A Graduate from Tsinghua University Recalled His Experience of the 7.20 Appeal Four Years Ago

I remember that in the Tsinghua University campus four years ago there were hundreds of staff and students who were practising the exercises of Falun Gong every morning and evening. Tens of thousands of beautiful practice sites like this were widespread around China. The compassion, peacefulness, purity and delightfulness of the Falun Gong practitioners brought beauty to people so that more and more people understood Falun Gong and started their cultivation. What a beautiful and unforgettable memory! However, the dark day of July 20th, 1999 stirred up the campus of Tsinghua University and the whole country.

The writer of the article earned his doctorate from Manchester University and is now teaching in an university in Britain. His fiancée, Zhu Yung Chieh, is being imprisoned by the Chinese government because she practises Falun Gong.

I remember that it was a densely cloudy and feverishly hot day. At five o’clock in the morning when I came to the practice site at Tsinghua University as usual, I was told that the central government planned to crack down on Falun Gong. Unhesitatingly, I decided to visit Zhongnanhai, the central government’s compound, to appeal for Falun Gong together with several fellow practitioners. I wanted to tell the central government how I profited mentally and physically from practising Falun Gong and to make them cancel their wrong decision. Several of us, including one pregnant lady, rented a car and arrived at a place near Zhongnanhai. At that time, Zhongnanhai was already under martial law, so we got out of the car to walk there.

Though it was still early morning, the streets were filled with passers-by. Looking at their compassionate appearances, plain clothing, and their exchanging with one another how they regained mental and physical health through cultivation, I knew that they were Falun Gong practitioners. More and more people were approaching Zhongnanhai. It was becoming crowded, but not chaotic, because everyone was holding themselves to the standard of a good person based on the principle of Dafa. Looking around, I felt touched. No matter whether they were male or female, old or young, most of them did not know each other. But everyone had one common wish: to let the central government know the facts of Falun Gong and then cancel their wrong decision.

Because Zhong Nan Hai was already under martial law, everybody could not even stand on the nearby streets. More and more fellow practitioners were arriving so that the streets were crowded. Later, it was said that the address of the State Appeals Office was at No. 9, Huang Cheng Ken. Therefore, everybody asked for the direction of the State Appeals Office and followed the crowd there. When I came close to the State Appeals Office, both sides of the streets were already filled with practitioners and police, and the streets were heavily guarded. Near noon, military vehicles were driving by. Hundreds of soldiers jumped off the vehicles, standing on guard on all the nearby streets, there being one soldier about every one metre. At the same time, there were armed soldiers in the military vehicles.

Meanwhile, many of the fellow practitioners took advantage of the time to tell the soldiers the facts of Falun Gong. The kind and sincere voice of the fellow practitioners touched many soldiers. Some of the soldiers talked about their innermost thoughts and feelings: they had been trained for three days, the propaganda to slander Falun Gong being instilled in their minds, but what they witnessed was completely different. When taking a careful look at the soldiers and their uniforms, I knew that they were new recruits. Seeing their childlike faces, I felt sad that young soldiers were used by the evil to crack down on good and kind people. Some veterans (perhaps their commanders) ordered the new recruits not to talk to the practitioners. It was hard to understand that they were so afraid to let the new recruits understand the facts of Falun Gong.

About at four o’clock p.m. buses, with their number plates covered, passed by. The commanders gave out orders, while practitioners silently watched what was going on. The new recruits were not prepared to be violent, yet their commanders got so mad and seized the practitioners. The veterans officers yelled at the new recruits to act violently. Therefore, the practitioners stood hand in hand and would not let the soldiers divide them. Later, two or three soldiers started to work together to pull one practitioner. Seeing that our hands were joined tightly, one aggressive veteran rushed to me to pull my hair and to strike me with his knees, but it did not work. Then, another two soldiers came to pull me apart from the practitioners on both of my sides. I was pushed forcefully to a bus door and into the bus, and then the aggressive veteran officers kicked me so violently from behind that I lost my balance until I seized something to steady myself. At this time, there were already many practitioners on the bus who had encountered the same evil treatment. What concerned me was that the soldiers even treated the pregnant practitioner from Tsinghua in the same violent way. I shouted, “Don’t beat her!” Time seemed to be frozen at that moment, and then everything started again.

The practitioners on the bus started to cry out, “Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa! It is against the constitution to crack down on Falun Gong!” It was not long before the bus was crowded with practitioners. There was one policeman and two soldiers on guard at each bus door. Then, the bus started to move and the practitioners opened the windows to cry out along the streets, “Falun Dafa is good! Falun Dafa is the righteous Fa! It is against the constitution to crack down on Falun Dafa!” We also recited “Lunyu” [the foreword to Zhuan Falun, the main text of Falun Gong] several times. It seemed that we had transcended the whole matter.

The bus stopped at the Fengtai Stadium and we were asked to get off and sit on a square in the centre of the stadium. The buses were coming inside one after another. In total there was at least 45 buses. Finally it rained heavily. It was not ordinary rain. (Later I realised that in some places in Beijing, such as Haidian, unusually enormous hailstones fell from the sky.)

The military vehicles started pouring inside the stadium. Pretty soon the soldiers occupied half of the stadium. The practitioners started to take out Dafa materials to study the Fa. Time was fleeting and it got dark gradually. At this time, the soldiers were waiting for the orders anxiously. Later, the buses were driven near us again. We knew that the soldiers were going to act again so we joined our hands together. And the soldiers once again pushed us into the bus and the bus started to move out quickly. I did not know where we were. Later, our bus stopped at some place near Tiananmen Square. Seeing that there was no one to stop us, we got off the bus to leave.

That night I came back to Tsinghua University very late, but I did not go back to my place because the building where several other practitioners and I lived. Later we found out that a police car was in front of our building for the entire night. I kept contact with other fellow practitioners by phone and we found an unnoticeable place to take a rest and exchange our thoughts with one another. At four o’clock the next morning, we set off again to appeal for Falun Gong. Once again we were caught and put into a bus by police. The bus then drove to Shijingshan Stadium

At three p.m. the police started to broadcast CCTV’s propaganda to slander Falun Gong through amplifiers. Meanwhile, whenever the name of our honourable Master was attacked by the evil, I felt as though knives were stabbing me. Master introduces “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance” to sentient beings and teaches us to be good and virtuous people. 100 million people gained physical and mental health through practising Falun Gong. However, the government did not feel grateful for that; on the contrary, it launched the crackdown on Falun Gong. In this way, the moral foundation that Chinese people lived on was cruelly ruined.

July 20th, 1999 was the darkest day in the history of Chinese people. On this day, the evil forcefully pulled Chinese people apart from “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” But they do not know that the farther they are away from “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance,” the more they will sink down to the evil’s level.

It has been four years. Falun Gong practitioners worldwide will tell people the facts compassionately and with forbearance. Hopefully people will not be blind to the truth and will return to “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.” Falun Gong practitioners’ steadfast determination and belief have earned them support and respect from worldwide citizens. Jiang Zemin on the other hand, will be brought to justice because of his bloody persecution of Falun Gong. Chinese people, please seize this precious opportunity. Don’t be bullied again by the evil forces.

Translated from Chinese at http://www.yuanming.net/articles/200307/22334.html