Remembering the Falun Dafa Conference Held in Kunming On April 17th, 1999

On the 17th of April in 1999, Falun Gong practitioners from the areas around Kunming City of Yunnan Province, withstood pressures from different quarters and successfully held a conference for people to share their progress in studying Falun Dafa on the soccer playground at the Haigeng Physical Education School.

A portrait of out magnificent Teacher Li hung in the middle above the platform, two Law-Wheels made of braided fresh flowers stood on both sides of the platform, and fresh flowers were placed on the edges of the platform and on the ground around the platform. The whole platform impressed everyone with its simplicity and solemnity.

About twenty thousand practitioners attended the conference. They were mainly from the four districts and eight counties of Kunming City and several prefectures, counties and cities around Kunming City. Among them were current leaders of government organisations, enterprises, institutions, common cadres and retired people. There were also specialists, scholars, soldiers, police officers, teachers, students, workers and farmers. The oldest was about ninety years old and the youngest was just a year old. Before the conference began, the practitioners demonstrated the complete set of the Falun Gong exercise movements, showing the audience the full power and grandeur of the practise. According to a description from those whose celestial eyes were open, the entire area where the conference was held was covered in red light, with huge Law-Wheels and Teacher's Law-Body guarding it all from above.

Seventeen Falun Dafa practitioners spoke at the conference. They shared their experiences, the physical and mental changes, and feelings since they started practising Falun Dafa. An 83-year-old practitioner talked about her physical and mental changes since practising Falun Dafa and some other miracles that she has witnessed. Another practitioner told how he gave up bad habits after practising Falun Dafa. Others shared their experiences of incurable or chronic diseases disappearing after they started to practise, allowing them to escape from the edge of death. One practitioner shared how they looked inside for the source of their own problems and how they learned to consider others first in doing anything. The atmosphere of the entire conference was auspicious and peaceful and benefited all who attended. Even those who were just standing-by and secret agents with special tasks all experienced the benevolence and miraculous effects.

Haigeng Physical Education School is in the suburbs of Kunming City and the countryside roads leading to the conference setting were very narrow. Nevertheless, under the guidance of several practitioners, about one hundred cars and several thousand bicycles and motorbikes all arrived at the venue in good order, without any accidents bringing surprise to the traffic police.

On this day it was unexpectedly very hot in Kunming. But even with the scorching sun directly overhead, nobody opened an umbrella. Practitioners sat with their legs crossed on the ground as the sun beat down on them, yet alleviating their discomfort were frequently felt, cool and gentle breezes. From the oldest to the youngest practitioner, nobody suffered sunstroke. Certain government organisations were surprised and impressed by this.

Nobody was specifically assigned to keep order, but none of the practitioners walked around aimlessly, much less made any noise. Even the babies were very quiet in their mothers' arms. After the conference ended, the site was left immaculate. Nothing, not even a piece of fruit or paper, was left on the ground.

This conference with around twenty thousand attendees surprised and scared some government and police departments. Many plainclothes agents sent from each of the district police departments of Kunming City wormed their way into the audience. It turned out to be a good chance for them to bathe in the Buddha light. Even today, the police officers who were there still tell stories about the miraculous effects of Kunming's Falun Dafa conference.

One week after this conference took place, 10,000 Faun Dafa practitioners went to the Chinese Communist Party headquarters at Zhongnanhai to peacefully and lawfully appeal against some acts of persecution that had taken place against those who practise Falun Gong and also slander against Falun Gong as a practise. Soon after, on the 20th of July in 1999, Jiang Zemin and his regime started the persecution of Falun Dafa. In the foul wind and rain of blood that has followed during the past five years, Huang Jumei, Tang Zaizhi, Wu Jiahe and many other practitioners who attended the conference were tortured to death. Several thousand practitioners had their homes illegally searched and were detained or put into labour camps or given sentences. However, this has never shaken Falun Dafa practitioners' rock-solid righteous thoughts and belief in Teacher and Dafa. Under the evil persecution, most practitioners closely followed Teacher's course, without fearing tribulations and difficulties, to reveal the persecution to the common people, to give them a chance to see Falun Dafa for what it really is and to save sentient beings.