I Am a Chinese Citizen That's Been Deprived of My Rights

I was blessed to have begun practising Falun Gong in 1997. Before I started cultivating, I suffered from all sorts of illnesses, including headaches, severe pharyngitis (I was unable to speak), stomach and digestive system problems, rheumatoid arthritis, and neurosis. I couldn't sleep at night. I spent a lot of money on my daily medications, but I lived in misery. Since practising Falun Gong, all my illnesses disappeared without a trace. I felt light even as I walked and didn't feel tired after working. But most importantly, I became tolerant and open-minded and I no longer struggled for fame and personal gain. I lived in harmony with my neighbours, and my family was filled with joy.

Ever since 1999, when Jiang Zemin's [former leader of China and instigator of the persecution] regime and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started persecuting Falun Gong, my family has not had a single normal day. The joyous life was no more. It is a fact that I have benefited both physically and mentally from cultivating, and that my family lived in harmony and all of my illnesses were cured. I didn't understand why they wouldn't let us practise. As a Chinese citizen I went to petition. My rights as a citizen permit this, and I told everyone who was there of the physical and mental benefits of practising Falun Gong. On September 18th, 1999, I went to the Office of Appeals in Beijing to petition, but I was taken away by the police before I even reached the office. The next day I was sent back home to a local detention centre and detained for a month. Even after I was released from detention, the local police would not let me go home until they had extorted 5000 yuan¹ in cash from me. No receipt of any kind was ever issued. This money has still not been returned.

In 2000, I was distributing leaflets exposing the persecution and telling people the facts about Falun Gong at a residential complex and sharing my personal story of how I benefited after practising Falun Gong. My health improved, and whereas I used to compete for my reputation and with only pursued my personal interests, these were no longer important to me after becoming a practitioner. I am more tolerant toward others and indifferent to personal gains and losses. For doing this, I was reported to the police. Police officers headed by Qu Baoxiang raided my home. They took away all of my Falun Gong books. I was arrested and detained for a month. Since then, the police have frequently come to my home to harass and disrupt my normal life. One day in December, they even called at midnight and asked whether I was home or not. As soon as the phone was hung up, they knocked on the door. When it was not answered, they began pounding on the door. I opened the door lest the neighbours be disturbed. As soon as they saw me, they all left. Then it occurred to me that they were so afraid of me going to Beijing because they are afraid of me revealing the truth. So on the 12th of the month I actually went to Beijing. From the bottom of my heart, I shouted, "Falun Gong is good! Falun Gong is a righteous way!" I was arrested and taken to the local government liaison office in Beijing and then to Masanjia Forced Labour Camp. At the time, my daughter was still in elementary school and suffered great physical and mental trauma. My husband was forced to leave his job for fear of his employer being implicated.

In the labour camp, I wasn't allowed to practise the exercises, I was deprived of sleep, and I was forced to perform excessively hard labour every day. After all these years, the illnesses that I had before I became a practitioner returned, and I got very sick. I was released on medical parole after a check up. In September 2001, I returned home. My husband had lost his job and was making a living by doing odd jobs. I didn't have any unemployment insurance. My daughter was still going to school. Life was already hard enough. Where could I find the money to see a doctor? I decided I must continue to practise cultivation. I resumed practising the Falun Gong exercises. Without spending a penny, all the illnesses disappeared and I became healthy again. The local community association director, Wang Ke, along with Chen Kangmei and others, reported me to the police. Policeman Li Guichun drove to my home with a bunch of people, but I refused to open the door for them. They said that there was nothing wrong and they just wanted to visit. I was deceived by their lies and opened the door. Without saying a word, they started raiding my home like a pack of thieves. They took away Falun Gong books, a tape recorder, and a backpack. Even a piece of yellow cloth that was to be used to make a quilt for my mother-in-law was taken. So, for the second time I was sent to a forced labour camp. This happened at a critical time for my daughter, who was taking a high school admission exam. My poor child was dealt yet another heavy blow. In the detention centre I went on a hunger strike to protest the persecution. When I was sent to Masanjia, they refused to accept me due to poor health, but police officer Li Guichun and police Chief Shi Dahe refused to believe it. They took me to the hospital for a check up. I was forced to pay the 200-yuan check up fee out of my own pocket. The results were still no good. Nonetheless, these police officers tried to force the hospital director to change the results. Finally, my poor husband couldn't withstand the pressure of the situation and left home. My child was alone at home and had a very hard time.

In 2003, I returned home and convinced my husband to come home, and we resumed a stable family life. In 2004, the newly-assigned police officers came once again to harass me and pound on my door. I said, "I will never believe your lies or fall for your tricks again." The neighbours that had been awakened by their pounding stood on my side and spoke up for me. This time the police ran away.

In 2005, my daughter was admitted to college. Since we had no steady income and couldn't afford the ten-thousand-yuan college fees, she had to drop out after just one year. My husband is getting older and it's getting hard for him to find work. I also have an 87- year-old mother-in-law to look after, so our life is now even harder to maintain. Even under these trying circumstances, the police still have not let up on their surveillance. Early in July they again started harassing me through surprise home visits and phone calls. I originally had a steady income and lived a happy family life, but now, because of the persecution, it is hard just to make ends meet.

As a Chinese citizen, I have been persecuted just because my health has improved through practising exercises and because I have been striving to raise my moral standards and be a good person through practising cultivation. I would like to call upon all good people to work together help stop this monstrous persecution. I truly hope the conscience of those who have participated in the persecution will be awakened, that they will realize the seriousness of the evil they have committed, and that they make restitution so that they can all have a good future.

Note

1. "Yuan" is the Chinese currency; 500 yuan is equal to the average monthly income of an urban worker in China.

Chinese version available at http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2008/9/27/186667.html