Young Practitioner Describes Six Difficult Years of Persecution

My name is Xingxing and I am 15 years old. In April 1999 when I was nine I began to practise Falun Gong, following my parents' example. I was sick from birth, and suffered from a rare allergy. I couldn't take any medicine. If I used any medicine, my whole body would swell up, followed by bodily disfigurement. Once, after I had applied some face cream, my face and head suddenly began to swell, and I had to be hospitalised for treatment. My parents were always worried about me because of my poor health.

After I became a practitioner I realised that Falun Gong not only has amazing health benefits but also improves people's moral quality. Every morning I would follow my parents to a practice site to do the exercises, and I always conducted myself according to the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" that Teacher Li has taught us. SinceI started practising Falun Gong, I have not visited the hospital even once. I was so happy that Falun Gong had removed all my pain. At last I could have a normal life, like other children. I thanked Teacher Li from the bottom of my heart for saving me.

My trouble-free time, however, did not last very long. In July 1999, a jealous Jiang Zemin started a massive persecution campaign against Falun Gong. On the morning of July 20th I noticed that several police cars were parked near our practice site. Many armed policemen waved their batons to tell people not to practise Falun Gong. Anyone not obeying would get arrested and put into a police vehicle. This puzzled me. We practise Falun Gong to become better persons and we bother no one. Why do they use violence on elderly people and children alike? I thought that since this wonderful practice is banned, I would be forced to endure my old illnesses and hospitalisation again. I felt very upset.

To protect Teacher's portrait from police raids, on the afternoon of July 20th with tears in our eyes, mum and I moved Teacher's portrait from the living room to a cupboard. Since that day, we lost our practice site. Every time I practised the exercises, I had to open the cupboard door, push aside the clothes on the hangers and meditate in front of Teacher's portrait.

The next day, July 21st a hoard of people came to my house. They threatened my parents loudly to give up Falun Gong. When they heard "no" from my parents, they went berserk. Heavily pounding the table, they shouted profanities and forced us to surrender our Falun Gong books. That day alone, four separate groups came to my house. Authorities from Mum's workplace, people from the street management, personnel from the neighbourhood committee, and the police.

From that day on, those people often came to harass us at home. They sat in my home for a long time and refused to leave. I lived in daily fear. The community officials and the police often summoned my parents to the police station for interrogation. They were kept there the whole night each time. Home alone, I felt so scared that I cried under the blanket. At the same time, I also faced pressure from my school and discrimination from my classmates. My teacher once forced me to write a composition denouncing Falun Gong. I was told to hand it in the next day. I didn't want to slander Falun Gong and Teacher Li. I wanted to live by the principles of "Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance" and become a better person. The next morning half of my face became swollen, but I did not feel any pain. Mum and I knew that Teacher Li was helping me to avoid having to go to school. Before noon my face became normal again.

In January 2000 Mum and I visited Hong Kong. We had the opportunity to promote Falun Gong, together with Hong Kong practitioners. The practitioners there could openly practise Falun Gong in Kowloon Park. We enjoyed freedom for one month. It was truly invaluable. Hong Kong practitioners prepared many leaflets exposing the persecution for us. Later we brought them back to China.

On October 1st 2000 Mum and I, together with several fellow practitioners went to Beijing to expose the persecution and appeal for a safe environment for Falun Gong. After the trip, the police frequently harassed and monitored my family. Sometimes the police would come without warning. They sat at our dinner table, grabbed any food they could find and ate without shame. They also constantly demanded money.

On November 24th 2000 the police arrested Mum when she was telling people the truth about Falun Dafa. That day I was reading and was not with her. At 2:00 a.m., a group of people suddenly broke into my bedroom and searched all over the place. They made a big mess by turning everything over. I was supposed to attend school the next morning, but did not get any sleep that night. They confiscated many items from our home, especially Teacher Li's portrait that I treasured so dearly for a long time. They also took my Falun Gong books and tapes. That day I truly understood the meaning of the word "bandit," and experienced the terrifying feeling of being a robbery victim. Such robbery occurred several times. I can recall at least four such incidents. Every time they would come at around 2:00 a.m.

From that day on I could no longer call out "Mum" when I returned from school. Mum was not home any longer. Dad was also repeatedly called to the police station for questioning. Sometimes Dad would not be allowed home after dark. I felt very hungry and missed my Mum terribly. I cried until I fell asleep, with an empty stomach.

On December 23rd 2000, with my Mum's strong resistance and my Dad's repeated demands, the police released her. After the perpetrators had persecuted her for one month she had became so skinny that I did not even recognise her. I felt terrible. But mum was home now. I finally could eat dinner after school. I was with Mum and Dad again.

One day in September 2001, a phone call sent Mum into hiding away from our home again. The next time I saw her was two years and four months later.

On January 5th 2002 I was shocked to hear that Mum was arrested again in the countryside. I worried a lot about her safety. Not long before, as part of a police plot, some bad person ran her down with a motorcycle. She suffered from a broken left hand, the left side of her face was badly bruised and her left leg was also injured. Despite my Mum's severe injuries, the wicked police still sent her to a detention centre and later sentenced her to two years in a forced labour camp.

After she was sent to the forced labour camp my life was awful. Many classmates asked me, "Where is your Mum?" I could not answer and had to fight to keep from crying. During New Year's time all my classmates went out with their Mums to buy new clothes. I was the only one without my Mum by my side. Dad works hard to make ends meet. Every day he came home very late, and most of the time I was alone. When Dad was not home I would go out to buy a bun for dinner. All these tragedies were imposed on my family and me by Jiang Zemin and the evil Communist Party.

I have lived with nightmares for the last six years. Even today I still have lingering fears. To avoid the harassment and constant surveillance, we had to move constantly from place to place. Last month Dad got phone calls from agents of the National Security Ministry. Some agents even came to our home to make threats. I was extremely worried about my Dad's safety.

Recently, Mum, Dad and I arrived in Japan. In this free society I truly treasure my opportunity to study the Falun Dafa books and do the exercises in public. I am determined to be more diligent in my cultivation practice.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2005/8/28/109325.html