A Mainland Chinese Practitioner Explains the Facts During the Earthquake

I am a Falun Gong practitioner in China. When the May 12, 2008, earthquake hit, I was at work, about 100 km from the epicenter in Wenchuan. The desk, the floor, and the windows shook violently, and bricks came showering down. My colleagues frantically ran toward the door, and I also got up to leave. When I was halfway across the room, I suddenly remembered that I had Falun Gong VCDs and books in my bag inside a drawer, so I turned around to get it. I remained calm the whole time.

I began sending righteous thoughts after I left the office building to eliminate the evil elements that blocked people from learning the truth. I told a colleague about quitting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He agreed to say it quietly and was also going to help his family quit the CCP organizations once he got home.

The deaths and injuries from this earthquake are shocking and heartbreaking. The trauma will probably stay with all Chinese people throughout their lifetimes. For more than a week after the earthquake, the streets, public parks and squares were filled with frightened people some 100 km from the epicenter. They chose to stay in an open field wherever they could find space, regardless of the weather, and it was impossible for them to eat or sleep comfortably. Frequent aftershocks are wearing on their already frayed nerves, and some people told me they have grown neurotic. Tents, tarps, and umbrellas were sold out. Tents that usually sold for 100 yuan or 200 yuan were going for more than 600 yuan apiece. Still, they were hot commodities and completely sold out.

Over the past few years, practitioners living in the area have worked hard to explain the facts and help people quit the CCP organizations, and they tried their best not to miss any predestined person. Many times we visited new stores to contact people, just so that we could bring them the precious facts, even if it meant we had to pay extra to buy something. When the earthquake happened, a middle-aged practitioner sent righteous thoughts and shouted, "Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good" and told other people around her to do the same. Thirty-seven people announced their withdrawals from the CCP organizations then and there.

Some practitioners became worried right after the quake, because time does not wait for us, and yet so many Chinese people still have not quit the CCP organizations. Falun Gong is their only hope for a future. Many practitioners explained the relationship between the earthquake and the CCP when asking people to quit the CCP organizations. Practitioners in our area are usually upfront and straightforward, telling people that quitting the CCP is to keep their own lives safe. Usually, it only takes one practitioner to walk around the block and talk to people to help six or seven people quit the CCP organizations, and most people have no problem accepting what we say to them.