Mother and Nine-Year-Old Daughter Return to China from Canada to Display a Banner on Tiananmen Square In Support of Falun Gong

My hometown compatriot Hao Fengjun stood up recently to expose the Chinese Communist Party's overseas espionage activities. He mentioned that when I returned to China at that time, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had obtained my personal information from an undercover agent in Canada. I was amazed at all the effort they put into it. As a Falun Gong practitioner, I just wanted to tell the Chinese people that Falun Dafa is good, and that they should not be blinded by the self immolation that was staged by the government on Tiananmen Square. I can still recall clearly what happened three years ago during my time in China. It is as clear as if it happened only yesterday. To all the people who have a predestined relationship with Falun Dafa: Are you doing all right?

With determination on her innocent face, my child said, "Mom, let us open it!"

On April 18th, 2002, my 9-year-old daughter and I returned to my homeland. We had not been back for three years. I felt that this place was both familiar and dangerous. The sky was a dark brown colour. There was a smell of mud in the air. After we cleared customs, we took a taxi directly to Tiananmen Square. When the taxi driver heard we were heading to Tiananmen Square he said, "Only people from other places of the country want to be there. The people in Beijing dislike the heavy smell of blood there." I asked him about the situation of Falun Gong. He said, "There are some people who get rich when they report Falun Gong practitioners to the authorities. If they look at you and think you might be a practitioner, they can drag you to a police station and get a 200 yuan reward. I don't do those evil things. It will bring retribution." I was deeply moved. There were still sensible people who wouldn't go along with the evil Party when they live in a place full of lies and deceit. I told him that Falun Dafa was popular in many other countries. He was impressed and admired this greatly. When I got out of the taxi I gave him an extra tip and wished him well in my heart.

The driver's kindness strengthened my faith. My anxious mind calmed down a little. In a few minutes we would open the banner in Tiananmen Square. I did not know what would happen. We walked with determination to the centre of Tiananmen Square. It was near dusk. I thought there would not be many people. But when we arrived, we found out there were a lot of people, as well as many plain-clothes policemen, waiting for the flag-lowering ritual. This was an extremely good opportunity! My heart beat fast. I put my hand in and out of my bag twice. Immediately, some people nearby moved closer to me. There wouldn't be another opportunity if I missed this one. The reason we came all the way here from far away was to offer salvation to these people. My daughter and I exchanged eye contact. With determination on her innocent face she said, "Mom, let's open it!" Great! I pulled the banner out in one swing. My daughter and I, each holding a corner of the banner, raised it high. We shouted aloud with all the strength we had, "Falun Dafa is great! Absolve Dafa of any wrongdoings! The self-immolation is a fraud! Heaven will not tolerate the persecution of Falun Gong! Good is rewarded with good and evil meets evil!"

Instantly, the square fell into silence. People started to gather around but did not dare to come near. An armed police officer leaped up, snatched the banner and hid it behind him. I rushed to him and reasoned with him loudly. My daughter ran around his back and seized the banner. She re-opened it. Another policeman grabbed the banner from her. Some policemen called for a police waggon. Four or five policemen in black uniforms pulled and dragged us into the vehicle. We shouted aloud from the window of the waggon, "Falun Dafa is great!" The crowd circled around the police car. I could see the fear and concern in people's eyes.

After the policemen closed the window and started the vehicle, they began to beat me hard. One of them pulled my hair; one twisted my arms to my back, the other one pushed my eyes. A policeman twisted my daughter's arms to her back. We used all our might to defend ourselves. My head bled from the beating. My daughter's knee was hurt. They took my back bag when we arrived at the Tiananmen Square police station. We were put into a cell with other Falun Dafa practitioners.

The peddlers they had arrested at Tiananmen Square were kept in the cell beside us. I told them that we were from Canada; that the Canadian government and the Canadian public supported Falun Gong very much; that Falun Dafa had been spread to more than 60 countries in the world; that the persecution happened only in China.

Some of these people did not understand why we came back to suffer a hardship instead of staying in Canada. I told them, "Falun Dafa has everything good to offer to our country and her people, but it was defamed and persecuted. Heaven will not tolerate it! If the persecution continues, China will definitely bring retribution upon herself, and people will suffer from it." I could see that they sympathised with Falun Dafa practitioners. Somebody from another cell handed over clothes to my daughter. Later, everyone except my daughter and I was taken away.

A policeman from Tianjin City discussed behind my back, "This Falun Gong [practitioner] is really something."

Four policemen from Tianjin City came in the middle of the night to take us with them to Tianjin. In the car, the policeman kept enquiring about the situation with Falun Gong overseas, such as the various foreign governments' attitudes toward Falun Gong, whether there were many Western practitioners, what were the educational backgrounds of the practitioners, and why did they cultivate Falun Gong. I told them, "When we have a Falun Gong parade, the police vehicle leads the way in front. Some of the police help to clear traffic. They also put on our t-shirts and take group photos with us. But in my own country, police arrest and beat me." One police officer said, "This is the way things are in China."

There was a traffic accident ahead of us, so the vehicle was held up for several hours on the highway. There was nothing the police could do. I told them that good is rewarded with good and evil meets evil. What they were doing was evil, so things would not go smoothly. I also told them of a report on the Minghui website, a Chinese version of the Falun Dafa related website, Clearwisdom.net. This is the story: Someplace in China, a police car carried more than thirty Falun Dafa practitioners. They had an accident on the road. No Falun Dafa practitioner was hurt. There were four policemen in the car; three of them died, one was seriously injured. The policeman who was driving our vehicle said, "Do not scare us. We are exactly four policemen here." I said, "If you know Falun Dafa is good, good fortune will follow." The oldest police officer, who the others called "chief," said, "What happened today (he meant the traffic delay) may be related to those two persons sitting in the back. It made me miss my training class." My daughter was sitting on my lap. She clarified the truth to the police all the way, without any fear. I admired this little practitioner. She had not eaten or drunk anything, nor taken any nap since she got off the plane, about 16 hours earlier.

When we arrived in Tianjin, they drove directly to the local police station where I was registered as a permanent resident. They informed my mother to come to get my child. They did not let my mother talk to me. My mother brought my favourite green bean dish to me, but I could not bear to eat. My family members must be worried about me. I controlled my emotions, gave my daughter a hug and helped her to put on her clothes. My child spoke to the police, "I must stay with my mom." The police said," We need to ask your mom several questions. After that we will send her home." Hearing that, my child followed the police out of the front door. When I looked at my daughter's back I didn't know how I felt. I deeply realised what an act of bravery it is that the practitioners in China still manage to uphold their belief under such brutal persecution.

In the afternoon, an plain-clothed person in his 50s arrived. I guessed that he was from the 610 Office¹. He seemed to know a lot about me. He asked me several questions, which were all about distorted information spread by the Chinese Communist Party. I refuted them one by one. About 5 o'clock in the evening the police announced their decision: detain me for three days. They sent me to the Hongqiao Detention Centre.

Since the day I was born I had never known what a detention centre looked like. There were many pairs of metal doors in the corridor. The cell had two pairs of metal doors. There was a small window in the door for the police to check on the inmates. When I saw this I made up my mind. I must firmly believe in Falun Dafa and must not cooperate with the evil, realising also that my righteous mind can subdue hundreds of evils. That same night, because I did not cooperate with them during their head count, I was told to leave the room. I had only one thought in my mind then and there: Nobody was able to move me! The worst-case scenario would be my death. The police led me to see other cell rooms, one after another to see how other prisoners do the head count. I kept sending forth righteous thoughts, eliminating the evil elements that controlled them to do bad things.

Finally, they took me to the office. The detention centre director said I "did not give him face." He asked me to obey the rules, including reciting the [centre] policies. I said I only follow the requirements of Falun Dafa. I am not a prisoner, so I should not be required to recite the policies. Another police officer said, "Do you know where you are now? You dare say things like that?" I said, "I am still on this earth. I do not believe there is no righteous way in the world." One of the police officers said, "When Mr. Li gave a lecture in the Bayi Hall, I attended. I knew Falun Gong before you did!" I felt regret [for him] in my heart, "You have great predestined relationship with Falun Dafa. How lucky you are. But you are involved in the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners. You really let down Master's great mercy on you." He argued in a hurry, "I did not persecute Falun Dafa. This is my job. You can verify this with others." Finally, I was sent back to the cell. I heard the policeman discuss me behind my back, "This Falun Gong [practitioner] is really something."

My cellmates reserved a spot for me on the floor in the crowded room. They loaned me bedding. They all assumed I must have been beaten and were worried about me. The battle in the first round strengthened my belief that one righteous mind could subdue one hundred evils. Two days after that I became friends with the inmates. I came to know that they did something wrong under the pressure of needing to make a living, but they were kind in their hearts. They had met with many Falun Dafa practitioners, from whom they got to know the beauty of Falun Dafa and admired the practitioners' courage. Many people expressed their willingness to cultivate when they get out of jail. They secretly started to learn the double-leg crossing (the sitting position of the fifth exercise). I felt truly happy for them and appreciated the efforts of the practitioners who clarified the truth to them. They used their actions to validate the principle of "Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance." What they had done completely smashed the lies spread all over the country. Suddenly I did not feel alone anymore. I stood together with hundreds and thousands of Falun Gong practitioners.

With a fellow-sufferer's help, I communicated with other practitioners who were detained in the same area. I realised all the efforts they made to clarify the truth over the three years. They had been arrested several times. One of them had just been released after being in a labour camp for two years. One practitioner rode a bicycle overnight across three districts to distribute materials detailing the truth about the practice and the persecution. Every day when she left home she did not know if she could come back. Her husband was not a practitioner but he helped silently by standing sentry for her. He also used their own money to produce the materials. His only hope was that the persecution would end soon and all people could live freely. They also told me, "There is a young policeman who participated in efforts to stop the persecution only two months after obtaining the Fa. He made a banner that was more than 10 meters long. He hung the banner on the building. Later, authorities arrested him and beat him badly.

When I heard the stories, I felt as if a big scroll of historical pictures were unfolding right before me. All the stories of Falun Dafa practitioners are recorded on it. These stories are simple but magnificent.

I would not leave without having the Falun Gong book Zhuan Falun returned to me.

Many interrogations followed. I took them as good opportunities to clarify the truth. My only regret was that I did not cultivate well enough at that time. My compassion was insufficient. I did not achieve great compassion and great endurance. There were many things that I did not clarify clearly, which is something I deeply regretted. Afterwards I was transferred to the city detention centre where I met a lot of predestined people. I will never forget the help they gave me. I heard in the corridor that the policemen had suspicions about the "self-immolation" saying, "All Falun Gong practitioners have their feet facing up when they sit with both legs crossed. Why did Wang Jindong (the self-immolator) have his feet facing down?"

Two days later they subjected me to another so-called interrogation. Many policemen were present. Their leader was a person in a black suit, in his 30s or 40s. At the end he announced the so-called "sentence," which was to deport me from the country within a limited time. I asked for my copy of Zhuan Falun. At first they said it was impossible. I did not give in. I would not leave if I didn't get my copy of Zhuan Falun back. They agreed to think about it.

The following day they allowed me to see my parents and my in-laws behind the glass window before my departure. I had not seen them for a couple of years. They were all getting old, especially my mother-in-law. She could ride a bike for nearly two hours when she had been practising Falun Gong. She later stopped practising for fear of being persecuted. Her health worsened dramatically. Now she coughed a lot. I didn't feel good about it and barely kept my tears back. I comforted them. What I did not know was this meeting was the final farewell with my mother-in-law. She died half year later because of illness. The Consulate of China in Toronto refused to extend my passport, which had expired. I was unable to return to my homeland for her funeral.

They lowered their heads and returned the book to me.

My mom and dad had been very strong. They knew their daughter well. My trip to China worried them, but they didn't blame me. My daughter was the happiest one. She put her little hands on the glass window. I put my hands on hers. The police also joked with her.

Accompanied by three police vehicles and more than 20 policemen, my daughter and I arrived at Zhangguizhuang Airport at noon. When we had the security check in the VIP room, they took away my copy of Zhuan Falun. The police had just returned it to me. My daughter rushed over to grab the book. We refused to board without the book. Ten minutes before the plane's departure they lowered their heads and returned the book to me. The police officer in a black suit said, "You have caused me big trouble." I said, "I rescued you and prevented you from committing a crime against Falun Dafa. You will realise that some day." Another big-bodied police officer said, "How powerful and prestigious you are. You wait in the VIP room before boarding and in the company of so many people. You are enjoying the privileges of a Premier." We shook hands with them and say good-bye. I told them, "I hope to meet you next time when I return to my homeland. Please do not persecute Falun Dafa practitioners. Don't sacrifice your and your family's future simply because it is your job. It is not worth it."

My daughter and I cried when the plane took off. We have been offered the choice of life or death within a short week. It was not something that we had ever experienced before. Looking over the ground where I was born and grew up, the familiar local accent echoed in my ears. I recalled my fellow countrymen who were originally predestined for an encounter with Falun Dafa but were blinded by deceit. I swore a secret oath: I will help them learn the truth of Falun Dafa, giving them a chance to choose a good future for their family and themselves, staying away from the evil.

Mr. Hao Fengjun stood up and defected three years later. All the policemen from Tianjin should learn from him to break away from the CCP as soon as possible. I hope that more people can read the Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party and release themselves from its evil control.

Please treasure this good opportunity, which might vanish in a second!

Note:

1. The 610 office is 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.