Some people who are unaware of the facts about Falun Gong have been misled by the propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). They think that too many followers dared to voice their opinion to the top leadership, which upset the CCP and resulted in their suppression. I would like to recall some personal encounters at practice sites and outside the city and provincial government buildings before and after July 20th, 1999. We will see that the suppression of Falun Gong had long been in the planning. As early as 1996, the CCP started investigating Falun Gong openly and covertly, and it tried hard to find fault with Falun Gong. Failing to find anything, it tried to arrange certain events to make it look like Falun Gong practitioners were causing trouble, so as to mislead the population, to fabricate lies, and to cover up its ruthless, violent suppression. Throughout the past 100 years of Chinese history, the communists have all along been spreading rumours, planting fabricated evidence, and resorting to violence. It has become so adept in deploying these tricks that people have become numb and stopped questioning the legitimacy of the regime after constant brainwashing.
As we approach the eleventh anniversary of the suppression of Falun Gong, I will present some events that I went through personally to expose the CCP's lies, to help people see the facts about Falun Gong.
Uninvited Guests Who Kept Showing Up
In the summer of 1998, I joined the group Falun Gong practice site in front of the Liberal Arts Building at Jilin University, which was closest to my home. As Falun Gong was being spread further, more and more people joined. The site almost could not hold any more practitioners. Some veteran practitioners set up two new sites near their homes.
I usually arrived at the site at 4:30 a.m. Some veteran practitioners would have already started practising the exercises by sitting quietly in the lotus position. I would sit down, and it was quite easy to get into a state of tranquility back then. It gave me a light and magnificent feeling. Around 5:30 a.m., most people would have arrived. We would follow the gentle and transcending music to start practising the five sets of exercises. After we were done, people would go to work or back home, filled with peace and harmony.
In June 1999, a middle-aged man came to the site. He took a position right in front of me. Later I learned he was a plainclothes policeman. He was not here to learn the exercises, but he was on duty. Practitioners did not pay special attention to him, and assistants taught him as patiently as they did other newcomers. He never came ahead of the time, and most of the time he would show up late. He would often leave without finishing the second exercise composed of the wheel-holding position. When I opened up my eyes at the end of this standing exercises he would often have already left. Two or three more plainclothes policemen showed up later. They took pictures and video recordings.
At the end of June the party secretary of my work unit also showed up. The volunteer assistant for teaching Falun Gong exercises at our practice site was my colleague. One day she, the party secretary and I left together after the exercises. I was quite pleased thinking the party secretary was here to learn Falun Gong, but the volunteer assistant had a serious look on her face. The party secretary must have told her something, as she was on good terms with us. Each time she came to the site, she would say, "I came here to take a look at you folks." It appeared that she was holding back something that she could not tell us directly.
In early July, the volunteer assistant told me that the police visited her home. They told her that we were not supposed to practise at the original location. If we insisted on practising, we should go across the road, which was outside their jurisdiction. The following day the assistant led some practitioners across the road to practise there. A handful of other practitioners and I were used to practising where we were, so we stayed there by using Walkmans for playing the exercise music. This lasted for about 12 days. We kept hearing that the police had been disrupting Falun Gong practice sites in Jilin Province and other areas across the country.
Police Drive Practitioners Away from Their Practice Site
On July 20th, 1999 everyone came to the site as usual. Around 6:00 a.m. a dozen or so uniformed police officers from the local police station arrived. I heard them tell the assistant, "You go and ask them not to practise exercises." The assistant answered, "They came here voluntarily. They do not practise for me. It doesn't matter whether I tell them to do or not do the exercises." The officers then decided to drive the practitioners away one at a time. I left with the others but I did not go home. I instead went into the woods and practised there. The officers stayed there and talked to the assistant. When I was about to finish, one officer spotted me. He said, "You're still practising. It's time to go home." I was the last one to leave.
When I got back home, several practitioners were there. They found out that I did not leave with them. They were worried about me and decided to wait for me at my home. We exchanged thoughts and felt that we should tell relevant government departments about how we had all benefited mentally and physically after practising Falun Gong in the hope that they would understand the facts about it and stop preventing us from practising. In 1998, an investigation was conducted by the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission. It reached the conclusion that Falun Gong has only benefits and no undesirable effects. Why should the CCP take such measures now? We decided to take a look at what was to happen the next day and then decide what to do.
Surveillance by Police, State Security and Plainclothes Officers
I got up as usual a little past 4:00 a.m. on July 21st and headed to the practice site. Considering what happened the day before, I did not go to the practice site directly but took a look from afar. There were no practitioners there. Instead, a middle-aged man was stretching his arms and legs. He appeared to be doing morning exercises. No one ever did morning exercises here that early. I suspected that he was a plainclothes officer. I took a detour and walked around the practice site. I saw a black car parked by the road. This confirmed my suspicion.
I continued to walk forward and approached another practice site. Before I got close, a black car was parked by the roadside, and its doors were open and two men were leaning on the seat dozing off. It appeared that they had been stationed there for quite some time. Another car with police signs was parked nearby. When I walked by the police car, four uniformed officers stuck their heads out of the window and they appeared to be tense.
I went home to practise, had breakfast and went to work. After I got off work I learned that other practitioners pretty much all knew about the similar situation at various other practice sites. We decided to go to the city government to report this and ask for the restoration of practice sites so that we could practise cultivation under a legal environment. No one wanted to give up such a rare and great practice.
Peaceful Petition in Front of the City Government
Around 6:00 a.m. on July 22nd, 1999, several practitioners from out of town arrived. They said that many other practitioners were converging on Changchun City to report their situations to the city and provincial governments. They were all concerned about the disruption of their practice. Despite their concerns, they harboured kind and peaceful reporting of the situation in the hopes the situation would result in satisfactory resolution of the issue.
Another practitioner and I took a bus to get to the city government. We found out that almost all passengers on the bus were Falun Gong practitioners. They had serious yet calm looks on their faces and carried food and water. The driver said the road to the city and provincial government buildings was blocked, and he had to take a detour. We got off and headed to the city government. The intersections to the city government were blocked by a large number of fully equipped armed soldiers. The roads to the provincial government had been completely blocked. It was apparent that these soldiers had been there since before daybreak.
We followed the crowd heading to the city government. We ran into the volunteer assistant at our practice site. She remained calm and rational. She reminded us to follow each other closely and not get separated. Some people told us which route we should take as there were no police at those intersections. If our assistant knew them, she would simply nod in acknowledgment. If not, she would ask a few more questions to make sure they were not plainclothes police. After quite a few twists and turns, we arrived at Renmin Street. We found out that practitioners had been directed to the section of Renmin Street which was south of Xinfa Road and north of the People's Square. The armed police had taken position in all directions. There were quite a few large buses parked on Renmin Street.
It was quite clear that the police left a few intersections unblocked so that practitioners could all be directed to Renmin Street and then taken away in buses. The government had planned well ahead. Practitioners gathering in front of the city government was no surprise to the government at all. However the CCP officials showed no desire for communication. Their handling of the situation was carried out in such a way that they could frame practitioners for "attacking the government." Some people have indeed been fooled by the CCP's indecent tricks even to this day.
Practitioners Explain the Facts to Armed SoldiersAs practitioners kept arriving at Renmin Road, we were pushed to face the soldiers. Our assistant started telling the soldiers about Falun Gong. The assistant told them, "You're just kids a year or two short of 20 years old. You're the same age as my daughter. Do you know what Falun Gong is? Falun Gong teaches Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance. Think about it. How great Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance is! Don't listen to lies and rumours. Falun Gong teaches people to be kind, improves people's health and benefits our society. It has been spread to other countries too. Over 100 million people have benefited from practising it. Practitioners don't answer back when cursed at and don't fight back when hit. We came here just to tell the government these facts about Falun Gong. We have all benefited from Falun Gong. We want to put in a fair statement on behalf of Falun Gong. That's why we are here."
The soldiers cast their eyes down and did not say anything. I stood next to the assistant. My tears kept pouring out. I tried to talk to the soldiers too, but I choked and was not able to say anything. Suddenly, practitioners to the left of me were pulled away. The armed police started grabbing practitioners to force them to board the buses parked along the street. The assistant reminded the soldiers, "Remember Truthfulness-Benevolence-Forbearance! Don't hurt Falun Gong!" She then grabbed me to go over the rails and get onto the pedestrian walk.
Practitioners in the middle of the road were pushed in groups into the dozen or so buses and then the buses left. Practitioners shouted "Falun Gong is great!" Soon, no practitioners were in the middle of the road. Some armed police sat face to face with practitioners, about six feet away. I just noticed that these armed soldiers were dressed differently than those in the middle of the road. These soldiers wore helmets and carried automatic weapons. Their uniforms were different from either the police or the armed police. Practitioners sat down in well-aligned rows. Some started reciting the Falun Gong book, Zhuan Falun, or new articles published by the founder of Falun Gong. Some started practising the exercises. It was quiet and peaceful.
Armed Police Everywhere
When we were sitting on the sidewalk, a man in his thirties came in front of us. He said, "Falun Gong practitioners don't wait here. We should all go to the provincial government as we did not come here to sit." The assistant indicated to us not to move just in case the man was a plainclothes policeman. In fact, armed police were all over the place outside the provincial government building. No one could get to the provincial government without being dragged into a bus. We came to tell the government about Falun Gong and ask for a legal environment for practising Falun Gong. If we could not meet the officials, there was no point going to the provincial government. Some other people tried to gather our names and addresses, and they too were plainclothes police officers. Practitioners refused to answer their questions.
We were besieged by armed police soldiers until afternoon. We could never get to the city government's gate. The CCP officials were not going to listen to us. Instead, the armed police kept dragging practitioners into buses and taking them to undisclosed places. Upon seeing this, our assistant asked me to follow her to take a look at the overall situation and then decide what to do. We arrived outside a hotel and ate some bread on the steps. Some people had gathered by the hotel to see what was going on at Renmin Road. One man sat on the stairs leading up to the hotel entrance as if waiting for someone. We talked a little and the assistant said, "Let's go home for now. We will go to work tomorrow." I was about to answer, when the man sitting there suddenly said, "Go home right away. Don't stay here." We realised he was a plainclothes officer. He had overheard our conversations. We quickly left the scene.
Petition in Front of the Provincial Government
On the morning of July 23rd, 1999 another practitioner who was from our practice site and I went to the provincial government. There were a lot of people in front of the building, including practitioners, plainclothes police officers, police officers and armed police soldiers and pedestrians. Several buses were parked in front of the building.
We stood in front of the gate for awhile. Someone passed over a note and when we read it, it turned out to be a fabricated article which incorrectly claimed to be written by the founder of Falun Gong. Someone else came and said, "Let's go home as it makes no more sense to stand here." We figured the situation was a lot more complicated than the day before.
A practitioner came to us and said, "Disperse to different directions. They are arresting practitioners." Indeed, plainclothes officers and armed police soldiers came from the south, north and east, driving practitioners to the front of the building. Another practitioner and I who came with me walked quickly toward the outside. We passed the police coming from the opposite direction, and at the same time a bus came over. Practitioners besieged by the police were dragged into the bus and the bus went away. Another came in its place, and it continued on like this.
Practitioners were more alert, and it was not as easy to be arrested as the day before.
Police Show up at My Home
That afternoon, two police offices from the district police department showed up at my home. This was the first time in my life that I was questioned by the police. I did not know why they came. I answered that I did not know anything to any question they raised. Eventually, they figured that they were not able to fulfil their assignment and told me that the assistant for our area had been taken to the district police department. They wanted me to testify about a few things but I did not believe them. They made a phone call and let me talk to our assistant who was on the other end of the line. She told me what to say, and I learned that she had been arrested as early as July 21st.
The two police officers were rude. They kept yelling at me when I refused to give them the answers they wanted.
Soon after the practitioner who went to the provincial government was also arrested. Since then, arrests and harassment have been rampant and unchecked.
Chinese version available at http://minghui.org/mh/articles/2010/7/19/227174.html
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