(Clearwisdom.net) I started to practice Falun Gong on October 4, 1996, initially with the purpose of curing my illnesses. For the last 13 years I have experienced all kinds of tribulations. However, with Master's care and protection, I was saved and eliminated much karma that was buried deeply inside me. It has been an extraordinary journey. In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the "April 25" appeal, I would like to share what happened that day, and to thank our revered Master for his compassionate salvation.
In early 1999, pseudo-scientist He Zuoxiu published a slanderous article in a Tianjin City magazine. Many practitioners went to the source, concerned to clarify the facts with the magazine's publisher and requested that the slander be redressed. The institute's compound was filled with practitioners. To avoid inconveniencing people, we kept the main road clear. Practitioners stood where there was not enough room to sit down. Among practitioners were grey-haired, older people as well as moms carrying babies. The atmosphere was peaceful and sacred. Practitioners were sharing their cultivation experiences, and when they saw teachers from the institute they would clarify facts to them and told them about the benefits they had enjoyed from practicing Falun Gong.
When evening came, suddenly groups of police arrived and began to disburse people. The practitioners did not move and linked their arms together. The police forcibly broke them up and threw them out, with a few police carrying one practitioner. Their actions were very barbarous. Someone eventually suggested for Dafa practitioners go to the municipality [to appeal].
On April 24, we heard that a curfew was imposed around the education institute and a message came out: "The instructions came from above. It is out of the hands of Tianjin now. You have to approach their superiors." We realized the problem was not yet resolved, and that "we" should go to Beijing to appeal. Following Fa-study and sharing, we felt we should to go Beijing to clarify the facts and safeguard the Fa at the State Council Appeals Office.
The morning of April 25, cultivators at our practice site hired two taxies and went to Fuyou Street in Beijing. Many people had already gathered when we arrived. We simply lined up along the street, quietly, keeping the sidewalk clear for pedestrians. When practitioners standing in the front rows got tired, they would move to the back to sit down for a while and converse with others. We took turns standing in the front. We also paid attention to keeping the area clean. I saw practitioners collecting litter, putting it in plastic bags. The sun was nice and warm. We did not eat anything at lunch or in the evening, but we did not feel hungry. There were also officers in plain clothes who came to ask us, "Where are you from?"
At past 9:00 p.m., we heard people say, "You can go now." Then I heard people shouting, "Those going to XX city, come to take the bus. We'll send you back." We got on a bus. Soon after the bus drove off, I noticed a plain-clothes officer directing the driver. The agent kept talking on a mobile phone to get instructions. I became a bit concerned: Where are they taking us? We must not follow their orders!
We were surprised when the bus stopped at the entrance to a police station. The plain-clothed man shouted loudly, "Everyone get off, come over and register!" We then understood that they wanted to know who went to appeal. One practitioner said loudly, "We won't get off the bus if you want us to register! Take us back! We don't need you to send us home!" Quickly I got off the bus and ran to the other two buses behind us. I shook my hands and told practitioners loudly, "Don't get off!" The stand-off went on for a while. Then a police chief came out and said, "You can go now." We went home safely. A practitioner told me later, "You were so righteous." I knew it was Master who gave me courage.
Later, leaders at my place of employment talked to me again and again, asking me to write a self-criticism. I only wrote about the benefits I had enjoyed from practicing Falun Gong, and why I went to Beijing. I refused to tell them who I went with.
From then on I felt much pressure, and the situation became tenser and tenser. In May, our practice site came under interference from the authorities and we had to change locations several times. By June we could not even practice Falun Gong outdoors without interference. I sensed that something extraordinary would happen. I could feel tension building before the outbreak of something big. I held a thought then: No matter what happens, even if heaven falls and earth rends, I will never change my determination to cultivate Falun Dafa. As long as I am physically alive, I will not stop cultivation.
