Ms. Zhou Xiangmei lived her life closely aligned with her belief in "Truth, Compassion and Forbearance", and treated other people with consideration and understanding. Her kindness was well known. She was very respectful to her in-laws and parents. Relatives and friends spoke well about Ms. Zhou Xiangmei. With her assistance, most of her relatives started to practise Falun Dafa. Her mother-in-law recovered from long-term illnesses without any medical treatments. Her father-in-law and father both stopped drinking and smoking and became healthier. Consequently, the elderly people lived happier lives.
When Ms. Zhou Xiangmei knew of friends or relatives experiencing financial difficulties, she helped them without asking for anything in return. She often said that money is nothing to be attached to. She often spent her own savings when introducing Dafa to others. People personally witnessed the benefits of practising Dafa through her actions.
She was well known in her workplace because of her kindness. She was responsible and worked diligently. Due to her seniority, many co-workers affectionately called her "Big Sister Zhou". She assisted new employees enthusiastically. She also helped new supervisors to fit in with people in the new environment, and promoted good relationships between supervisors and co-workers. She had many friends at work, and they believed that she was a good person to talk with. She viewed her personal interests lightly. Through her kindness, she brought the goodness of Dafa to people all around her.
Her husband Li Yongxin was also a steadfast Dafa practitioner. He practised diligently ever since learning of Falun Dafa. He was compassionate and fair, and also thought little of personal fame and gain. He did not fight for his self-interests at work, but demonstrated a practitioner's kindness. People around him admired him. He was very responsible, and his supervisor promoted him to an office position after observing his honesty, modesty and diligence.
Mr. Li's cultivation stories demonstrate the benefits of Dafa in changing people's moral behaviour. One time, while hosting customers, he took them on a drive outside of town. He took good care of the customers. After returning to the station, he found a suitcase left in the car. There was more than a hundred thousand Yuan [500 Yuan is the average monthly income for an urban worker in China.] inside the suitcase. Despite the large amount of cash, he waited there patiently until the owner returned. The person wanted to show his gratitude by giving him over ten thousand Yuan. He firmly rejected the money, and explained that he just did what a Falun Dafa practitioner was supposed to do. All the gratitude should go to our Teacher because he taught us to behave with a high moral standard. This event had a huge impact at his workplace. Everyone admired him. Through this event, his relatives understood that Dafa can guide people to be better people. On a few other occasions, he found different amounts of money and returned them all to the owners. Mr. Li also changed a lot physically after practising Dafa. He looked and felt younger and healthier. He looked like he was in his twenties, although he was in forties.
Mr. Li wanted others to have an opportunity to experience the power of Falun Dafa and actively participated in introducing Dafa to others. In his hometown, many people started to practise Dafa because of him. Many neighbours started to practise too.
Before July 20 1999, Mr. Li Youngxin and Ms. Zhou Xiangmei (husband and wife) opened their house as a place for practising Dafa. People nearby gladly came to their home to share experiences. Ms. Zhou treated all visitors kindly. It was a very good place to practise! Through word of mouth from friends and relatives, many people came to their home to study the teachings of Falun Dafa. Ms. Zhou played the Teacher's lecture tapes for them. They became healthier and followed higher moral standards. Many people witnessed great improvements. This peaceful and kind practice environment was hard to forget.
Their son, Li Ning, started to practise Falun Dafa after being introduced to it by his parents. His viewpoints toward life and the world changed after practising Dafa. One day, Li Ning rode his bike to school around 6 am. Since it was winter, it was still dark, and he was hit by another motorcyclist. He was thrown far due to the impact, and his bike was damaged. He stood up uninjured and dusted off the dirt from his body. The driver came over to see if he was all right. He replied that he was fine and told the driver he could be on his way. The driver insisted on giving Li Ning money, but Li Ning refused to accept it. The driver asked for Li Ning's home and school addresses in order to visit him. When the driver visited Li Ning at home, Mr. Li Youngxin and Ms. Zhou Xiangmei introduced Dafa to him. The driver was very touched by their kindness and selflessness.
Mr. Li Youngxin's younger brother and his wife were also diligent practitioners. Their home in Mr. Li's hometown was open as a place to practise Dafa. Li's brother's health improved after practising Dafa. He recovered from arthritis. His wife also regained her health and no longer experienced fatigue and fainting spells. Their two daughters also learned to practise. The whole family experienced better and better health from practising Dafa.
The couple often visited other villages to introduce Dafa. People witnessed the changes in their family and said many good things about Dafa. More and more people came to their home to practise.
The couple handled conflicts properly. They gave up their personal interests to improve the relationships among their relatives. Dafa taught them to always think of others and treat them kindly.
Mr. Li Youngxin's mother, along with her eldest brother and his wife, also practised Falun Dafa. His mother recovered from long-term lung disease. They practised the exercises every day. As his eldest sister-in-law became healthier she started to introduce Dafa to others.
Before the persecution, Li's family and relatives were very happy and many people admired them.
However, the situation changed after July 20, 1999.
In July of 1999, Ms. Zhou Xiangmei took her son, her brother-in-law and her sister-in-law to appeal in Beijing. After they left, Ms. Zhou's supervisor looked for her everywhere. The police searched her brother-in-law's home and started to monitor the house every day. Only two young girls were at home. After Ms. Zhou Xiangmei and her relatives returned, the authorities started to monitor Ms. Zhou's home. After being pressured by the authorities, her work unit did not permit her live in her home for a long period of time.
During the Chinese New Year holiday of 2000, Li's brother and two other practitioners took the opportunity of the New Year festivals to introduce Dafa. They held up banners and passed out materials that told the facts of the persecution of Falun Dafa to the public. The police arrested and brutally beat them for their actions. Treated like prisoners, the police handcuffed them and shaved off all their hair. In town, the police brutally beat Li's brother with a shovel until it broke. When he was illegally interrogated in the Hedong Police Station, the police tortured him by burning his finger and toe nails until they were scorched black.
On January 4 2000, Ms. Zhou's family went to Beijing to appeal. Her supervisors searched for them everywhere. A few of their relatives were very concerned. They opened a banner to state that Falun Dafa is righteous while they were in Tiananmen Square. The police viciously beat Mr. Li leaving bruises on his face. Ms. Zhou was taken to a police station in Beijing where there were many Dafa practitioners. Her husband Li Yongxin and her son Li Ning were transferred back to Linqi, and were illegally detained in a police station. The couple's supervisors and their son's school supervisors asked them to give up practising Falun Dafa with the promise of having them released. They firmly replied that the Teacher taught them to follow "Truth, Compassion and Forbearance" and it is always correct to be good people. They said that they could not go against their conscience. Consequently, Mr. Li and Ms. Zhou were illegally detained for more than one month. The police then sent them back to their respective workplaces and encouraged their work units to continue to persecute them. A few months later, the family was finally reunited after several months of painful experiences. Mr. Li and Ms. Zhou had been tortured severely. Their son Li Ning went through the difficult time with help from relatives and teachers. He never changed his belief that Falun Dafa teaches people to be good .
This event affected Li Ning's grandparents deeply. All four of them painfully missed their children. They were so sad that they could not eat.
In 2001, Mr. Li Youngxin was demoted and his salary decreased. Ms. Zhou Xiangmei was detained in a small dark house owned by her workplace. She was not allowed to go home unless she renounced her belief. Ms. Zhou never gave up and firmly insisted on the goodness of Dafa. She also experienced illegal detention many times before. She had been detained in the housing for elderly people in Liqi City, Lanshan area. She was also detained and tortured in the brainwashing classes held by the city's communist party and school officials. She was transferred to the Jining City Psychiatric Hospital specifically for additional torture although she had no history of mental illness. Treating a kind and healthy person as a psychiatric patient in order to persecute her shows how Jiang Zemin's evil regime uses inhuman and despicable methods in an attempt to break the will of innocent Dafa practitioners.
Mr. Li Youngxin's brother was illegally fined ten thousand Yuan. Mr. Li's family was also fined several tens of thousands. They had been monitored around the clock by the authorities. However, they never wavered in their belief that it is correct to live by the principle of "Truth, Compassion and Forbearance," and it is correct to be good people.
In July 2001, Mr. Li, his brother and wife were arrested at night in a remote place while delivering materials that revealed the truth about Dafa. The police tortured them. Although Mr. Li escaped, his brother and his sister-in-law continued to be severely persecuted. Mr. Li's brother was illegally sentenced to three years in a forced labour camp without trial. Their property, worth approximately 6000 dollars, was illegally seized. In addition, they were fined and their house was ransacked.
These events deeply affected their parents. Mr. Li's mother saw her two sons persecuted and knew they could not return home. The family was fined a large sum of money making their lives very difficult. She was worried and angry about the persecution, and also missed her sons. She passed away on January 4 2002, when other families were celebrating the New Year. Up until her death, she was not able to visit her two sons and she always believed in "Truth, Compassion and Forbearance." However, the pain and torture were too much for her. Mr. Li's sister-in-law stayed at home to take care of the two children. Their lives were very difficult. The children's minds were also deeply affected by the persecution.
In July 2002, the "610 Office"* went to Ms. Zhou Xiangmei's workplace to investigate her situation. They planned to kidnap her and secretly take her to a brainwashing centre. Ms. Zhou was forced to leave home and never return to avoid the illegal arrest and torture. Like a pure heavenly Lotus flower, she demonstrated the greatness of Dafa in the world. The "610 Office" intended to arrest her many times but failed. Although the evil authorities were so severe, she took time to visit her in-laws and parents, and regularly did the laundry for her mother. Because her husband could not go home, she took care of her father-in-law, and talked to him to help him feel better. She had done a wonderful job. Later, she endured deep pain after learning her husband Li Youngxin was sentenced to ten years in prison. However, Ms. Zhou firmly practised Dafa, and followed "Truth, Compassion and Forbearance" to be a good person. Her peaceful face and pure belief affected every one near her. She brought goodness and compassion to all she met.
It was a tragedy that should not have happened. Ms. Zhou Xiangmei was tortured to death. Words could not describe the pain her family endured. All of the suffering was caused by Jiang Zemin's evil regime. Ms. Zhou should not have been tortured to death. Her family should not have been harassed and persecuted. They did not violate any law or make any mistake in following "Truth, Compassion and Forbearance."
Kind people, please learn the truth! Dafa gave the family of Mr. Li Youngxin and Ms. Zhou Xiangmei great happiness, and they spread that happiness to more people. Thousands and thousands of people in the Linqi City witnessed the truth. However, after Jiang's evil regime lied and persecuted Falun Gong, this once-happy family was torn apart. Mr. Li's mother and wife died. He and his brother were sentenced to prison. Only Mr. Li's father and his son were home to take care of each other. After Ms. Li's brother was sentenced to prison, the heavy workload fell on his wife's shoulders. She needed to work outside the home in order to raise two young children while bearing the terrible pain in her heart.
When Ms. Zhou Xiangmei died after being tortured, the weather changed dramatically in Linqi City. Daytime was as dark as night, and the skies poured rain. Streets flooded and cars had to stop in the rising water. Heaven was showing its anger and people were suffering. The town was astonished by the strange weather.
* An agency specifically created to persecute Falun Gong, with absolute power over each level of administration in the Party and all other political and judiciary systems.
Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2003/8/29/56447.html
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