Before I set off I had problems finding enough money to pay for my flight ticket to Beijing and also reasoning with my parents that it was the right thing for me to go to China and protest against the illegal persecution. Both of my parents know about the horrific injuries that our fellow practitioners in China have suffered as a result of police brutality and torture, and neither of my parents wanted to see this happen to me. I told them why it is important for Westerners to go to China to appeal; a Westerner can have effects that cannot always be achieved by our fellow Chinese practitioners. I also told them why it is important for one to take a stance against those who inflict pain and misery on the innocent. Over the next few days I was ridiculed by my family members who might say: “You could get hurt” or “Are you sure you want to go?” I knew that these were all aimed at testing the solidity of my heart on this matter. Soon they were able to see that my desire for going to China came from my heart and thus couldn’t be swayed. I was then able to raise enough money to cover my trip to China. Before I left for China, I wanted to increase my time spent on studying the Fa, especially on some articles that I knew I hadn’t read properly as I thought that the content was mainly aimed at those experiencing the persecution in China. But a few days before I left, my mother fell ill and so I had to look after the house and my little brother, leaving me unable to read as much as I wanted.
Soon the day arrived for me to leave for China. My connecting flight from England to Amsterdam was delayed due to bad weather and we were then delayed again due to a problem with the plane. As I sat on the plane, I was wandering if I would get to Amsterdam in time for my next flight and what the reason was for the delay in England, whether it was a problem with my xinxing or whether it was interference from the old forces. I arrived in Amsterdam and I knew that time was short. As I got off the plane, I was told that my flight to China was about to leave and that I better hurry up if I wanted to get on it. I asked the lady where the plane was leaving from and she pointed to exactly the opposite side of the airport. I then ran as fast as I could and made it to the plane on time. As I approached the plane with sweat dripping from my head, I was told by the air hostess that my bag couldn’t be transferred to this flight in time and that it will have to be sent another day. This didn’t worry me too much as I had my essential things in my rucksack, but I knew that my banner that I had made was still in my bag and that I would need to get it as soon as possible.
Soon I arrived in China, a country that I had wished to see for a long time. I could feel that the air was dry and the environment was dusty. It reminds me of Master’s poem “The Cleansing”, where the opening line reads, “Heaven and Earth turned upside down, raining sand and dust”. I then took a taxi and headed for a youth hostel. I found my hostel and settled in. Soon I met two other people who were staying in the same room as me and we decided to go for a walk. As I walked through Beijing, I could see the soldiers in their green army uniforms marching up the streets. As soon as I saw them, images of my fellow practitioners who had been beaten come to mind. I would look at the people in the shops or on the street and wonder whether they were Falun Gong practitioners.
We then headed for Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Almost as soon as we arrived on the square an officer approached me and pointed to my bag. We looked at each other and he asked me if I minded opening my bag. I knew that I had nothing in my bag related to Falun Gong so I agreed. He looked very quickly and then let me go on my way. I then started to think to myself “Why did he ask only me to open my bag and not the other people that I was travelling with” I thought about what it was that I had done wrong and what the problem with my Xinxing was. I then went back to the hostel to do some reading and get some sleep.
I arrived at the hostel and was washing my hands in the bathroom when a westerner came in. I looked at him and felt that I knew him so I said “hello” with which he replied “hello”. I said to him “Do I know you? I think that I have met you before” he said that he didn’t think so but then he says, “Is your name Alex?” I replied yes and he then told me that my fellow practitioners from England were staying in the same hotel and that he would show me where they were. I was quite surprised as I was unsure who was going to China as everything was kept quiet so as to avoid leaving any loopholes. I knew that Master had arranged everything. I shared experiences with my fellow practitioners and we arranged to go out the next day.
The next day we planned to go to a tourist spot during the daytime together with some Swedish practitioners and an American. As we waited at the hostel reception I couldn’t help but notice two men sat at a table. I watched them for a bit and thought that they might be agents from Jiang’s regime, as I couldn’t think of a reason why two Chinese men with short hair, leather jackets and smart shoes would be wanting to stay in a youth hostel. I thought nothing of it and decided to go on as normal. We all went out for the day and when we came back we could see that a lot of police were approaching our hostel. I started to wonder what they wanted and if they had come for us. I wondered whether I should go back to the hostel or not. We carried on walking to the hostel. I knew that my mind had to be absolutely righteous and that I couldn’t accept this persecution. I went to the bathroom and I was then led to my room by a police officer who told me to wait there.
I took out a calligraphy pen that I had purchased that day and began to play with it whilst I calmed my mind. Soon my mind was quiet but my heart felt heavy and anxious. I thought about what our Master has taught us and how we should act. The officer then entered my room and began asking questions. I asked why they were there and what they were doing. I was told, “This hostel isn’t for foreigners.” I thought this was odd seeing as though it’s a youth hostel and it’s actually called “International Youth Hostel”. Whilst his colleague rudely tried to open up all the bags that were in the room and began to look through mine, the head officer asked who else was staying in the room and many other questions. Soon he asked “Do you know Falun Gong?” to which I replied “Is it kung fu?” As Master told us in the article “Rationality”: “When the evil ones ask whether you practice Falun Gong, you may ignore them or use other ways to deflect their questions. Don’t voluntarily let the evil take you away.” The policeman looked at me, shook his head and told me to pack my stuff as I had to leave. I now knew that righteous thoughts can overcome anything. I was then escorted outside by the police to the other side of the road. I took some pictures with my camera as I thought that they would be good for Clearwisdom. I didn’t know what had happened to my fellow practitioners and I knew that there wasn’t any way of finding out at that time.
We were told to get a taxi to a particular airport by the police. I spoke to my friend and we agreed not to go and so when we knew it was clear we left to find another youth hostel. I settled down for the night at my new hostel, knowing that the next day was the day of the planned protest. The only problem was that I still hadn’t been able to get my bag which contained my banner. The next day I rang the airport and they told me that they now had my bag. I rushed to the airport, back to my hostel and then to Tiananmen Square. Due to the police searching my bag before, I knew that they were certain to do it again if they had the chance. I put the banner in my coat pocket and began to walk to Tiananmen Square.
There were police officers everywhere, especially in the underground passes that lead to the square. They had even set up blockades to stop practitioners. I was stopped once as the officer quickly glanced in my bag but to no avail. As soon as I arrived on the square I was greeted by an array of police officers, both in uniform and plain-clothed, along with coaches and police vans for taking people away. When I entered the square I was followed by a plain-clothed police officer. I asked him who he was and what he was doing but he refused to answer and told me that he didn’t understand English.
The time to appeal had arrived but no one was at the designated meeting point. My mind started to wander and I began to question where everyone else was. I still couldn’t see anyone else and I was still being followed. I then asked a police officer why I was being followed. The two officers spoke to each other and told me that I had to leave the square immediately. I thought to myself that I had come to appeal and not to be arrested. I wanted as many people as possible to see my banner. I was also wondering where everyone else was. I left the square and headed for a garden in the Forbidden City. I sat down on a bench and started to think things through. Soon thoughts of doubt and fear appeared in my mind such as “should I do this today?” or “Where is everyone else?” I then looked around and saw the beauty of the gardens and buildings around me. I then thought to my self “All of this has come from the Fa and all of this was created for this period of time. How can I not stand up for something so wonderful?
I picked myself up and went to the Forbidden City. I planned to hang my banner from one of the roofs in the Forbidden City but as I was walking up the stairs to get up I was stopped by a guard who then pointed at my pocket that contained my banner. I knew that I had to do it now so I turned around and ran back into the Forbidden City where I unfolded my banner and shouted “Falun Dafa Hao”. It was as if everyone stopped and looked at me. Then the plain-clothed officers ran after me and soon tackled me to the floor and took me to a police room contained in the walls of the building. I said nothing and looked at the two smiling officers in the room. They carried on with their work and after a minute I saw that they weren’t watching me. I knew that I shouldn’t be detained so I ran to the door of the room and opened it to be outside once more. I shouted “Falun Dafa Shi Zheng Fa” and “Falun Dafa Hao”. I was then dragged back inside the building by the officers, this time they were no longer smiling. They parked a mini van in front of the door to stop me getting out.
I was then forcefully taken to Tiananmen Square police station. When I arrived they tried to take a photo but I refused to cooperate and wouldn’t lift my head. I had quite a few officers on my arms and legs trying to get me to lift my head but I knew I had to resist their actions. After a few minutes, a plain-clothed officer approached me and asked the officers to take me behind some lockers. He then grabbed me by my hair and continued to yank my head up and take a photo. I was then put with my fellow practitioners in the station who were singing “Falun Dafa Hao” or sending righteous thoughts. After this, we were split up and taken on coaches to Beijing’s airport hotel. Once we arrived on the coach we were taken out one by one and led into the building.
Every practitioner had his or her understanding of the Fa and would thus handle things according to their level. As I sat on the back of the coach I was able to see each practitioner being removed by the officers. Every practitioner reacted in a different way as some struggled and some didn’t. As the time came for me to leave the coach I struggled in my mind with what I should do. I soon put my mind at rest and the officer came to take me off the coach. One officer grabbed me by either arm. I walked calmly to the front of the coach with the officers, yet I knew deep down that I couldn’t calmly comply with what they were doing. I felt one officer’s hand loosen his grip on my arm and the other officer let go completely. I knew this was my chance so I broke free and started to run towards what I believed to be the exit of the building. I didn’t get far before I was surrounded and forced into the building.
I was taken to a room with three officers for interrogation. As I was being interrogated, I tried to explain the true facts about Falun Gong to the officers and asked them why they were doing this. They simply replied, “Orders from the top.” The head officer was stubborn in his efforts. I said to him, “If you were asked to jump off a cliff would you do so?” but he didn’t understand so I repeated myself and explained what it was I was telling him. Once he came to understand his face relaxed and he told me that they also have a similar saying in China. His manner relaxed for a while but when he realized that he had slackened his attitude, he straightened his back and carried on with his stern approach.
I was soon taken to a room with many other practitioners from all over the world. We shared experiences and recited “Lunyu” together. We clarified the truth to the officers who were sat around the room. The results varied as some listened but found it hard to believe, whilst others were interested in the facts that we told them. The head officers could see our pure hearts and knew that the other police officers would learn the truth and then disbelieve the Chinese regime. So they kept on swapping the officers around and then ordered them not to listen to us. They even brought in some food and water for us to eat followed by a TV cameraman. We could see through their effort to create propaganda and pretend they had treated us well whilst we were detained, so none of us ate the food.
Soon we were split up and sent back home on our respective flights. I would like to say thank you to those who helped me with my trip and the events afterwards.
Thank you.
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