They may be right indeed. However, the Buddha in heaven can give up everything (including life) to safeguard the truth. Is he so wrapped up in his own consummation?

Teacher said,

"Why is it that a being needs to be saved by Dafa and me personally? Or, to put it plainly, [think about] what kind of a being is worthy of salvation by the Great Law of the cosmos? For a being who is saved, could it just be about personal Consummation?" ("My Version of a 'Stick Wake-up'")

Having gotten to where we are today, we all know that we should contribute to saving people. But how can we do so without total commitment?

Teacher told us in "Lecture at the Conference in Switzerland:

"I can give up to the greatest extent possible everything I have. I can thus resolve all of this."

What about us? Should we feel complacent about our efforts to save people? In the movie Schindler's List, when thousands of Jewish people thanked him for saving their lives, Mr. Schindler cried as he pointed at his watch and ring, "I could have saved a few more lives with this, a few more lives with that." Now let's ask ourselves as Dafa disciples, "Have we done all we could to do well the three things Teacher asked us to do?"

Breaking Away from the Bondage of Human Notions and Transcending the Human Realm

(Clearwisdom.net) Since beginning coordination work for truth clarification activities, I have had remarkable new understandings and personal experiences at different levels. Here I'd like to share with fellow practitioners those understandings and experiences.

At the very beginning of my coordination work, I wasn't aware that I needed to apply for a permit whenever there was an event to be organized. Later on, some fellow practitioners told me that we must first apply for the necessary permits for our activities. So, gradually, I have had many opportunities to contact the police force. Sometimes, I visited the police to apply for permits, and sometimes I went there because of certain cultivation or Fa-rectification arrangements. I began to clarify the truth to the police.

I came to realize that initially many of the police officers didn't know too much about Falun Gong. After they learned the truth about Falun Gong, these officers immediately showed their understanding and kindness towards Falun Gong practitioners, and they were quite willing to issue the permits to us. Our truth clarification could thus be carried out without delay. One example of this was our appeal in front of the Chinese Consulate. The police quickly approved our application for such an event, so we were able to deliver our appeal letter to stop the persecution to the Chinese Consulate.

My understanding was that while I was applying for a permit, it was also a good opportunity to clarify the truth to the police. So, at that time, I tried to apply for permits as often as possible. Even for those events that didn't need permits, such as merely practicing the exercises in a park, I would still submit permit applications to the police. I just wanted to take advantage of the application process to meet with the police officers and tell them the truth about Falun Gong.

However, things started to change later on. At the end of last year (2004), we tried to organize two events, one indoors and the other outdoors. When we went to apply for the permits, our applications were refused. I began to ask myself: "What's going on? Why is it different from what it used to be?"

I said to myself: "If we keep trying to get the permits from the police while the police refuse to issue the permits to us, then, how are we ever going to organize any of our activities? How are we going to clarify the truth to the public at large?"

We tried to discuss this issue with certain human rights organizations, and they gave us information about jurisdictions and human rights. I began to realize that we had to change our plan.

In Zhuan Falun, Teacher says:

"there are different Dharma at different levels, and that the Dharma at each level is not the absolute truth of the universe. Yet the Dharma at a given level assumes a guiding role at that level."

And,

"the same Fa has different transformations and forms of manifestation at different levels, and it can play different guiding roles for practitioners at different levels."

I came to realize that it was time we elevated our understandings on the issue and we applied principles from a different level. We had to cultivate ourselves even better and accomplish the truth clarification even better.

My country had always followed a strict rule in controlling people's freedom of speech. I was brought up in such an environment and certain human notions were firmly settled in me. Somehow, I had been involuntarily constrained by such notions. As a matter of fact, I started to understand that laws and government powers would play a negative role when they overstepped human rights.

First, I understood that we didn't need to apply for permits for those activities that didn't require permits at all. It was just one of our rights to hold such events. For example, for any indoor events for practitioners to engage in organizational affairs, there should be no need to apply for permits, as such an event was simply allowed by the Constitution.

The Constitution of the nation stipulates that each individual citizen should have the right to one's own beliefs, free speech and to make one's own choice in forming organizations. The laws, however, are taking control of people more and more stringently, even though it is claimed that the laws are getting more proper and closer to perfection. Right now, as soon as one steps out of his home, he might have already committed some offenses against the law without knowing what he has actually done wrong. In my opinion, the principles of human rights are derived from Dafa at the level of this human society and such principles should be used in our truth clarification. That will explain why ordinary people can understand us immediately when we try to clarify the truth to them from the perspectives of freedom of belief and human rights violations. When we are carrying out Dafa activities, we also need to defend our own human rights, and make appropriate use of our freedom of speech. In "Teaching the Fa at the Western U.S. Fa Conference" (Guiding the Voyage), Teacher said: "When being treated unfairly, people should be allowed to speak--this is a human being's most basic right." My understanding is that most people in my country don't have a clear recognition of human rights. I think this is also arranged by the old forces; it is arranged in this way so as to increase the difficulties in our truth clarification.

With such an understanding, I decided that I needed to break away from the old forces' arrangements, and I should try to organize Dafa events even better. We had almost never held any major public events in clarifying the truth to the public before, such as parades, sending forth righteous thoughts in front of the Chinese Consulate, major press conferences, street anti-torture exhibits or displaying banners and exhibitions in the open. We had not organized such events because of the restrictions of the laws. The lack of such major events had already prevented us from spreading the truth to an even wider range of people.

Some time ago, we started to make some breakthroughs in this respect when we attempted to carry out a large-scale truth clarification activity-- an anti-torture exhibit. The exhibit was held inside a hotel where many people gathered. While the event was going on inside the hotel, we passed out flyers outside the hotel and many weekend shoppers came to visit and saw the exhibit. The effect was really good and many people learned of the brutal nature of the persecution of Falun Gong and its practitioners by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

On the second day after the event, we were informed by the police that we needed to go to the police department to discuss the exhibit. Prior to practicing Falun Gong, I read only books of intellectual interest to me. The other practitioner, who was also summoned by the police, was a housewife who spent most of her time educating her kids and helping out her husband at home. Both of us had no prior experience with a police summons at all. So, we first contacted certain human rights organizations and learned about our rights and some simple rules that we should follow when dealing with the police. With a heart full of determination towards Dafa and a pure single thought just to validate Dafa, we started off and went to the police department in District A to clarify the truth to the police.

The police officer that received us asked many questions about the anti-torture exhibit, such as whether we passed out flyers, whether we let in the public to the event room and some other "nit-picky" details. It seemed like we were under interrogation. From some of the judiciary knowledge we had learned from the human rights organizations, we decided to circumvent our answers to the police questions. We tried to take every opportunity to clarify the truth to the police officer. The officer told us that the police department had originally planned to dispatch police officers to take care of our event; however, on that particular day those designated police officers were assigned elsewhere. In the end, the police officer said that we needed to apply for permits for any similar future events; otherwise, we would be "breaking the law."

We knew that we had just taken our first step to break away from the interference, but we still needed to do more to push through the old forces' arrangements. Soon after the first anti-torture event, we conducted another in the same area inside an office building. We didn't even try to apply for the so-called permit. It turned out that the police didn't bother to intervene at all this time.

Later, I planned to organize an outdoor public gathering or appeal event, and I began to discuss this issue with fellow practitioners. Many practitioners didn't support my plan and complained to me, saying, "How can we display banners in the street and launch protests? Isn't such an event like those violent activities ordinary people would like to resort to?" I came to realize that such human notions were developed through the years when we were all under strict rulings from the government. It seemed that whenever someone stepped out to say something, this person would be immediately regarded as "anti-government" or "violent." As a matter of fact, all such notions had been acquired through the misleading education promoted by the government and they were also the poisons left over from the wicked CCP specters.

Nevertheless, some other practitioners were still interested in such an event, so we decided that we would no longer let the permit applications control us; we wanted to overcome such interference in our truth clarification. A few days before my country's top leader was to visit to China, we gathered right in front of the Royal Palace and submitted our appeal letter to the president, asking him to help stop the ongoing persecution.

We made some banners for the occasion, but we didn't raise them at the scene. It must be a Teacher's merciful hint that made one of the media reporters come to our group and ask: "Hey, do you have banners? Why don't you raise your banners so that we can take pictures?" We were still a little bit hesitant, and the reporter continued to say: "Why have you come over here? Don't you want to raise your banners and submit your appeal letter? Hurry up and raise your banners!" So we slowly and fearfully raised our banners.

As soon as our banners were raised, I immediately felt the solemnity and supreme grandeur of Dafa. Another fellow practitioner told me that she also had such a similar feeling. I remembered once reading an article from Clearwisdom.net that talked about practitioners in China and how these practitioners went to Beijing and raised banners in Tiananmen Square. When the practitioners raised their banners, those who had their third-eye opened could see that the wicked forces in other dimensions were immediately destroyed. Those wicked forces that had been following ordinary people passing by the exhibit would also be destroyed right away. My understanding was that once we raised our banners, we had just made many breakthroughs in Malaysia. We had breakthroughs in our xinxing cultivation, a breakthrough in my country's tightly controlled environment where freedom of speech was strictly monitored and a breakthrough in negating the old forces.

Later on, we went to the Chinese Consulate and demanded that the persecution be stopped. We also presented our anti-torture exhibits in the parks and in the streets during night market times. As we held more and more such events, more and more practitioners started to venture out to take part in the activities. A very good cultivation environment was gradually established.

At the end of such an event, we would always try to further clarify the truth to the local police and let them know more about us. We noticed that whenever we organized certain public gatherings without first applying for a permit, the police would treat such events as "against the law" and come over to deal with us. When the police contacted us, it was the best time to let them learn the truth about Falun Gong and they would genuinely realize that we were a peaceful group of cultivators. We were genuinely following the principles of "Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance" when interacting with others.

Once, a police officer from District B said to us: "You have finally made it through with your persistent endeavors." What the police officer meant was that all the public gatherings and appeals launched throughout the past year by Malaysian Falun Gong practitioners had eventually made the police realize what Falun Gong was. The police had finally learned the truth. I was very moved when hearing these words. It seemed that our Honorable Teacher was letting the police officer utter such words to encourage us, to confirm what we were doing.

The first time we gathered in front of the Chinese Consulate to demand the end to the persecution in China, all the police officers at the scene were very nervous. It seemed as if they would take some action against us at any moment. After we finished our activities and went over to thank the police officers for their presence, those police officers were quite surprised. They were amazed by our show of kindness to them.

In subsequent events, the police officers started to relax much more. They would just stand along beside us and watch us or chat with practitioners. It gave our practitioners very good opportunities to clarify the truth to these officers, to let them know the brutalities of the ongoing persecutions in China. When the police officers saw the pictures of China's practitioners under persecution, they couldn't believe that such things could have happened and they would become very sympathetic towards us.

An officer from District B told us that her subordinates were very sympathetic to us, because we would usually stand there quietly with the banners raised in our hands, and we always kept ourselves in very good order. Also, we were very cooperative with the police. The officer said that her subordinates just couldn't understand why the CCP had decided to persecute a group of such peaceful and kind-hearted people.

Once a policeman from District C said to me: "There won't be any problem whatsoever if your activities have fewer than five participants. It would be against the law if there are more than five participants though." When I first heard this, I said to myself: "Well, let's limit the number of participants in our activities then." However, after some time, I began to realize that I was putting myself under the restrictions of the laws. I started to break away from such a notion. When practitioners developed their intentions to validate Dafa, how could they be held back just because of the limitation on the number of participants in an event?

I also noticed that as long as our practitioners held onto their righteous thoughts and kept on doing righteous deeds, even the police officers would eventually change their minds as well. A police officer from District A used to tell us that if we didn't apply for permits, our activities would be treated as against the law. We kept on clarifying the truth to him, but he just insisted upon his own notions and kept telling us that "without permits" or "more than five participants in an event" would be regarded as a violation of the law. Once, we happened to hold an event in a community where this officer was in charge of maintaining order. About a dozen practitioners were present for the event. The officer personally witnessed how peaceful and kind our practitioners were and he finally understood that the number of participants in an event should not be used to determine whether or not the event was a violation of the law.

Later on, this same officer said to us: "If there are more than five people gathering together drinking coffee, could these people be held as being 'against the law?' " From then on this officer seemed like one of us as he chatted, and his previously condescending bureaucratic gestures had all but disappeared. He started to genuinely treat us as his friends, and was very willing to mingle with us.

Currently, there is still much interference and discord in our activities of Fa-validation, and we need to continue to break away from them. We need to break away from the bondage of our human notions and the old forces' arrangements. Let's walk well along our path arranged by our Honorable Teacher.

A Solemn Fa Conference (Part 2) (Photo)
- Fa Conference in Mainland China Held on July 20, 2005

(Clearwisdom.net)

(Continue from Part 1)

5. Solemn Fa Conference

At 8 a.m. on July 20, the Fa conference began. Practitioners all sat on the floor with their legs crossed. The meeting place was dignified and solemn. Practitioners read Teacher's "Teaching the Fa in the City of Chicago" twice, and the whole room was full of immense compassion.

(i) Commemoration

Conference Host: It has been six years since the persecution began on July 20, 1999. During this time, the number of practitioners known to have died from the persecution is 2,686. All of them can be identified by name and all of their deaths were reported on the Clearwisdom website. There are possibly many more deaths that we are not aware of or have not been told about. Today we are holding a "Fa" conference. Let us first mourn these 2,686 practitioners who have died due to the persecution.

(Play the short film, Mourning)

Host: We still have so many practitioners who are illegally held in prisons, forced labor camps, detention centers and brainwashing centers. Let's together send forth righteous thoughts to completely eliminate all the dark minions, rotten ghosts and evil spirits in all of the prisons, forced labor camps, detention centers and brainwashing centers that persecute Dafa practitioners. Rescue these practitioners and help them to be released soon.

(Practitioners send forth righteous thoughts for ten minutes.)

(ii) The Three Things

The conference host read two of Teacher's articles: "The Fa Conference" and "A Letter to Shijiazhuang Dafa General Assistance Center."

Host: We have read Teacher's requirements for the Fa conference. For this conference, we mainly share about how to do The Three Things well. Time is limited, so we will share one by one about doing The Three Things.

a. About Studying the Fa

Host: OK, let's talk about the issue of studying the Fa first. With regard to Fa study, Teacher stresses in every lecture that we need to study the Fa more. I will talk about it first, and take the lead. Then everyone please share.

Some practitioners feel sleepy as soon as they study the Fa. Sleepiness is also a kind of demon. This is a matter for individuals to break through. Another problem is that our hearts are not tranquil when we study the Fa. This seems to be relatively common. Let's see what Teacher said about it.

Reads the sixth and seventh paragraphs of the "Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A."

Here Teacher told us clearly, "I think that you have to calm your mind when you study the Fa, and remember to keep your mind steady during Fa-study when you're busy."

Practitioners then had a discussion about the situation of a practitioner who had gone astray and was not acting in compliance with the Fa. They discussed ways in which to help their fellow practitioners understand the situation and not be negatively influenced, and decided that besides sending forth righteous thoughts, they would also talk to those practitioners who had been affected.

Host: The Buddha Fa is boundless; there are ways to deal with it. As long as everyone improves in the Fa in regards to this matter, then it will be fine. We can write about the situation and send the article to the Clearwisdom website, kindly advising those affected to really calm down, study the Fa and quickly wake up. We are still kindly advising and saving people.

Practitioner: This is a good way.

Host: It is five minutes to the hour, let's send forth righteous thoughts together.

(Practitioners send forth righteous thoughts for ten minutes.)

b. About Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts

Host: Let's share about the problems in relation to sending forth righteous thoughts. We are doing it every day. Some people's minds are not clear when they send forth righteous thoughts, some forget to do it and some people are too busy to attend to it. All of these situations are not good. We must draw attention to sending forth righteous thoughts. In addition, we found that practitioners are not sending forth righteous thoughts in phase and in a unified way. When we send forth righteous thoughts at the set time, we do all do it together globally. All practitioners are one body. When we do it simultaneously, it is very powerful. Therefore, we must send forth righteous thoughts at the same time, consolidate the essentials and not assume it as a matter of course according to how one feels. On March 11 of this year, the Clearwisdom website especially published an article about sending forth righteous thoughts. I will send it out.

Reads "The Essentials to Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts and the Schedule for Sending Forth Righteous Thoughts at Set Times Around the World (Update 2)"

Practitioner (question): What was it that you read in relation to pronouncing the verses of sending forth righteous thought in Mandarin? I did not hear clearly.

Host: It says as such, "whether or not one's primary language is Chinese, they should use accurate Mandarin Chinese pronunciations as much as possible when reciting the verses." I think this sentence is mainly for Western practitioners. Many practitioners outside of China can't speak Chinese, but when sending forth righteous thoughts, these two verses need to be pronounced in Chinese. They are also capable of pronouncing it. I think we should also try our best to silently recite these verses in Mandarin. We normally speak the local dialects and may not be used to speaking Mandarin. We may feel reluctant. It does not matter. In any case, we can use accurate Mandarin Chinese pronunciations in our minds to pronounce these eight characters in two sentences. We all can do it. We just recite it in our hearts. Nobody can hear. (Everyone laughs.)

Practitioner: I read from a practitioner's experience sharing article that except when he is sleeping, he sends forth righteous thoughts every hour, so he does it 16 times a day. He feels his condition is completely different from before. He can truly feel being in the state of a deity and able to send out powerful Gong when sending forth righteous thoughts. Instantly the evil in other dimensions is destroyed. The Gong comes from the microcosm. The powerful supernatural ability formed by microcosmic particles blasts and disaggregates all sorts of evil demons and rotten ghosts with one blow. Now when the police and evildoers see him, they all hide and move far away from him. They don't dare to look for him at all.

Practitioner: I saw a fellow practitioner's article on a website about how he had felt very nervous and unhappy when he heard that local practitioners were being arrested. Later, he enlightened to the understanding that we are one body. Other practitioners' concerns are also his concerns, so he began to send forth righteous thoughts to rescue the detained practitioners. In the beginning, it was very difficult. He sent forth righteous thoughts for a month before the fellow practitioners were set free. Afterwards as soon as he learned that practitioners were arrested, he sent forth righteous thoughts to rescue them and did it together with other practitioners. In this way, along with their righteous thoughts becoming stronger and stronger, the arrested practitioners were released earlier and earlier. The quickest one was set free after just two days of detention. They enlightened to the understanding that the stronger the righteous thoughts, the bigger the mighty power, and the earlier the practitioners were rescued.

Host: That's right. Why do we send forth righteous thoughts simultaneously across the world? It is because we are one body. We used to have this wrong mentality: When some practitioners were arrested or some materials production sites were damaged, our first thoughts were often that the arrested practitioner had some xinxing problem, so he or she had this incident. The problem was caused by a few practitioners at the materialsS production site who, for a long time, could not calm down to study the Fa. They even had a long-term conflict among themselves. These practitioners were taken advantage of by the evil due to their shortcomings and loopholes. We often thought that way. However, this kind of thinking is possibly the exact manifestation of our flaw of not forming one body, and is the biggest loophole for the evil.

Practitioner: It is extremely important to improve as a whole. In "Fa-Lecture at the Conference in Florida, U.S.A.," Teacher mentioned the issue of sending forth righteous thoughts,

"As you know, the persecution that Dafa disciples in Mainland China suffer is quite severe, so each student has to truly, clearly realize what his responsibility is, and when he sends forth righteous thoughts he has to be able to truly calm his mind and truly produce the effect of righteous thoughts. So this is something extremely critical, extremely important. Then if every student is able to do that, I can tell you, with five minutes of sending forth righteous thoughts together, the evil in the Three Realms will never exist again--that's how important this is."

Teacher told this to us in December 2001. Three years have passed and we still have not achieved calming everyone's mind to send forth righteous thoughts for five minutes as one body. If we include every practitioner, a whole body has not been completely formed.

Host: It is the time to send forth righteous thoughts again. Let's calm our minds to send forth righteous thoughts.

(Practitioners send forth righteous thoughts for ten minutes.)

(To be continued)

My Wife's New Life

(Clearwisdom.net) We are Falun Gong practitioners from a rural area. After the government started the persecution of Falun Gong on July 20, 1999, we were forced to give up our Falun Gong cultivation.

From time to time however, many fellow practitioners tried to persuade us to resume cultivation. Because we feared persecution by Jiang Zemin's regime, we did not listen to them. When my wife came down with a severe disease that could not be cured, we decided to resume Falun Gong practice and cultivation. After several days of reading Falun Gong books and doing the exercises together, my wife miraculously recovered from her terminal illness. Once again, we felt Teacher's enormous compassion and the mighty power of Dafa. Her story is as follows:

On June 17, 2005, my wife suddenly went into a coma. We rushed her to the hospital. Doctors said that the symptom was a hemorrhage of the brain stem induced by hypertension (systolic pressure 240). Doctors told us that my wife's condition was very serious and her chance of recovery was very slim. Desperate, we kept her in the hospital for one week and ended up paying a medical bill of nearly 10,000 yuan. In the end, the doctors had no hope for her and told us that she could remain in a vegetative state. Disappointed and extremely saddened, we took her home.

After we got home on June 23, we kept feeding medicine and injections into her. My wife had both a stomach tube, and a catheter inserted into her bladder, because she could not eat and had lost all sensation. She could only move her eyes. At this time, many Dafa practitioners came to encourage us to resume cultivation. They told us only Dafa could save my wife.

On June 25, I obtained Dafa books and an exercise tape. Immediately I read the books and played the exercise music to her. I moved her hands to teach her the movements. A few days later, she regained consciousness and felt pain and itching. I told her that this was karma elimination. I said, "Teacher is helping you now."

On June 29, a miracle happened. My wife's pain and itching vanished, the stomach tube and catheter were removed, she could eat a little food, and she could move her limbs somewhat. She also could speak two words: "Qing" (my nickname) and "Jing" (meaning Teacher's lectures). Witnessing such a fast recovery, I could not say enough to express my gratitude to our Teacher. My family members also felt great joy. Even some of our children and relatives who used to oppose Falun Gong changed their minds and now have tremendous respect for our Teacher.

Many fellow practitioners came to our house to study the Fa, share understandings and encourage us. As a result, we greatly improved our understanding of Dafa principles. We learned that the most important task for Dafa disciples is to do the three things well.

On July 20, 2005, my wife began to talk. Her pronunciation was clear and her words were very precise. She could recite all the verses of the five sets of exercises and the verses for sending forth righteous thoughts. She could raise her head, grasp a small object with her hands, and she could move her legs. On August 9, she could stay seated by herself for over ten minutes after we helped her into a sitting position. She could sit and cross her legs and turn over in bed. She even could read Dafa books herself.

Witnessing my wife's rapid recovery day after day, I was deeply touched. Modern science does not compare with Dafa. Teacher is indeed the Master who is saving all sentient beings. Only Teacher has the mighty virtue to save us. The universe is filled with the Buddha's blessings. Because of our low enlightenment quality, we did not fully understand the Fa, and we fell behind the pace of Fa-rectification. We wasted much valuable time for saving people. From now on, we will do our best to be diligent. We will take advantage of my wife's miraculous recovery to clarify the truth, save sentient beings, and make up for the loss we caused Dafa. We will answer Teacher's expectations with our actions.

My Understanding about an Individual's Abilities

(Clearwisdom.net) I was fond of mathematics before even going to school, and later I very much admired those with strong logical and analytical skills. Recently, after listening to some of Bach's music, I came to some understandings. Bach is recognized as a musician who obtained musical inspiration through his spiritual belief. On the surface, there were later works that were superior in terms of technique or other aspects, but I feel that his works were unique. A musician's ability and inspiration are bestowed by higher beings, and when he or she recognizes this and becomes in harmony with that principle, the result is often great. Meanwhile, modern classical music's pursuit of technique and force caps its potential. The superficial exuberance detracts from the music itself. Teacher said,

"...and everything that human beings draw or paint includes elements of the artist himself." ("Teaching the Fa at the Discussion on Creating Fine Art")

I think that when we have discussions about purely technical topics or setting forth guidelines, our state of mind at the time plays a big role in the outcome.

Related to the issue of abilities and skills is the identification of one's personal contribution. I have encountered several related situations. One of them was when a number of Dafa practitioners discussed initiating a project. Just before the project was due to start, one of the practitioners called to tell me that the project started because he first had such an idea and then told it to so and so, and later he had another idea to deal with a situation that came up, and thus the project was able to start. I agreed with him on the surface, but thought to myself, "Wasn't I the one that came up with the idea?" Although we all know that everyone who participated in the project had contributed and we shouldn't worry about who did what, we still thought about individual contributions with a human mindset.

I'd like to also discuss how we should act when we are dissatisfied with fellow practitioners.

A notable case of this happened several years ago. A few fellow practitioners and I collaborated on a project. At the time I felt that they did some things incorrectly. I pointed it out to them several times but to no avail. Later I noticed that when I was thinking about how I should put it to them, my heart was pounding rapidly. While quietly rehearsing how to talk to them, I got so worked up and anxious. Whenever I thought about this, I would feel dejected and vexed. Later, I thought things through and came to realize that if fellow practitioners have deficiencies somewhere, I should just point it out to them with good intentions, and that should be the end of it.

Even a cultivator can sometimes suddenly have a bad thought, and it can even last for quite a while. Recently, I made substantial improvement in this respect. My mind is tranquil most of the time, and I can exercise control of my thoughts and behavior. This is because I realize that people's human side is very weak. Beautiful clothing can get soiled in a flash if one lives in a windy and dusty area, but it becomes clean again after shaking it out or washing it. So, superficial feelings are insignificant. Dafa can cleanse away all filth. Let us study the Fa well and let our own thoughts and behavior melt into the Fa.

News from China

CCP Officials in Zhuolu County, Hebei Province Suffer Karmic Retribution Resulting from Their Crimes of Persecuting Falun Dafa Practitioners

Editors' Note: Each time we publish news of this nature, we do so with heavy hearts. These people started off as public servants, but under the intense pressure applied by former president Jiang Zemin and his followers, they were pushed into persecuting Dafa disciples. In the process of destroying the lives of kind, law-abiding citizens, they have sealed their own fates and inevitably faced karmic retribution as punishment. If it weren't for Jiang's wicked orders, perhaps their fates would have been different.

(Clearwisdom.net) The following are some examples of how CCP (Chinese Communist Party) officials in Zhuolu County, Hebei Province received karmic retribution for persecuting Falun Dafa:

1. Banfu, a former CCP Secretary of Zhuolu Township, Zhuolu County, closely followed the policy of Jiang's regime to persecute Falun Dafa practitioners since the persecution began on July 20, 1999. He instructed the officials and police officers in the township to harass the practitioners and monitor them, to confiscate practitioners' books and burn them, to force every practitioner in the township to give up his/her belief in "Truth-Compassion-Forbearance," and to force the practitioners to curse Falun Dafa and its founder and write pledges to denounce their belief. Whoever did not write the pledge would be tortured even more severely. Soon, Banfu developed lung cancer. After spending over three hundred yuan on medical treatments, he still could not cure his illness, and finally died in August 2005 at the age of fifty-one.

2. He Youcai, a former member of the County CCP Standing Committee and secretary of the Office of County Committee, frequently gave speeches at public conferences demonizing Falun Dafa. He also organized the destruction of numerous confiscated Falun Dafa books. Soon after he was moved to Wei County from Zhuolu, he suffered lung cancer. Currently He Youcai is critically ill.

3. Zhang Xiaoguang was previously the chief executive of Zhuolu County. When he was in charge of Zhuolu County, Zhang closely followed Jiang's campaign to torture Falun Dafa practitioners. He instructed others to harass, detain, and monitor Falun Dafa practitioners and send them to forced labor camps. He formed a brainwashing center at Song Village, took numerous illegally arrested practitioners to the center for brainwashing, tortured practitioners with various means, broke into practitioners' homes to rob them, and widely extorted money from the practitioners under the guise of "fines." Soon after Zhang moved from Zhuolu County to Zhangjiakou City, he suffered an unknown illness. Since then, his health has been deteriorating. Zhang is currently in critical condition.

4. As a female official at the 610 Office, Zhang Xiuqin closely followed CCP policy to arrest, brainwash, extort, and persecute Falun Dafa practitioners, and to force them to give up their belief in "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance." As a result, she suffered retribution. In her thirties, she suffered a heart attack and underwent a surgery which cost her over one hundred thousand yuan. If she does not change her position towards Falun Dafa practitioners, her outcome will surely be even worse.

5. As the head of the Political Protection Brigade of Zhuolu County and the associate director of the County 610 Office, Dong Fei has since July 20, 1999 been the "pioneer" in persecuting Falun Dafa practitioners in Zhuolu County. His viciousness and brutality in persecuting practitioners is well known in the county. At the age of thirty, he started to suffer heart problems, which happened fairly frequently. Once when he was abducting a Falun Dafa practitioner, he had a heart attack that almost ended his life. Many people told him that this was the result of his vicious persecution of good, kindhearted people, and that if he does not stop doing evil, more disasters will come to him.

6. Xue Peijun, the Section Chief of the Security Protection Office of Xiguan Village, Zhuolu County, created a brainwashing class back in March of 2000. In the brainwashing class, he cursed Falun Dafa and verbally attacked the founder of Falun Dafa. He suffered karmic retribution as a result of these misdeeds, and died of cancer in 2001.

Latest News from China - August 18, 2005

(Clearwisdom.net)

[Baoding City, Hebei Province] Ms. Yang Jinying and Fellow Practitioners Arrested by State Security Agents
[Rushan City, Shandong Province] Ms. Yu Xiuhua and Fellow Practitioners Arrested
[Wendeng City, Shandong Province] Ms. Sun Wenping and Fellow Practitioners Detained
[Zibo City, Shandong Province] Ms. Zhang Wanxia Detained in Second Ward of Wangchun Forced Labor Camp
[Laixi City, Shandong Province] Ms. Zhang Guihua and Fellow Practitioners Arrested
[Beijing City] Ms. Zhao Guiying and Fellow Practitioners Arrested
[Beijing City] Ms. Ma Shixian Arrested by Plainclothes Officers in Haidian District
[Shouguang City, Shandong Province] Mr. Zhao Liming Sentenced to Three Years of Forced Labor
[Zhangqiu City, Shandong Province] Mr. Liu Haijun Arrested
[Hengshui City, Hebei Province] Mr. Qi Zhengui Arrested
[Ezhou City, Hubei Province] Mr. Guo Huanran and Fellow Practitioners Arrested and Detained
[Yishui County, Shandong Province] Current Situations of Detained Ms. Kong Xianzhen and Fellow Practitioners
[Inner-Mongolia Autonomous District] Ms. Guo Meijie and Mr. Chen Ming Arrested by Police from Eerduosi City
[Liaoning Province] Mr. Zou Liming Arrested and Returned to Panjin Forced Labor Camp
[Heilongjiang Province] Mr. Liu Zhucai and Fellow Practitioners Arrested and Detained
[Chenzhou City, Hunan Province] Mr. Lei Anxiang Cruelly Tortured in Huadu Forced Labor Camp in Guangdong Province
[Bei'an City, Heilongjiang Province] Ms. Jiang Yanfen Arrested by Beian City Police
[Inner-Mongolia Autonomous District] Elderly Female Practitioner Mao Chunlan from Dayan Mine, Hulunbeier Prefecture Arrested

1. [Baoding City, Hebei Province] Ms. Yang Jinying and Fellow Practitioners Arrested by State Security Agents

At around 9:00 a.m. on the morning of August 7, 2005, Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Yang Jinying from Eastern Suburban Baoding City was arrested by Baoding City State Security Agents while she was on her way for vegetable shopping. She is now detained in Hebei Province State Security Agent Detention Center located in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province.

On August 8, 2005, at around 1:00 a.m., Falun Dafa practitioners Mr. Zhi Zhanmin, Mr. Wei Wuhai and Mr. Du from Baoding City were arrested by Baoding City State Security Agents. They are now detained in Hebei Province State Security Agent Detention Center located in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province.

Relevant Phone Numbers:
Baoding City State Security Bureau Head Ding Yaping (gender unknown): 86-312-3135050 (Office), 86-312-3115958 (Home), 86-13903225266 (Cell)
Political Office of Baoding City State Security Bureau: 86-312-3138003
Operator of Baoding City State Security Bureau: 86-312-3138001

2. [Rushan City, Shandong Province] Ms. Yu Xiuhua and Fellow Practitioners Arrested

On August 14, 2005, Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Yu Xiuhua from Rushan City, Shandong Province was reported to police and arrested when she was clarifying the truth to people on a bus. Her home was ransacked. She is now detained at the Rushan City Detention Center.

In July 2005, Falun Dafa practitioners Ms. Sun Xiuzhen and Ms. Song Xielan from Shijiake Village, Xiachu Town, Rushan City were arrested. Ms. Sun Xiulan was sentenced to three years of forced labor. Ms. Song Xielan was sentenced to two years of forced labor.

3. [Shandong Province] Ms. Sun Wenping and Fellow Practitioners Detained

On July 26, 2005, Falun Dafa practitioners Ms. Sun Wenping from Sunjia Village and Ms. Jin Bifeng from Xiejiakuang Village (both from Kouzi Town, Wendeng City, Shandong Province) went to clarify the truth in Gao Village. They were arrested and detained in Wendeng City Detention Center by the local police and 610 Office personnel. They both were sentenced to forced labor on August 5, 2005. It has not been confirmed whether they are currently imprisoned in Wangchun Forced Labor Camp located in Zibo City, Shandong Province.

On July 28, 2005, Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Lin Zhiguan was arrested by a police officer from Song Village Station. He was later sent to Wendeng City by 610 Office agent Xiang Hongping (male).

4. [Zibo City, Shandong Province] Ms. Zhang Wanxia Detained in Second Ward of Wangchun Forced Labor Camp

Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Zhang Wanxia from Qingdao City, was sentenced to two years of forced labor in September 2003. She refused to accept the brainwashing and was subjected to prolonged tortured. She is targeted for close monitoring and is now imprisoned in the Second Ward of the Wangchun Forced Labor Camp. Telephone: 86-533-6689411.

5. [Laixi City, Shandong Province] Ms. Zhang Guihua and Fellow Practitioners Arrested

On the evening of July 2, 2005, Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Zhang Guihua and three other fellow practitioners from Dongzuizi Village, Rizhuang Town went out to post truth clarifying materials. Ms. Zhang Guihua and Ms. Liu Chunfang were arrested. Mr. Zhang Mingshan and Ms. Wang Junfang escaped. The police from Rizhuang Town Station went to arrest Mr. Zhang Mingshan and Ms. Wang Junfang the next morning. Ms. Wang Junfang successfully escaped again. Mr. Zhang Mingshan has been released. Ms. Zhang Guihua and Ms. Liu Chunfang were tortured in the police station and detained in Laixi City Detention Center for 10-15 days. Both were then sentenced to forced labor. They are now being tortured in Wangchun Forced Labor Camp in Zibo City, Shandong Province.

Relevant Phone Numbers:
Rizhuang Town Police Station Head Yu Deming (male): 86-532-83481055 (Office), 86-532-83483789 (Office), 86-532-88490208 (Home), 86-13356879678 (Cell)
Rizhuang Town Police Station Deputy Head Geng Bingsheng (male): 86-532-8747708 (Xiaolingtong/PHS Mobile) (1), 86-13361200786 (Cell)
Political Director of Rizhuang Town Police Station Zhang Luning (male): 86-532-88474369 (Home), 86-532-87478811, 86-13386393833 (Cell)

6. [Beijing City] Ms. Zhao Guiying and Fellow Practitioners Arrested

On July 20, 2005, the police from Fengtai District Department, Yungang Station and 610 Office personnel stormed into the homes of Falun Dafa practitioners Ms. Zhao Guiying and Mr. Gao Xiang. They arrested Ms. Zhao Guiying. Mr. Gao Xiang and his wife Gao Chunxiang were both detained for more than twenty days and are now being tortured and brainwashed. The Gao's 12-year-old daughter was left home alone after her the arrest of her parents.

Relevant Phone Numbers:
Fengtai District Police Department of Beijing City: 86-10-63897610
Yungang Police Station in Fengtai District, Beijing City: 86-10-83311940
Neighborhood Administration of Fengtai District, Beijing City: 86-10-68375750

7. [Beijing City] Ms. Ma Shixian Arrested by Plainclothes Officers in Haidian District

On the morning of August 7, 2005, Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Ma Shixian, 56, was arrested by plainclothes officers from Haidian District Police Department. She is now detained in Haidian District Detention Center.

8. [Shouguang City, Shandong Province] Mr. Zhao Liming Sentenced to Three Years of Forced Labor

On the evening of June 26, 2005, Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Zhao Liming, Zujiazhuang, Gucheng Neighborhood, Shouguang City, Shandong Province was reported and arrested for clarifying the truth to people. He was taken under police custody to Beilo Station, Shouguang City. He was detained in Shouguang City Detention Center the next day and his home was ransacked by the Shouguang City 610 Office at around 9:00 a.m. On July 28, 2005, Mr. Zhao Liming was sentenced to forced labor and is now imprisoned in Wangcun Forced Labor Camp located in Zibo City, Shandong Province.

Shouguang City 610 Office: 86-536-5260610
Head of Shouguang City 610 Office Li Tongzhong (male): 86-536-5108099 (Home), 86-13864681566 (Cell)
Shouguang City Anti-Cult Team: 86-536-5298766
Shouguang City Anti-Cult Team Leader Zhang Shaohua (male): 86-536-5298855 (Office), 86-536-5227638 (Home), 86-13606364986 (Cell)
Shouguang City Anti-Cult Team Deputy Leader Liu Tingzheng (male): 86-536-5298766 (Office), 86-536-5252561 (Home), 86-13953641786 (Cell)
Shouguang City Detention Center: 86-536-8289878

9. [Zhangqiu City, Shandong Province] Mr. Liu Haijun Arrested

On July 19, 2005, Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Liu Haijun, who is in his 50s, and lives in Bianjia Village, Longshan Town, was arrested by the police from Zaoyuan Station while he was distributing truth clarifying materials. The police also ransacked his home.

10. [Hengshui City, Hebei Province] Mr. Qi Zhengui Arrested

On August 5, 2005, Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Qi Zhen'gui from Hengshui City, Hebei Province was arrested by the police from the Developing District Department. He is now detained in Hengshui City Detention Center.

11. [Ezhou City, Hubei Province] Mr. Guo Huanran and Fellow Practitioners Arrested and Detained

On July 28, 2005, between 3:40 and 4:00 a.m., Falun Dafa practitioners Mr. Guo Huanran, 51, and more than ten others were arrested. They are now detained in Ezhou First Detention Center.

12. [Yishui County, Shandong Province] Current Situations of Detained Ms. Kong Xianzhen and Fellow Practitioners

On July 19, 2005, Falun Dafa practitioners Ms. Kong Xianzhen and Ms. Xu Qingfang (both from Xujiawa Village, Yishui Town) went to distribute truth clarifying materials. They were arrested by Liu Fenghua (gender unknown) and collaborators from Yangquan Area Government of Yishui Town. They had physical checkups after being detained five days. It was heard the police plan to have them sentenced to forced labor.

Relevant Phone Numbers:
CCP Yishui County Political and Judiciary Committee Secretary Sun Jianqin (male): 86-539-2252629 (Office), 86-13573980006 (Cell)
CCP Yishui County 610 Office Head Li Dong (male): 86-539-2251688 (Office), 86-539-2260145 (Home), 86-13705398152 (Cell)
State Security Division Head Li Jianping (male) of Police Yishui County Department: 86-539-2211575 (Office), 86-13905395948 (Cell)
State Security Agent Zhang Qiguo (male) of Police Yishui County Department: 86-539-2286748 (Home), 86-13969981896 (Cell)
State Security Agent Li Yuyou (male) of Police Yishui County Department: 86-539-2205366 (Home), 86-13853926617 (Cell)

13. [Inner-Mongolia Autonomous District] Ms. Guo Meijie and Mr. Chen Ming Arrested by Police from Eerduosi City

On August 9, 2005, Ms. Guo Meijie and Mr. Chen Ming (both in their 30s, employed by Dalate Flag Power Plant) were arrested by the patrol police for passing out truth clarifying materials. The police confiscated their printer and notebook computer.

14. [Liaoning Province] Mr. Zou Liming Arrested and Returned to Panjin Forced Labor Camp

At around 2:00 p.m. on August 16, 2005, Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Zou Liming was resting in the backyard of his home when prison guard Liu Dahan and collaborators illegally arrested him and took him back to Panjin Forced Labor Camp.

Mr. Zou Liming had been detained for forced labor term in Panjin Forced Labor Camp in 2003. He was bailed out on medical parole due to sickness.

15. [Heilongjiang Province] Mr. Liu Zhucai and Fellow Practitioners Arrested and In Prison

On February 23, 2002, Falun Dafa practitioners Mr. Liu Zhucai and Mr. Jin Sheng were arrested while distributing Falun Dafa truth clarifying materials in Xingshan Township, Zhaozhou Region. They were both detained in Zhaozhou Detention Center and sentenced to five years in prison by Zhaozhou Regional Court.

On May 7, 2002, they were sent to Daqing Prison and tortured for 20 days in the Training Ward. They were forced to stand for prolong periods, and were beaten and deprived of sleep, as well as subjected to other tortures.

16. [Chenzhou City, Hunan Province] Mr. Lei Anxiang Cruelly Tortured in Huadu Forced Labor Camp in Guangdong Province

Falun Dafa practitioner Mr. Lei Anxiang (around 53 years old) from Chenzhou City, Hunan Province has been missing since 2004. He was arrested for posting truth clarifying stickers in Guangzhou City. Recently, his family learned that he was imprisoned in Huadu Forced Labor Camp in Guangdong Province. He has been brutally beaten by prison guards which resulted in five fractured ribs. His face was disfigured from the torture.

17. [Bei'an City, Heilongjiang Province] Ms. Jiang Yanfen Arrested by Beian City Police

On August 5, 2005, Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Long Yanfen was arrested at her home by Bei'an City 610 Office personnel and police from Tongbei Town Station. Her home was ransacked. She is now detained in Bei'an City Detention Center.

Bei'an City Detention Center: 86-456-6660546

18. [Inner-Mongolia Autonomous District] Elderly Female Practitioner Mao Chunlan from Dayan Mine, Hulunbeier Prefecture Arrested

On the afternoon of June 18, 2005, while she was doing her vegetable shopping, Falun Dafa practitioner Ms. Mao Chunlan, who is in her 60s and lives in Dayan Mine District, Hulunbeier Prefecture, told several of her older friends that her chronic diseases were all cured due to practicing "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" . She was reported and arrested a few minutes later by two plainclothes officers. She was transferred to Dayanhaiyan Police Department where she remains detained.

Relevant Phone Numbers:
CCP Dayan Coalmine Company Secretary Feng Lin (gender unknown): 86-470-8642635 (Office), 86-470-8643166 (Home), 86-13947029488 (Cell)
Dayanhaiyan Police Department CCP Director Xu Xiaobo: 86-470-8644920 (Cell), 86-470-8642761 (Home), 86-13904705358 (Cell)
CCP Propaganda Secretary of Dayan Coalmine Company Liu Wanhui (male)/Head of 610 Office: 86-470-8643771 (Office), 86-470-8643618 (Home), 86-13947029423 (Cell)

Note:

(1) Xiaolingtong/PHS Mobile, (a.k.a. "Little Smart", PAS "Personal Access System", or PHS "Personal Handyphone System.") is a wireless phone service built into existing fixed-line networks and lures users with low per minute rates, one-way charges and cheap monthly fees. It acts like a mobile phone but is only good within the local metropolitan area.

232 People Declare that their Words and Deeds Under Forced Brainwashing are Null and Void
A Total of 286403 Declarations Have Been Published To Date

(Clearwisdom.net) A "solemn declaration" is a person's public statement declaring to the world that whatever he or she has done or said under duress or deception that was against Falun Dafa is null and void. Most of these statements have come from Falun Dafa practitioners in China who wished to express regret that, in the face of physical torture and brainwashing, they had signed documents renouncing Dafa and guaranteeing not to practice again. Also, as more and more people in China learn the truth about how they have been deceived and lied to by the Jiang regime, many non-practitioners are also submitting "solemn declarations."

Here are some examples of the Solemn Declarations:

Dafa Practitioners' Solemn Statements [5/31/2005]
Solemn Declarations By People Who Have Awakened to the Truth about Falun Gong [6/2/2005]
Solemn Declarations by Young Dafa Practitioners [5/22/2005]

Please click here for more Solemn Declarations.

Summary of Other Articles and News - August 13, 2005

(Clearwisdom.net)

Facts of the Persecution

1. Authorities in Duolun County, Inner Mongolia Province Hold Another Brainwashing Session and Illegally Arrest a Number of Falun Dafa Practitioners

Authorities in Duolun County, Inner Mongolia held another brainwashing session on August 10, and arrested and transported a number of practitioners to the session. Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Han Xiulan was arrested and taken to the session by police officers on the morning of August 10. Ms. Han's husband, a non-practitioner, tried to stop the officers from abducting his wife. Instead, he was arrested and also forced into the police vehicle. So far the local authorities have arrested at least five practitioners.

http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/8/13/108259.html

2. Authorities at Wafangdian Prison Deny Wrongdoing and Cover up the Truth after Torturing Many Practitioners to the Point of Severe Injury

Families of Falun Dafa practitioners who are illegally imprisoned in the Wafangdian Prison filed a complaint against the prison authority. On August 10, three months after the initial complaint, prison director Song Lujun finally agreed to meet with them. The meeting was held in a very unfriendly atmosphere. In response to the complaint that many Falun Dafa practitioners in the prison were severely injured by torture, Song replied, "It didn't happen before, and it will never happen in the future." Soon after, he left the meeting.

In early 2005, the prison police, together with some inmates under their direction, tortured and beat many imprisoned Falun Dafa practitioners. They broke the ribs of three practitioners and caused severe injuries to many others. In April 2005, the practitioners' families filed a lawsuit against the Laogai (Forced Labor Camp) Bureau of Liaoning Province on behalf of the dozen practitioners imprisoned there. The complaint was against the prison officers involved, including Lu Chuangui (prison brigade head), Li Xu (head of a prison branch brigade), and Liu Chenglin (also head of a prison branch brigade).

http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/8/13/108310.html

3. Yang Shengxin, Falun Dafa Practitioner in Hunan Province, Faces Illegal Sentence

Yang Shengxin, a Falun Dafa practitioner arrested by the authorities in Hunan Province on February 22, 2005, has been imprisoned for over six months. Recently the Procuratorate of Hecheng District issued a "prosecution notice" to Yang's family and attempted to sentence Mr. Yang. This is the fourth time that Mr. Yang has been persecuted. Yang Shengxin has been imprisoned three times before because of he practices Falun Dafa, and has had ten thousand yuan extorted from him. Later, the authorities imprisoned Mr. Yang in a forced labor camp in Xinkaipu, Changsha City, Hunan Province. As Mr. Yang manifested symptoms of illness after extended persecution, the authorities at the camp reluctantly released him.

http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2005/8/13/108306.html

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Concerned People Telling the World about Falun Gong and the Persecution in China

Monday, September 05, 2005

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