(Clearwisdom.net)

There is a village in the northeast of China with more than 20 people practicing Falun Dafa. Before the persecution began in 1999, through studying the Fa [Law and principles] and practicing the exercises, villagers had purified their minds, harmonized family relationships and improved health. The people in the village all said that Falun Dafa practitioners were good people.

Since July 20, 1999, our local police station has persecuted Falun Dafa practitioners. They confiscated everything from our practice site and banned group practice and gatherings. Three people getting together would be considered a gathering. Because of such persecution we went to Beijing to appeal. While returning home, some practitioners were illegally sentenced to forced labor, some were illegally detained and almost all of them had money extorted from them. Under such intense pressure, some felt confused and others gave up their cultivation. When our Teacher gave them hints some came back to practice, however, they still were not diligent. Only when Teacher published the new article "The Knowing Heart" did we begin to resume group study and group practice as well as share our experiences. Because most practitioners came back to the practice site, we re-established them. Ever since then we persist in practicing the exercises in the morning, studying the Fa and sending forth righteous thoughts in the evening.

When the so-called "sensitive days" came we stepped forward as a group to clarify the truth and hang banners. Using the buddy system, we also were able to help those practitioners who had previously not dared to come out to step forward.

When the 16th Congress of the Party was in session, our local police substation tried to arrest people. They also came to our practice site to harass us. We had very strong righteous thoughts as one body so they dared not touch us. Only three practitioners who had not taken part in group practice were taken away. We then became firmer in group study, group practice and sending forth righteous thought together and follow our Teacher's Fa lectures to "Validate the Fa with rationality, clarify the truth with wisdom, spread the Fa and save people with mercy". We clarified the truth to our village leaders, and when the Party Secretary of the village learned the truth he said to the policemen who came to harass us: "They are good people. Why do you want to detain them?"

We believe as long as we follow Teacher's requirements to do well the three things that Dafa practitioners should do at the present and do everything righteously the evil can in no way persecute us.