(Clearwisdom.net)
Part 1: http://www.clearwisdom.net/emh/articles/2008/5/14/97283.html
April 25, 1999, was a day that changed many people's lives. That was true for Toronto resident and Falun Gong practitioner Ms. Wu Yanxia. On April 25, 1999, over ten thousand practitioners peacefully appealed in Beijing, demanding the release of the 45 practitioners who were illegally arrested in Tianjin weeks earlier. They also requested a guarantee for the right to practice and permission for the publication of Falun Gong books.
The April 25th appeal completely changed Ms. Wu's philosophy of life and her belief in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). At the age of 18, in a village near Tianjin City, Ms. Wu became a CCP member. She was later elected as a model student in "Learning from Dazhai" and recognized as a potential CCP leader. Ms. Wu then became a teacher at Garden School in Tianjin and taught there for 18 years. Each year she was given the "Excellent Teacher" and "Female Achiever" awards. She also won a medal for the Nation's Eighth Five-Year Plan Achievement award.
On the ninth anniversary of the April 25th event, Mrs. Wu accepted an interview to share with us her story.
(The following is based on a tape recording of the interview.)
Whom Are They For?
A bureau-level cadre in my organization once accompanied his wife to a Falun Gong Experience Sharing Conference before the CCP began its suppression of the practice. At the brainwashing center, he told me, "The CCP has acted very promptly! It should definitely ban Falun Gong! Although several hundred people attended the experience sharing conference, the hall was incredibly quiet, and no one talked to each other. It was just like a story out of Arabian Nights! It's daunting [to see how Falun Gong achieved this]! When our Party Secretary holds a meeting, or when the Central CCP and People's Congress have their conferences, people still fall asleep or talk." He said he felt that the CCP's power would be threatened once he saw the solemnity of the experience sharing conference.
He said, "It's just a formality for people when the CCP promoted the 'Five Stresses and Four Points of Beauty,' but Falun Gong practitioners would give up their lives to live by the principles of 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance' taught by their Teacher. And when it was said that Falun Gong was going to be banned, many people went to appeal for it. Falun Gong has such a strong cohesive force and influence, it should have been banned already!" When I asked him why he thought that, he replied, "You are so muddle-headed!" He said I was muddle-headed! Do you think he was clearheaded? The CCP has made people lose their ability to clearly distinguish right from wrong.
At the Tianjin City Brainwashing Center, when someone was sent to try to "transform" me, I would talk to them about my experiences of how I had benefited from the practice. Someone told me privately, "Don't keep saying Falun Gong is good. I know you are good. But the firmer you are, the more the CCP will persecute you. The document sent to the bureau-level cadres said that the reason Falun Gong is banned is that it is too good and it is a threat to the CCP's power."
The CCP is afraid of good people and thus persecutes them. If the CCP continues to follow in this path, the whole nation will be destroyed!
When my husband and I refused to stop practicing Falun Gong, my father-in-law became very angry and said, "The CCP told you not to practice, so stop! Why do you want to go against it!" I asked him, "What's wrong if your son lives by the principles of 'Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance'?" He could not answer. I knew that he had lived through many tribulations and pain in the past. When the CCP tortured his relatives to death, he knew that they didn't do anything wrong. But what could he have done to help them? Thus he concluded that the best way to survive and to have a normal life was to stay away from the CCP and never confront it or go against it. He was used to this way of living and thinking.
Traditional Chinese culture teaches people to be kind, to help the weak, and to uphold justice. However, many Chinese nowadays remain numb to other people's suffering and pain even if they are sympathetic to them. There are even some who stand on the side of evil and blame and persecute the victim. Their thinking has been warped due to the CCP's political pressure and twisted education. The CCP has destroyed the Chinese people's conscience and human nature!
Today, Chinese people's minds are very complicated. When someone is not in trouble, he/she is indifferent to others. But when they need help, they expect others to help them. Falun Gong is like a clear stream that purifies people's minds. It is painful to see how society's moral standards are slipping, how people cheat each other for a little bit of gain, and care so little about each other. One of my classmates told me that he finally understands why Falun Gong practitioners clarify the truth and expose the persecution--to awaken people's conscience and to help the Chinese people find their true selves.
Before I left China, the area where I lived implemented a policy that one police officer was responsible for "transforming" a practitioner. The policeman assigned to try to "transform" me said that they had received orders to "manage and monitor the assigned practitioner well." If a practitioner went to Beijing to appeal, then that assigned police officer would be fired. He also told me a story that moved many policemen.
One of his colleagues was assigned to monitor a female practitioner. The practitioner's mother-in-law was detained at a forced labor camp and her husband was out of town. She was at home taking care of her child. The policeman constantly begged her, "It is not easy for me to keep this job. Please have pity on me. If you go appeal, I will lose my job."
That summer, however, she still went to Beijing to appeal. When the policeman went to escort her back home, he was so angry that he kept scolding her and then took off his belt to whip her. The female practitioner did not get angry or try to protect herself. She softly said, "I am sorry you got implicated. You will understand later what I am doing..."
The policeman told me, "My god! My buddy was so moved that he could never forgive himself for beating her! He later quit his job. He couldn't do it anymore!" Actually, for all these years, many people, including those who have participated in the persecution, have witnessed practitioners' compassion and forbearance. They admire practitioners' determination and courage to endure persecution in order to safeguard their belief and basic human rights.
Falun Gong practitioners can give up their livelihood. What else can't they endure? There have been many cases where family members of practitioners who have been tortured to death have spoken out about the injustice. Why will they give up their lives and careers to clarify the truth about Falun Gong? Are they sacrificing and doing this for themselves? Practitioners do all this to end the shame [that the CCP has brought] to our nation and to bring a bright future for everyone.
Going Against Heaven's Law Is Destined for Failure
It is rare to see "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" nowadays. And people are actually seeking it. Although some people are cheating each other, they still want to hear the truth. When there isn't kindness in the world, people seek it. Even when people don't trust each other and everyone becomes enemies, they still long for help, support and peace. "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" is a universal principle. Though some people do not have the courage to practice it, they want others to. If you ask Chinese people, they will tell you that they, too, dislike all the bad things happening in China, but they just don't know how to fix it.
The CCP's persecution of "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" not only eliminates human nature, but also violates Heaven's law. On the day it decided to persecute Falun Gong, the CCP stepped on a path to failure and faced being eliminated. When society as a whole is getting worse, how can an individual avoid being dragged down? People will see the end result for persecuting "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." Also, there are more and more people awakening to the truth. This is the trend. It is also a celestial phenomena.
More than 36 million Chinese are bravely standing up to publicly announce that they have quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations. Back then, two people invited me to join the CCP. I met one of them two years ago and gave him a copy of the "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party." I then asked him to quit the CCP. Not only did he quit, but he also asked other people to quit. He has realized the evilness of the Party nature. He decided to sever his ties with the CCP and let his kind nature emerge. Therefore, he no longer lives in fear or needs to do things against his conscience.
I could not get in touch with the other person, who is in his 70's. However, he was able to watch the Chinese New Year Spectacular show on VCD. He was so moved by the show that he called me to encourage me. This shows that everyone has a knowing side. After they understand the truth, they will think and then make the right decision.
Some will say, "You give people the Nine Commentaries and then ask them to quit the CCP. Aren't you getting political? Isn't the world tour of the Chinese New Year Spectacular just about being against the CCP?" As practitioners, we do not want power or be against anyone. We just want people to know and understand the truth. In this kind of society, it's hard for people to tell what's truly good, so we practice "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance" to share with people the true magnificence of Falun Gong. Through comparison, people will debate and then find a better way of living. It is like helping someone with cancer: we point out the tumor and help them remove it quickly so they can recover.
It has been nine years since the April 25th appeal in 1999. Practitioners have clarified the truth, exposed the persecution, distributed the Nine Commentaries, helped people to quit the CCP and its affiliated organizations, and organized the world tour of the Spectacular shows. Everything they do is to let people know about "Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance." For nine years, many people have endured cruel torture and difficulties to hold onto these principles. Even those who do not understand or persecute us cannot deny this unprecedented achievement. What is more encouraging is that Falun Gong has been spread around the world and more people learn it everyday. Just as the old saying goes, "With justice on your side, you can go anywhere; without it, you can't take a step or move an inch."
When you calm down and let your true self think, you will understand and be moved by them.
